A Town Called Solace: ‘Will break your heart’ Graham Norton

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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. 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. Offering solace.....how many places or people offer you solace. Maybe it's a walk in the woods, a day at the beach, or just sitting in your yard listening to the sounds of life. Perhaps it is a person who makes you feel whole, a person who makes you feel relaxed and make the trials of today leave you for just a bit of time. I've been telling everyone I know about Mary Lawson . . . Each of her novels is just a marvel' Anne Tyler

This novel is a moving story about a young Canadian girl who misses her runaway sister and a man who has divorced his wife and feels rootless. The author, Mary Lawson, sees the world through the eyes of very different small-town characters. Woven throughout the story is a compelling mystery about what happened to a rebellious sixteen-year-old girl. Over time Clara begins to realise that the situation with Elizabeth is much worse than her parents have told her – and by extension becomes increasingly emotional as she realises that the same may be true of their reassurances about Rose and so starts to lose faith in themI did want a bit more, which I suppose is better than wanting less. I wanted to hear from Liam’s mother, even if it had just been one chapter, and I wanted to know more about Rose. But those are minor complaints. The author beautifully captures small town life and the characters who inhabit the town. This is a quiet, lovely, and poignant look at lives that eventually intertwine in unexpected ways. Beautifully told, this is a deceptively simple story of flawed people (aren’t we all?) who live with regrets, and have known grief, but also joy. Solace is not just a town in Ontario, it’s what we can offer one another if we open our hearts. Highly recommended, this is a story that will touch your heart. A Town Called Solace is, like its predecessors, a nuanced, probing novel – one that asks what it is to be family, to be valued; and whether there’s a difference between the two. In a scene where Liam discovers a trove of his childhood artwork amidst Elizabeth’s belongings, Lawson hints at an answer. His mother had always dismissed his creative endeavours, so Liam finds his attention drawn less to the pictures themselves than to the “crisp, fragile remains” of the tape at their corners – yellowed testament to the pride of place they once held on someone’s wall. This deftly-structured novel draws together the stories of three people at three different stages in life, each of whom is grappling with loss. We were captivated by A Town Called Solace's beautifully paced, compassionate, sometimes wry examination of small-town lives. Williams and his fellow judges – chair Maya Jasanoff, the historian; writer and editor Horatia Harrod; actor Natascha McElhone; novelist and professor Chigozie Obioma – read 158 books to come up with their longlist of 13. It’s not just a novel about a technological future,” said judge Rowan Williams, the writer and former archbishop of Canterbury. “It is a novel about power, the nature of personality, about freedom and about love.”

some vocabulary and other elements are distinctly not Canadian and/or do not ring true to the time frame. In small town Solace, Ontario, in the 1970’s, eight-year-old Clara keeps a daily vigil at the window as she awaits her missing sister Rose’s return. Her neighbor, Mrs. Orchard (Elizabeth) is in the hospital and Clara’s job is to take care of her cat, Moses. Her suspicions are on high alert when she sees a man move into Elizabeth’s home.This character driven book has little plot, and if anything it is escapism at its best. There is the quaint little village, with its charming inhabitants. And Liam who is at a crossroad in life after he left his wife and job, conveniently inherits some money and a house to start over. This syrupy affair is slightly counterbalanced by the disappearance of Rose, but just not enough to be honest. But what I really found interesting is the fact that all three are battling mental illness, and that has been rendered beautifully and on point.

Liam, newly divorced and newly unemployed, moves into the house next door and within hours gets a visit from the police. Many of them consider how people grapple with the past – whether personal experiences of grief or dislocation or the historical legacies of enslavement, apartheid and civil war. Many examine intimate relationships placed under stress, and through them meditate on ideas of freedom and obligation, or on what makes us human,” said Jasanoff. “It’s particularly resonant during the pandemic to note that all of these books have important things to say about the nature of community, from the tiny and secluded to the unmeasurable expanse of cyberspace.” I loved reading A Town Called Solace ... It's beautifully written and so finely crafted; told in the kind of prose I most admire because it takes what appears to be complicated and makes it clear... These interwoven stories of three people at different stages of life, and yet each struggling with their own form of loss and grief, will stay with me the way good friendships stay with you. It's already one of my favourite books of the year. Poised, elegant prose, paired with quiet drama that will break your heart. The sort of book that seems as if it has always existed because of its timeless perfection.Living in the town of Solace is Clara, who is almost eight years old and traumatised by the disappearance of her adored sister, Rose, a rebellious teenager who has left home but has not been heard from since - despite Rose promising faithfully to get a message to her younger sister. Standing vigil at the living room window and longing for Rose's return, Clara is even more upset when she sees a strange man moving into Mrs Orchard's house next door. Clara, we learn, has been given the key for Mrs Orchard's house so that she can look after Moses, Mrs Orchard's cat, whilst the elderly lady is in hospital - but, Clara wonders, how has this man obtained his key? And what is he doing in Mrs Orchard's house?

Lawson’s writing is clear and emotive. . . . [A] poignant novel, rightfully recognised by the Booker judges.”— The Telegraph (UK) Mary Lawson gives a lesson in how to craft a story told from three perspectives that also jumps between timelines - when such a grifted and controlled writer does it, it feels completely effortless. Set in a small town North Ontario in 1972, we first meet seven-year-old Clara whose elder sister has run away; then there's her elderly, frail neighbour Mrs Orchard, who is currently in the hospital; and the last perspective is that of Liam, an accountant in his thirties who lived next to Mrs Orchard when he was a small boy. Of course, they all are connected - but the question how exactly is what drives the narrative, so I won't spoil it. Suffice to say that all characters are drawn with great empathy, their trials and tribulations are portrayed in a convincing and touching manner (especially when it comes to Clara who struggles with the world of the grown-ups around her). All storylines center on love, loss, and longing. a character-driven story with a touch of mystery. The intertwining storylines of 7-year-old Clara, newly-divorced Liam, and elderly Elizabeth (Mrs. Orchard) are well-developed. I felt empathy for them at times; frustration at other times. I looked forward to see how their stories would evolve; and,Completely absorbing… A Town Called Solace pleases at every level. It’s a captivating tale suffused with wisdom and compassion.”― Toronto Star