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Her latest book, “The Exiles,” was released last month. “It sheds light on this part of our history that’s been hidden in plain sight,” Kline said. Over the course of a wide-ranging interview, the author expressed satisfaction with the way the novel had been received by riders and their descendants, discussed the process of writing a young-adult version of the book, and speculated on the reason for the novel’s success.
ORPHAN TRAIN BOOK MOVIE
Kline also revealed a movie adaptation of “Orphan Train” has been delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic. Her father was a historian who wrote dozens of books for university presses, where he did copious research.ĭespite the differences between writing non-fiction and fiction, Kline said father and daughter share similar research techniques, including a tendency to write copious notes in longhand. Both experiences gave her an ability to deal with others’ illnesses and losses differently than she previously could. She experienced this herself shortly after “Orphan Train” was finished, when she was diagnosed with cancer and lost her mother. “A gift of difficulties, of times that we have been through trials, is that it gives you a window into other people and gives a way to connect,” Kline observed. Similar traumas are what forged a bond between the novel’s main character, Niamh (who later goes by the names Dorothy and Vivian), an older woman who rode the orphan train as a girl, and a modern-day foster teen, Molly. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have found themselves on the orphan trains to begin with.
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One experience all riders shared was trauma. However, as the riders’ children and grandchildren learned the fascinating history, it prompted many of them to become more vocal about their past. “Every immigrant group that comes here undergoes a hazing process, and it’s as true today of Mexicans and Muslims as it was back in the orphan-train times for Irish people,” Kline noted. Others were ashamed of being train riders.
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Some had fully assimilated into American life and did not want to revisit their past. “When I finished the book three years later, there were only five remaining train riders, and now there are none.”įor years, many riders were reluctant to speak of their experiences. She met 11at various reunions and interviewed seven. “When I started researching ‘Orphan Train,’ there were about 150 living survivors that we know of,” she said. She wasn’t certain at first if she was qualified to tell their story, but eventually convinced herself to undertake the project. Kline first became interested in the subject when her husband’s grandfather was featured in an article about orphan-train riders. Ultimately, the trains transported some 250,000 children. Some, especially infants, were adopted by loving families, but many, especially boys at the upper-age limit of 14, lived hard lives as farm laborers. These children, many of whom were immigrants, were shipped by rail to points in the Midwest. Charles Loring Brace, a Methodist minister, conceived of the idea to help the many parentless children he encountered on the streets of New York City. The novel is set against the backdrop of the orphan-train movement, which lasted from 1853 to 1929. She was interviewed by Chelsea Shar, a former writer for The Review who now is a media arts teacher at Alliance High School. The author's planned in-person visit last spring was cancelled because of the coronavirus. Kline, author of “Orphan Train,” appeared in a Zoom webinar Thursday night to talk about the book.
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It was six months late, but local readers of this year’s One Book One Community selection finally had a chance to meet Christina Baker Kline.