A Town Called Solace: ‘Will break your heart’ Graham Norton

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Lawson, as shown in previous books is at this a master. These characters are all facing difficult challenges and how they play out is the story. A captivating, easy flowing one at that. Friendship, family, caring, memories, comfort and redemption is at this books core, all things we all need and cherish or should. Sometimes what we are looking for it right under our noses, but takes a while to see. Hopefully mistakes are recognized before they can cause future regrets. Liam, newly divorced and newly unemployed, moves into the house next door and within hours gets a visit from the police.

This deftly-structured novel draws together the stories of three people at three different stages in life, each of whom is grappling with loss. We were captivated by A Town Called Solace’s beautifully paced, compassionate, sometimes wry examination of small-town lives.”—2021 Booker Prize Judges As the story progresses, we learn more about Liam and Mrs. Orchard and a former loving relationship they once had.(although Liam doesn't remember) It is a tender story as Mrs. Orchard destined to remain childless forms a parental type relationship with Liam. She is so drawn to him, a little boy who seems to not be able to find his way in a house full of sisters and a mother at the end of her rope. When Mrs. Orchard makes a snap decision about Liam; their lives will change and the solace they found in one another will end. Author Mary Lawson sits by the table where she writes in Kingston upon Thames, London, Oct. 22, 2013. For The Globe and Mail Lawson is a graceful writer whose un-showy style always hides surprising depths.”—Toronto Public LibraryThe story is gentle and quiet with moments of tension and also humour. I have not previously read a book by this author but I enjoyed her writing style very much and plan to look out for more of her work. All of her characters are delightful especially Liam and Clare who do eventually meet and develop a lovely relationship. Over time Clara begins to realise that the situation with Elizabeth is much worse than her parents have told her – and by extension becomes increasingly emotional as she realises that the same may be true of their reassurances about Rose and so starts to lose faith in them This book is about family and found family. It is about small town Solace, where everyone seems to know everyone’s business.This is a character driven novel (my favourites)that left me feeling like these people had become a part of my life. The town is indelibly printed on my mind. For a short while, they were part of my world. My first five star book of the year, if I could it would get more. I will definitely read more of Mary Lawson's books, never having heard of her before now. Thank you Tina for bringing this one to my attention, your glowing review encouraged me to find it on ebook from my local library. Liam is now 36, newly divorced, and had just quit his accountant job in the big city. He’s unhappy, unmoored, and at a crossroads in his life when he arrives in Solace to live in the house Elizabeth left him. As he was so very young when he lived across the street from Elizabeth, he has little memory of her and is unsure why she left him her house. I loved watching his transformation as he embeds himself in the life of the town.

As we cycle through these three characters’ perspectives in alternating chapters, we gradually come to understand the connections between them. There are satisfying parallels in that, on multiple occasions but in slightly different ways, a child attaches to an older person or an adult stands in as a guardian for a neglected child. All of Lawson’s creations, even the secondary figures, are dealing with distressing memories or a loss of some kind, the details of which might only emerge much later on. Solace offers myriad opportunities for recovery, whether kitty playtime at Mrs. Orchard’s or diner food and homemade ice cream. Robert Fulford of the National Post wrote an article about Lawson describing her process towards becoming a novelist. After settling down, she wrote short fiction for women's magazines and then graduated to her first novel. [1] Lawson was in her 50s when she wrote it, and spent years perfecting it. She decided she disliked her first novel and then spent five more years writing until Crow Lake was complete. It took her 3 more years to find a publisher. [5] You can’t get much farther north than the Ontario of Mary Lawson’s icy, compelling stories of calamity and redemption. A Town Called Solace keeps you breathless with anxiety, then relief and finally even joy.”― Observer (UK) 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. This deftly-structured novel draws together the stories of three people at three different stages in life, each of whom is grappling with loss. We were captivated by A Town Called Solace's beautifully paced, compassionate, sometimes wry examination of small-town lives.Mary Lawson's novel A Town Called Solace is a mystery about hope and redemption in Northern Ontario It’s a hard book to describe. There’s no real action or huge plot developments. It’s the 3 characters coming to terms with their lives. For Mrs. Orchard and Liam, it is the past. They are dealing with. For little Clara, it is coping with the disappearance of her older sister. Each narration is interesting. Each narration comes to its own conclusion. While this is not my absolute favourite book by Mary Lawson, I did enjoy it very, very much. I hope I don’t have to wait as long for her next one. People talk about “comfort food”. 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. Although I truly enjoyed this book, I do think that it’s too light to be considered for the Broker Prize.

In hospital she talks in her head to her beloved now-dead husband and in her head reminisces about events in their life. 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. Mary Lawson is a go to author for me. She never disappoints. Within the first chapter, I was invested in this story. Her writing is smooth and flowing, not overwrought with too much description. Her strengths are her characters and her dialogue.Many of them consider how people grapple with the past – whether personal experiences of grief or dislocation or the historical legacies of enslavement, apartheid and civil war. Many examine intimate relationships placed under stress, and through them meditate on ideas of freedom and obligation, or on what makes us human,” said Jasanoff. “It’s particularly resonant during the pandemic to note that all of these books have important things to say about the nature of community, from the tiny and secluded to the unmeasurable expanse of cyberspace.” As we meet Elizabeth Orchard, she’s coming to the end of her life. Many years ago, Elizabeth made a mistake that had tragic consequences, and though she knows her days are numbered, she hopes she has enough time to make amends.