A Town Called Solace

A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson

Fiction

2021 Alfred A. Knopf Canada

Finished on August 26, 2020

Rating: 4.5/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

Longlisted for the 2021 Booker Prize

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: rebellious teenager Rose been missing for weeks with no word, and Rose's younger sister, the feisty and fierce Clara, keeps a daily vigil at the living-room window, hoping for her sibling's return.

Enter thirtyish Liam Kane, newly divorced, newly unemployed, newly arrived in this small northern town, where he promptly moves into the house next door--watched suspiciously by astonished and dismayed Clara, whose elderly friend, Mrs. Orchard, owns that home. Around the time of Rose's disappearance, Mrs. Orchard was sent for a short stay in hospital, and Clara promised to keep an eye on the house and its remaining occupant, Mrs. Orchard's cat, Moses. As the novel unfolds, so does the mystery of what has transpired between Mrs Orchard and the newly arrived stranger.

Told through three distinct, compelling points of view--Clara's, Mrs. Orchard's, and Liam Kane's--the novel cuts back and forth among these unforgettable characters to uncover the layers of grief, remorse, and love that connect families, both the ones we're born into and the ones we choose. A Town Called Solace is a masterful, suspenseful and deeply humane novel by one of our great storytellers.

I can't stop thinking about this wonderful book! I loved the three main characters and came to care about each of them as they navigated their way through troubling times. Their dialogue and emotions are all believable and palpable, either making me laugh or touching my heart. As with her previous novels, Mary Lawson's fourth book is a quiet story; my favorite kind. The slow, unraveling of Mrs. Orchard and Liam's histories, as well as Clara's quirky, sensitive personality, held my interest from beginning to end and I was sorry when it came time to leave them.

There's a bit of a mystery to the story, but it's essentially a novel about trust, what makes a family, and the abiding love that grows between strangers. I've read a couple of books by Mary Lawson (Crow Lake and The Other Side of the Bridge) and after finishing A Town Called Solace, I'm thinking about rereading those earlier works. I was even tempted to start reading this one as soon as I finished, and may, at a later date, listen to the audiobook. Lawson (who is currently 76-years-old) is a terrific writer and I hope we don't have long to wait for her next novel.