Ratings8
Average rating3.6
NATIONAL BESTSELLER LONGLISTED FOR THE 2021 BOOKER PRIZE NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE GLOBE AND MAIL, CBC BOOKS AND THE DAILY TELEGRAPH "I've been telling everyone I know about Mary Lawson . . . Each of her novels is just a marvel" —Anne Tyler New York Times bestselling author Mary Lawson, acclaimed for digging into the "wilderness of the human heart", is back after almost a decade with a fresh and timely novel that is different in subject but just as emotional and atmospheric as her beloved earlier work. A Town Called Solace, the brilliant and emotionally radiant new novel from Mary Lawson, her first in nearly a decade, opens on a family in crisis. Sixteen-year-old Rose is missing. Angry and rebellious, she had a row with her mother, stormed out of the house and simply disappeared. Left behind is seven-year-old Clara, Rose’s adoring little sister. Isolated by her parents’ efforts to protect her from the truth, Clara is bewildered and distraught. Her sole comfort is Moses, the cat next door, whom she is looking after for his elderly owner, Mrs. Orchard, who went into hospital weeks ago and has still not returned. Enter Liam Kane, mid-thirties, newly divorced, newly unemployed, newly arrived in this small northern town, who moves into Mrs. Orchard’s house—where, in Clara’s view, he emphatically does not belong. Within a matter of hours he receives a visit from the police. It seems he is suspected of a crime. At the end of her life, Elizabeth Orchard is also thinking about a crime, one committed thirty years previously that had tragic consequences for two families, and in particular for one small child. She desperately wants to make amends before she dies. Told through three distinct, compelling points of view, the novel cuts back and forth among these unforgettable characters to uncover the layers of grief, remorse, and love that connect them. A Town Called Solace is a masterful, suspenseful, darkly funny and deeply humane novel by one of our great storytellers.
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I just finished A town called solace by Mary Lawson and here is what I thought.....
Rose is gone. She packs a bag and flees the home she cannot stand, leaving her little sister, Clara waiting at the window every night for a message that never comes.
Clara's friend, the old lady next door, Mrs Orchard, needs her to feed her cat while she is in hospital. The cat is the only reason Clara stops her vigil every night.
Mrs Orchard has left the house to a man, Liam, newly divorced and unemployed, he decides to fix the house up to sell. As the story unfolds, we find all three of these people are all uniquely linked and secrets always have a way of coming out no matter what you do.
I found the book to be a little slower paced than I normally like but the writing was so lovely that the pace of the book wasn't really a factor in my enjoyment. I found the storyline to be very strong and weaving of the three POV was done so well. I was a little distraught at how things worked out in the end. It wasn't a happily ever after for anyone but a slightly better future definitely came from it.
I felt Clara's parents didn't understand her and that was rather sad and her sister who was her stability in that house, left because she couldn't stand to live there. Worst part, even when we find out what happened to Rose, nothing will be the same again for any of them. The book touches on some interesting topics and does a really solid job of bringing those things to light. My heart really did ache for Liam. His mother was cold and indifferent and I truly believe that had things turned out differently, he would have been a very different man in the end.
I would have liked a little more excitement, something more to keep the pages turning but I think this book really had something special in the gentle way it weaves its story around you.
4 stars.
Thank you to @penguinrandomhouseca for my review copy.
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