The People on Platform 5: Book Club Discussion Questions

Genre: Feel-Good Fiction Goodreads rating: 4.18

In The People on Platform 5 by Clare Pooley, five strangers who share the same London train carriage each morning have perfected the art of avoiding one another. Iona Iverson, outspoken and perceptive, begins to notice the quiet heartbreaks and hidden struggles behind their commuter routines. When a small act of intervention ripples through the group, awkward glances turn into tentative conversations, and the journey from Platform 5 becomes the start of unexpected friendship, second chances and quiet acts of courage.

The book club questions below were put together by our Chapter 25 team of enthusiastic readers. Ideal for book clubs and contemporary fiction fans, these prompts are designed to spark thoughtful discussion about community, loneliness, connection and the surprising impact of reaching out to strangers.

If you’d like to watch our Q&A with Clare Pooley, you can find it here.

Book Club Questions:

• How often do you start conversations with strangers? How do they usually respond? Would you talk to someone next to you on public transport?

  
  

• Which character would you most and least like to share your commute with? Is there one you particularly identify with?

  
  

• The characters often make wrong assumptions about each other. What assumptions did you make, and who surprised you most?

  
  

• All the characters change after meeting each other. Who do you think is most transformed?

  
  

• The story is set in 2019 (pre-pandemic). If you worked from home then or still do, has that shaped your view of commuting and your reading of the novel?

  
  

• The characters span three generations. What can teenagers, millennials, and boomers learn from one another?

  
  

• Without the grape incident, would the friendships have formed? Or is life that dependent on chance encounters?

  
  

• Iona helps younger characters but also receives help from them. Does age matter when you need help? Who do you feel most comfortable accepting help from?

  
  

• Iona spends her life helping others but struggles to ask for help herself. Do you think this is common? Why?

  
  

• The story features three married couples: Iona and Bea, Piers and Candida, and David and Olivia. What does it say about long-term relationships? Candida leaves her marriage believing Piers changed the rules; do you sympathise with

  her?

  
  

• Iona feels that at 57 she’s gone from “It Girl” to “Past-It Girl.” Do you think society and the workplace undervalue women over 50?

  
  

• Iona has faced sexism, ageism, and homophobia. Which seems to have had the greatest impact on her life? Iona dislikes some “modern” work trends (brainstorms, beanbags, corporate speak). Do you agree? What are your least favourite aspects of corporate life? If you don’t work in corporate, what do you envy about it?

  
  

• The book is told from multiple points of view. Did you like that? Why was it important to the story?

  
  

• Did you see the twist about Bea coming?

  
  

• How did you feel about Clare Pooley’s integration of topics like toxic masculinity, early-onset Alzheimer’s, and panic attacks?

  
  

• Iona carries gin, tonic, a glass, lemons, and more in her handbag as part of her “rules” for commuting. Which of her quirks did you find most endearing, eccentric, or revealing? Could you imagine adopting any?

  
  

• How do you feel about the UK title The People on Platform 5 vs. the US title Iona Iverson’s Rules for Commuting? Which fits better?

  
  

• Does the ending paint too optimistic a view of human connection, or is it realistic about what’s possible when people open up?

Check out our conversation with Clare Pooley:

HERE