It's here! Browse the 2024 Penguin Christmas gift guide
The People on Platform 5

The People on Platform 5

Summary

No one speaks to strangers on the train. What would happen if they did?


'Utterly gorgeous. A proper good pick-me-up of a book' RUTH JONES
'Full of original characters and wisdom' KATIE FFORDE
'Feel-good fiction at its best' SOPHIE COUSENS

_____

Every day at 8:05, Iona Iverson boards the train to go to work. As a seasoned commuter, she knows there are rules that everyone should follow:

· You must have a job to go to
· Don't consume hot food
· Always pack for any eventuality
· You must never speak to strangers on the train

Iona sees the same group of people each day - ones she makes assumptions about, gives nicknames to, but never ever talks to.

But then, one morning, Smart-but-Sexist-Surbiton chokes on a grape right in front of Iona. Suspiciously-Nice-New Malden steps up to help and saves his life, and this one event sparks a chain reaction.

With nothing in common but their commute, an eclectic group of people learn that their assumptions about each other don't match reality. But when Iona's life begins to fall apart, will her new friends be there when she needs them most?

­­­-----

Readers are falling in love with The People on Platform 5:

'Incredible book, full of joy and warmth and love!'
'A great novel with some truly wonderful characters'
'The fantastic cast of eclectic characters will steal your heart & have you rooting for their happy endings'
'A feel-good, once-in-a-lifetime story'


Clare Pooley, The Bookseller bestseller, April 2023

Reviews

  • Utterly gorgeous. A proper good pick-me-up of a book
    Ruth Jones

About the author

Clare Pooley

Clare Pooley graduated from Newnham College, Cambridge and spent twenty years in the heady world of advertising, before becoming a full-time writer.

Clare's dark but hilarious memoir, The Sober Diaries, has helped thousands of people around the world to quit drinking.

The Authenticity Project, Clare's debut novel, was a BBC Radio 2 bookclub pick, a New York Times bestseller, the winner of the RNA debut novel award and a Babelio award. It's been translated into 29 languages.

The People on Platform 5 is Clare's second novel, inspired by her fascination with inventing stories about her fellow passengers on her commute to work.

Clare lives in Fulham, London with her husband, three children and two border terriers.
Learn More

Sign up to the Penguin Newsletter

For the latest books, recommendations, author interviews and more