A Town Called Solace
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4.3 • 130 Ratings
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • LONGLISTED FOR THE 2021 BOOKER PRIZE • NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE GLOBE AND MAIL, CBC AND THE DAILY TELEGRAPH • 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.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
In this poignant novel, set in a small northern Ontario town, three families are tied together by secrets and love. In 1972, eight-year-old Clara waits by the window hoping her runaway teen sister, Rose, will return. Instead, she sees a man she doesn’t recognize moving into the home of her kindly elderly neighbour, Elizabeth. The stranger’s name is Liam, and how he came into possession of Elizabeth’s house turns out to be a very peculiar affair. Author Mary Lawson skilfully unravels these two intriguing mysteries through each character’s unique point of view. Lawson’s gorgeous and evocative prose captures the feelings of intense love and heartbreaking loss that define each character’s compelling storyline. Full of sadness but also humour and hope, A Town Called Solace is one of the most humane, tender novels we’ve read in ages.
