---
title: "The Sleeping Car Porter by Suzette Mayr | Book Review"
description: "Set in the 1920s, The Sleeping Car Porter follows Black railway porter Baxter, along several routes, notably Toronto to Vancouver. Baxter is a closeted gay immigrant, trying to save money for dentistr..."
url: https://somisguided.com/2026/08/07/the-sleeping-car-porter-by-suzette-mayr-book-review/
date: 2026-08-07
modified: 2026-08-14
author: "Monique"
categories: ["Book Reviews"]
tags: ["canadian", "fiction"]
type: post
lang: en
---

# The Sleeping Car Porter by Suzette Mayr | Book Review

[![](https://somisguided.com/wp-content/uploads/sleeping-car-porter-suzette-mayr.jpg)](https://www.audible.ca/pd/The-Sleeping-Car-Porter-Audiobook/B0BHXF29D8?eac_link=PP8dZeJtY4sQ&ref=web_search_eac_asin_1&eac_selected_type=asin&eac_selected=B0BHXF29D8&qid=ulAaKsjNzv&eac_id=132-9525185-2843937_ulAaKsjNzv&sr=1-1)

Set in the 1920s, [The Sleeping Car Porter](https://www.audible.ca/pd/The-Sleeping-Car-Porter-Audiobook/B0BHXF29D8?eac_link=PP8dZeJtY4sQ&ref=web_search_eac_asin_1&eac_selected_type=asin&eac_selected=B0BHXF29D8&qid=ulAaKsjNzv&eac_id=132-9525185-2843937_ulAaKsjNzv&sr=1-1) follows Black railway porter Baxter, along several routes, notably Toronto to Vancouver. Baxter is a closeted gay immigrant, trying to save money for dentistry school, and he must follow a series of rules about engaging with the white passengers, cleaning the car, keeping his uniform tidy, and polishing shoes. It’s exhausting, especially when Baxter must also mind a little girl who refuses to sleep and he loses out on his own quick naps.

Overall I enjoyed this book, especially learning more about the labour conditions of these men and the racism they experienced. The pace is slow, like a train, and that’s part of the charm of the writing. You get physically tired. When Baxter’s eyes start to droop, so did mine. Hah. But I mean that as a compliment.

There’s a dream-like quality to the writing as well. A bit of magic realism? Baxter seems to see a man huddled on the floor frequently, but the hallucinations are likely part of his sleep deprivation.

The setting of the train also makes for a wonderful cast of characters. There’s a film star, a medium, a granny and child, a mother and daughter, a couple, two business men, a doctor … plus the various porters and their boss. Each one becoming more memorable and complex as the journey wears on.

An artfully constructed story, with a bit of a history lesson, and a lot to say about the social constructs that prevent us from understanding and appreciating those around us.