The Haunting of Tram Car 015

August 29, 2020
The Haunting of Tram Car 015 Book Cover The Haunting of Tram Car 015
P. Djèlí Clark
Speculative Fiction
Tor.com
February 19th, 2019
Paperback
130
Owned
Adult

The Haunting of Tram Car 015 returns to the alternate Cairo of Clark’s short fiction, where humans live and work alongside otherworldly beings; the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities handles the issues that can arise between the magical and the mundane. Senior Agent Hamed al-Nasr shows his new partner Agent Onsi the ropes of investigation when they are called to subdue a dangerous, possessed tram car. What starts off as a simple matter of exorcism, however, becomes more complicated as the origins of the demon inside are revealed.

(via Goodreads)

 

For the first time, my SFF Book Club selected a novella to read and I couldn’t have been more excited. I recently was recommended to read The Black Gods Drums, and this had been recommended in the past, so I anticipated The Haunting of Tram Car 015 would be up my alley as well. It’s difficult to write in short form. I’m not even a writer and I know this. But a well-written piece of short-form literature is magical. And P. Djèlí Clark provided just that.

Hamed opened his notepad, sighing under his breath as he jotted down the word “haunting.” That’s what had been typed on the file that landed on his desk this morning. He’d hoped the case might turn out to be something more interesting. But a haunting it was going to be.

Senior Agent Hamed of the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments, and Supernatural Entities is having a rough day. Not only has he recently been paired with rookie Agent Onsi as part of a new Ministry mentorship program he was forced into, but he is inspecting a tram car haunting today. A tram car haunting a crafty tram bureaucrat with an overinflated ego wants solving. He’s already frustrated and they haven’t even seen the tram car yet. Well, at least it’s better than paperwork in triplicate…

“I think it understood me!” Onsi said eagerly.
Yes, Hamed thought dryly. And you probably bored it to death. If it was already dead, you might have just bored it back to death.

In short form, every word matters, so I paid close attention when Agent Onsi mentioned playing Katherine in The Taming of the Shew, I knew that would come back. Same with Agent Fatma, Onsi being the only boy of 10 children, the sweet sudjukh, and women’s suffrage. But this didn’t lessen my enjoyment or ruin the element of surprise. Instead, I relished finding connections as concepts circled back later in the text.

“We meet today as a parliament!” she shouted. “A true parliament! Of women! We are half the nation! We helped found the nation! We represent its hopes and its despair! So long as we are not represented among those who vote for its leaders, the parliament of Egypt cannot be a true reflection of its people! We may have freed ourselves from foreign rule, but a nation cannot be liberated while its women are enchained!”

Djèlí Clark did a masterful job tying everything together in this shockingly dense, small package. Politics, rights for women, djinn, and machines, religion, religious and cultural conflict, ethics, corruption, magic, history, education, and more are all addressed for as long as they need to be and never longer. The world-building is immersive. I completely bought into the idea that the emergency of djinn a few decades ago turned Cairo into a world superpower. There are so many little details that I truly felt like I had been placed in this alternate universe steampunk-magic Cairo in 1912. As soon as the book was done, I craved more from Djèlí Clark set in this universe.

Egypt now boasted perhaps the best universities in the world. But some still insisted on sending their children off to England or France to learn, where blasphemous subjects like alchemy weren’t on the curriculum.

The characters are all worth their salt, as well. Told from the perspective of Agent Hamed, an experienced Ministry agent overly-focused on his job, we immediately understand the serious nature of this haunting of the tram car. Partnered with fresh-faced, recent graduate Agent Onsi, Hamed has a wonderful foil. I appreciate how the protagonists’ relationships evolved over the course of the text from one of Hamed feeling frustrated and saddled with a new recruit to one of respect and eventually willing partnership. That’s quite a lot for only 130 pages.

Djinn had taken to the modern world in every way, including demanding proper wages. Many were even unionized. Their abilities didn’t come cheap. 

Even the secondary characters like Superintendent Bashir, the Nubian waitress Abla, and Sheikha Nadiyaa all feel fully formed and well established. I can easily imagine each one with their own lives and experiences. While fully developed, the details of their lives only add to the world-building Djèlí Clark so masterfully crafted without distracting from the supernatural investigation at the center of the plot.

“You’re not going to turn me in?” Bashir piped up, his voice reedy.
“No,” Hamed answered magnanimously. It was just a candy smuggling ring, after all. A bit ridiculous when you thought about it. 

I don’t read many novellas. It’s not intentional, but they are less common than novels and thus show up less on my radar. I’m so thankful that both Kim @ Traveling in Books and The Captain @ The Captain’s Quarters recommended P. Djèlí Clark’s writing to me. I am excited to pick up The Black God’s Drums next and perhaps even dive deeper into the world of SFF novellas.


What do you think?

  • Have you read The Haunting of Tram Car 015? What do you think of this novella?
  • Which format do you prefer to read: novels, novella, novelettes, or short stories?
  • Any books set in Egypt you’d recommend? I realize I’ve read so few!
  • What are your favorite novellas? Or authors who excel at novellas I should look into?

22 Comments

  • Kim @ Traveling in Books August 29, 2020 at 2:08 pm

    Yay! Glad you liked it so much! I need to track down Clark’s other story set in this world, ‘A Dead Djinn in Cairo’. I wish there was a novel set there, too, but there isn’t one that I know of.

    • Jackie B September 2, 2020 at 8:32 am

      Based on the fact that there are two novellas set in this world, I imagine Clark has more in store for this particular universe. It’s so vibrant and there are so many opportunities! I cannot imagine he wouldn’t feel like there are other characters, other stories, begging to come out from there.

      Though, I don’t know if I wish there was a novel set in that space. While I’d definitely devour it, I know some authors thrive in specific story lengths. Perhaps transitioning from a novella to a novel isn’t as monumentous as transitioning from short stories to a novel… but I would be wary of bloat.

      • Kim @ Traveling in Books September 2, 2020 at 8:35 am

        This is true, about story length. Some writers aren’t good at long form, others aren’t good at short form. I’m just hoping we get more in that world. It’s just so fascinating!

  • Grab the Lapels August 31, 2020 at 10:35 am

    I just finished a short story collection for book club yesterday, and all I could think is how much better each of those stories would have been as novellas. Each one felt unfinished, but because the author was writing about the same topic, it felt repetitive. I’m glad this one worked out for you.

    • Jackie B September 2, 2020 at 8:36 am

      Ew. That’s unfortunate. I’m sorry you had that experience. What collection was it? This way I can avoid it. XD

      I’m glad this worked out for me, too! I wonder if there is some magical setting inside us all that predetermines in what format our writing will best shine. I’d love that. Clark found his niche with the novella. There are short story authors who I think are incredible and others who are not great — to your point, they are unfinished or flat. Same with novel authors – some are incredible and others write bloated stories.

      Does anyone ever get guidance on how to find the form they thrive in? Or is this all just practice, self-awareness, and feedback?

      • Grab the Lapels September 2, 2020 at 9:55 am

        Sabrina and Corina was the collection. I wrote a review yesterday and have it scheduled.

        To answer your last question, I think people get guidance. My MFA thesis advisor told me don’t make a poem into a short story, don’t make a short story into a novella, and don’t make a novella into a novel.

        • Jackie B September 2, 2020 at 10:02 am

          Awesome. Thanks! I wasn’t certain if this was written by a man or not, so I thought I’d ask. But now I’m curious — How far in advance do you get your posts scheduled?

          I’m glad that people get guidance in school. That’s good.

          • Grab the Lapels September 2, 2020 at 2:43 pm

            It depends on how long the books are and if I’ve been listening to audio books by men or women and if I feel like reviewing those. Some audio books I don’t feel like reviewing. Right now I have reviews scheduled through September 24, but there are some gaps in there where I’d like to review a book I haven’t read yet. It all depends. If I read a long book and am getting close to a Tue/Thur and need a post, I’ll read a collection of poetry and review it.

            • Jackie B September 11, 2020 at 8:20 pm

              Wow! You are so head of the game with scheduled reviews. I love it. Writing reviews takes a lot of mental energy and effort on my part, so they are typically the last thing I write. XD I’ve got to learn to be more efficient here, particularly with children coming into my life. How long does it take you to write a review, do you think?

              • Grab the Lapels September 12, 2020 at 11:17 am

                Sometimes I do NOT want to write, so the books to be reviewed pile up, and I hate that. Some of them I just let go because it’s not worth it to me to have that simmering on the back burner.

                Based on what type of review I’m doing, it will take more or less time. Sometimes I do a review in which I weigh various elements of the writer, and that can take longer. Other times, I just write an emotional reaction to what I read, and those are fairly speedy because I’m mostly writing what I’m thinking.

                • Jackie B September 14, 2020 at 10:30 am

                  I’m so glad to know that I’m not the only one who doesn’t want to write! I’m sooo behind on my reviews this year. I blame 2020. XD

                  I like that your reviews don’t stick to the same format each time I read them, but I didn’t consciously make that connection until now. It makes it more fun to read them. Now I want to spend some time pondering how I write reviews and if I can change it up. Some of my favorite reviews I’ve written have been those that break my reviewing mold. Look at you. Giving me things to think about at 10am on a Monday! 🙂

                  • Grab the Lapels September 14, 2020 at 12:59 pm

                    Hahaha, here’s another one. Sometimes I write the book a letter.

                    • Jackie B September 21, 2020 at 5:20 pm

                      !!! I love that. That’s amazing. Okay. I want to borrow that. Particularly for the books I don’t like. XD

                    • Grab the Lapels September 22, 2020 at 3:40 pm

                      YES. My review posted today, Separation Anxiety by Laura Zigman, is a I-do-not-love-you letter. Sometimes, there’s no other way I can get it out.

                    • Jackie B September 23, 2020 at 11:02 am

                      Brilliant. I will be reading that review and then borrowing liberally for future posts of my own. 😉

  • wadholloway September 1, 2020 at 5:30 am

    I was hoping that P. Djèlí Clark was Egyptian but I see that he is African-American. I like the idea of non-Westerners riffing off SF tropes to produce new fiction. Okorafor or Murakami for example. Still, you’ve gotta love a bureaucrat and his offsider being set off to investigate a haunted tram. Very steam punk indeed.

    • Jackie B September 4, 2020 at 3:25 pm

      I also had hoped P. Djèlí Clark was Egyptian for the same reasons. My SFF book club is trying to read more works by non-Americans. It’s shockingly difficult to find these books in America! Mostly, I think, due to marketing more than anything else. We’re on the lookout for other authors, so I’ll take whatever recommendations you have. 🙂

  • S.D. McKinley September 15, 2020 at 7:29 am

    I would rather read a straight and to the point Novella than a long-drawn out Novel. I have not heard of this book before ( along with so many others ), but I am putting it on my TBR.

    • Jackie B September 28, 2020 at 3:50 pm

      That’s a great point, S.D. I am with you on that. I get bored with rambling plots or endless description. Succinct novellas are the way to go! But, the challenge for me is finding a novella that I believe still tells a complete story.

      Any novellas you enjoy and would recommend?

      • S.D. McKinley September 28, 2020 at 3:59 pm

        Yes! Well I’m sure some wouldn’t agree with some of the content, but I take my entertainment purely for entertainment purposes and don’t mix it with reality ( which I admit maybe difficult for some to do ) – A Clockwork Orange – it is written in English slang, which seems like it would be difficult to follow, but comes together quite nicely for me. =D i’m sure there are others. I can tell you one I didn’t enjoy very much was Stephen King’s Elevation. It wasn’t terrible, just meh.

  • Captain's Quarters December 2, 2020 at 3:01 pm

    I missed this post and only found it as I was sitting down to write me review of Tram Car! I loved it and am so glad to see that ye did too. There is a novel coming out called a master of djinn on May 11, 2021. ARRRR!
    x The Captain

    • Jackie B December 7, 2020 at 2:01 pm

      !!! There’s a NOVEL coming out?! Ooooh, thanks for the tip. I’ve added it to my TBR. Now, time to stalk your review of Tram Car.

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