Sue Miller’s ‘Lake Shore Limited’ flawed

When Gus Forester died as his plane crashed into one of the World Trade Center towers on Sept. 11, 2001, he had no way of knowing how many lives his death would affect. His girlfriend, his sister, perfect strangers — all feel his influence when their lives intersect as the result of a play written with his memory in mind.

In author Sue Miller’s latest novel, “The Lake Shore Limited,” a dizzying cast of characters relive an important time in their lives and remember a gentle soul who touched them all.

Several years after his death, Gus’ girlfriend, Billy, has written a play, loosely based on the terrorist attacks of 9/11, only this time the attack is on the fictional Lake Shore Unlimited train line in Chicago. Billy invites Gus’ sister Leslie and her husband to attend the opening, and they, in turn, invite a family friend, Sam, to join them.

The play is intense, partially due to the powerful performance of Rafe, the leading man, who lends his raw emotions to the part. The after-effect has all four adults remembering their pasts, rethinking their futures and trying to find resolutions to current unhappy situations.

Miller divides narration of the story among the four main characters — Leslie, Gus’ sister; Billy, Gus’ girlfriend and playwright; Rafe, the actor whose wife is suffering from ALS, whose home life is in shambles and who finds solace in the arms of Billy; and the widowed/divorced Sam, who once had a thing for Leslie and who now has a thing for Billy. Each section tells that particular person’s story of how Gus’ death affected them and how they react to Billy’s play.

And that’s where this novel runs into trouble.

Developing each character’s personality is important in any novel, but in this case, the story becomes repetitive as it's rehashed from different perspectives. Some readers might enjoy this style of writing and the introspection it offers, while others will read this novel just because it was written by Sue Miller. But for this reader, the story structure made “The Lake Shore Limited” a disappointing read.