Books like these remind me what a beautiful gift the art of literature can be. After a mere three or four nights of reading, I already feel like I've grown up in Crow Lake and known its rural residents my whole life. What a testament to Lawson's vivid world-building and rich characterization that I find myself wishing I could spend many more nights with these wonderful characters, immersed in their world!

Crow Lake by Mary Lawson Reviews | Crow Lake by Mary Lawson

For the first few weeks following the death of her parents, Kate believes that she was "protected from the reality by disbelief." How did she carry this defense mechanism with her throughout her childhood and into adulthood? What are some examples? How do you imagine things would have turned out if the children had been separated, as Aunt Annie had arranged? How do you think it would have benefited and/or impeded their growth as individuals and as a family? Have you ever wept to come to the end of a book? I did today, when I finished our book club selection, The Other Side of the Bridge, by Mary Lawson. It was absolutely the best book I have ever read -- at least that’s how I feel today. There were many times throughout that I thought that if I could write the perfect book, this would be it: with the themes of duty and the benevolent traps of love and friendship, of the conflict between disappointment and contentment, and (how could I help but notice) the trials of motherhood, all mixed up in the lives of characters set in a time and place gorgeously fraught with commingled beauty and despair. Lots of lovely foreshadowing throughout, as well. Another intriguing theme was Lawson’s treatment of the power and sanctity of Words. Whether words are written or expressed through action they become holy offerings in the trials of our momentous yet insignificant lives.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.

Crow Lake by Mary Lawson | Goodreads

This is the second book I've read by Mary Lawson but it won't be my last. Her writing style is one of depth and profundity. Her characterizations run true to life and I felt like I was in Struan, Canada among the book's characters. In Crow Lake, the narrator, Kate, quite consciously examines how much of the dire events affecting her family are a result of character, how much of circumstance and how circumstance shapes character. This assured, lucid narrative, less literary but still full of blossoming insights and emotional acuity, takes you into a family in northern Ontario. The father is the first of his farming clan to have finished secondary school; his job in a bank has justified the sacrifices made to get him there. Location: the harsh Canadian nature of "Crow Lake" is strikingly different from the warm humid tropical swamps of Louisiana.Her oldest brother, Luke, was the first in their whole family to get into college (and receive a scholarship). Brother Matt, a year behind Luke in school was following those footsteps too and he is expected to do the same. Kate was 7 years old and baby sister, Bo (short for Elizabeth) is probably just about 2. Oh, the quagmire of family dynamics. There's nothing predictable about who we are born to be or how we will be received by those around us when we appear. At times it seems to be a chemistry experiment, with some personality solutions melding together in harmony and evolution, and others resisting and exploding. The endless ways we can disappoint and be disappointed. Matt, a brilliant student, has a strong connection with his sister Kate. He turns her into his protégée by introducing her to the scientific wonders to be found in one of the many ponds that dot their land. Matt earns scholarships and is preparing to leave Crow Lake when he becomes involved with Pye’s daughter, Marie. She has been made meek and pliant in the face of her father’s murderous rages. An unplanned pregnancy leads Marie to reveal to the Morrisons that her father killed her brother. She fears he will kill her. Luke takes charge and calls a doctor and the police. When the police arrive at the Pye farm, Calvin shoots himself with a shotgun. Matt abandons his plans for higher education, marries Marie, and remains on the farm.