Crow Lake: FROM THE BOOKER PRIZE LONGLISTED AUTHOR OF A TOWN CALLED SOLACE

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We are meant to assume that Luke and Miss Carrington develop a romantic relationship at the end of the book. Do you think they are compatible? Why or why not? What are some examples? the plot is like a pebble dropped into a pond. It spreads out like ripples, taking me in, wondering what drove two siblings, who were exceptionally close, so far apart? How did the other characters fit in? This is another book I want to put in the hands of every friend I know….who hasn’t taken their turn to read it yet.

Ecology. Both are imbued with a love of nature, largely devoted to the problems of ecology and environmental protection from the destructive effects of human civilization. Ostensibly I spent 6 hours on a train yesterday, but really I was at Crow Lake in northern Ontario. I managed to consume the entire novel in this short period of time.

Bookclub at 20

Do you think Kate’s resentment and distaste toward Marie will lessen as she rebuilds her relationship with Matt? The assurance with which Mary Lawson handles both reflection and violence makes her a writer to read and watch. . . . [ Crow Lake]has a resonance at once witty and poignant.” —The New York Times Book Review

The second world war comes and the town's youths sign up, to a boy; or, in Arthur's case, try to do so - he is rejected on account of flat feet. And, come the Dieppe raid, there is a communal tragedy: many households receive one of those numbing telegrams. At the war's end, Arthur finds himself almost the only survivor of his generation. A.I think a lot of the tension between Luke and Matt stems from the fact that their balance of power has shifted. Until ‘the accident’, Luke was very much the lesser brother. He was a standard bored, sullen, resentful teenager, his deficiencies highlighted by comparison with his brilliant younger brother. Crow Lake explores the connection people hold for the land on which they are born, a common theme in Canadian literature. While some are satisfied to stay in the isolated farming community, others want to explore the wider world, which is likely possible only by going to college or university. In this way, higher education provides a means of betterment, or even freedom. Other themes in the novel include domestic abuse, family dynamics and sibling rivalry. Class rivalry, too, is hinted at as a mature Kate struggled with her feelings about the family she left behind. SequelWas Matt doomed to let Kate down in some way? Do you think it' possible for any young man to live up to such heroic expectations? Why?

She is much more serious than I, but circumstances have made her so. She has been damaged by loss, and the damage has made her rather self-righteous and judgmental – I hope I am not quite as hard on other people as she is. Having said that, I do share some of her prejudices; the work ethic is strong in both of us; I expect a lot of myself and of those around me; I am not by nature tolerant, easygoing or laissez-faire. But fear of further loss has caused Kate to limit her world. Academic study is safe, it cannot betray her; love, on the other hand, would make her vulnerable again. So she keeps the barriers up, to protect herself. Life has been much kinder to me than it was to her. The community I grew up in was larger than Crow Lake, less isolated, much less homogeneous, and less remote, but it was isolated enough that people depended on each other, and took care of each other. There is a downside to small communities of course – they are hell on earth for those who don’t fit in – but I remember it with affection, and Crow Lake is in some respects a tribute to it. I also found it hard to relate to Kate, the main character, who is raised by her brothers after their parents die in an accident. Problems. Unlike the fabulous swamp robinsonade of a lonely girl, the difficulties of the Morrisons' children are real, and a young handsome guy who is forced to wash his sister's soaked diapers, instead of shooting girls or throwing acid at a disco, is an image that evokes lively sympathy.

You must understand: I had never thought that I would really love anyone. It hadn't been on the cards, as far as I was concerned. To be honest, I had thought that such intensity of feeling was beyond me." author Mary Lawson excels at writing realistic fiction! When four siblings are suddenly left orphaned, her slow-burn story shows how these children coped, and how their community rallied around them; You make it sound like it was centuries ago,” Daniel said. “If you parents died when you were seven, it’s barely twenty years.”