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Review 199:
August 2023

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First Published: 2021

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"A Town Called Solace" by Mary Lawson.

Chosen by Kath following a recommendation by Graham Norton. Mary Lawson has written four books having lived in northern Ontario as a child. Her style is similar to that of Anne Tyler.

The book was well received by all Club members.

This is a well-crafted everyday story of Canadian country folk in a small and remote town. But told from the perspective of three different narrators, the tale jumps about somewhat, but does not suffer from this. The reader’s interest in the story line relates to the fate of the missing girl, and that question is not answered until late in the book.

The characters are finely drawn revealing that Mary Lawson has a keen observational eye, and the secondary characters, policeman, builder, librarian are all believable and entertaining. Even the cat had an important role to play. The entanglement of the children’s promises with the policeman’s need for information seemed very real.

The perceptiveness of the author produced some astute club-member observation., including that “the lies of an adult to protect a child can come back to bite you”.

Whilst the book had a happy ending, it wasn’t a story all wrapped up and happy like a Christmas gift, there were questions.

  • Would Liam and Fiona bond together, and would Liam continue as a “builder’s mate”?
  • Would Rose be scarred for life by her “away from home” experience?

Score: 4.5 on a scale of 1 to 5

PC. 15th AUgust, 2023


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