One day however, a strange man turns up at Mrs Orchard’s house and starts moving some of his things in. Clara is furious, how dare he! Besides it’s her job to feed Moses, and he’s a very nervous cat when it comes to strangers. 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.

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.

Success!

Lawson, Mary (16 February 2021). "Mary Lawson: Why I write about the Canadian Shield". Macleans . Retrieved 22 August 2021. Mary Lawson might as well have titled her new book A PLACE called solace because in these challenging times, her story transports the reader to a more redemptive place. A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson, Maggie Huculak (narrator), Tajja Isen (Narrator), Ian Lake (Narrator) They were childless (she having suffered many miscarriages) which leaves her with a profound sense of isolation and emptiness

But ultimately it is a book which has at its heart many difficult but all too common life-stories (childlessness, end of life incapacity and terror, bereavement, broken relationships, divorce, missing children) 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.”— Graham Norton, bestselling author of Holding and A KeeperSlowly but surely, the reader comes to understand what bonds these three disparate characters together as integrated layers of grief, regrets and flashes of understanding pull them forward. At one point, Liam questions, “How do you know another person’s mind? How do you know your own?” Although no person gets full clarity on those questions, the characters get a little closer to the answers. Lawson’s writing is such that it appears effortless but, as all the strands come together to create a rich and satisfying tapestry, her genius for storytelling becomes apparent.”― Irish Independent 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. I have spent half my life trying to suppress that memory. When I was in St. Thomas’s, the psychiatrist, Dr. Leander, said that whenever it or something similarly disturbing came into my mind I was to replace it, calmly but firmly, with something positive. He said we were all able to control our thoughts to some extent. At first I didn’t believe him, I didn’t see how it could be possible to simply push side such anguish, but actually, with practice, it was. Some of the time, at least”.

My respect for Mary Lawson grows with every book she writes. Sadly, I have finished the four she's written so far, and will have to wait impatiently for the next one. That clear-eyed humanism—the sort that is rooted firmly in the reality of life, but holds out a glimmer of potential for a measured, minor-key redemption—is classic Mary Lawson.”— The Globe and Mail There is not much solace in a family living in the town of Solace. Their oldest daughter, Rose has gone missing and everyone is fearful and her younger sister, Clara, keeps a watchful eye for her return. Then in moves Liam Kane into the house next door. Liam is a quiet man, unemployed, sort of shiftless, and Clara's senses are on high alert. This house belongs to Clara's great elderly friend, Mrs. Orchard, and Clara has agreed to take care of her cat, Moses. Mrs. Orchard is in the hospital so Clara is very attuned to what is going on next door. In hospital she talks in her head to her beloved now-dead husband and in her head reminisces about events in their life. The books world has long complained about the Booker’s decision to open its doors to American authors. This year, five British authors make the longlist, alongside four Americans. Ishiguro and the British-Canadian Cusk’s novels are joined by fellow Britons Francis Spufford’s Light Perpetual, which imagines a future for five children killed in the blitz, Sunjeev Sahota’s China Room, which weaves together the story of a young bride in rural 1929 Punjab with that of a young man in 1999, and British-Somali author Nadifa Mohamed’s The Fortune Men, in which suspicion falls on Mahmood Mattan for the murder of a shopkeeper in Cardiff’s Tiger Bay in 1952.These three come together in a way that shows that each person matters, even if their gifts aren't apparent to them without the help of the others. I loved little Clara, who was a suspicious thing even as a toddler. Mrs. Orchard loves kids and has known Clara all her life and she delights in the way Clara won't take anything at face value. It's no surprise that Clara has a lot of blunt questions for Liam and his presence in Moses' home and life. Poor Clara, her early suspicions seems to have foreshadowed that adults won't tell her anything. They won't tell her what happened to her sister, what happened to Mrs. Orchard, they are always "protecting", which seems to amount to just telling her lies. Liam doesn't know what to do with this girl in his house everyday but she helps him grow, just as Mrs. Orchard helps him grow. I wouldn't mind staying in this story for longer, I enjoyed being with all three of these characters. Clara is looking after the neighbour’s cat – an elderly 72 years old lady (born at the turn of the century) – Elizabeth – who has gone to hospital for what she told Clare would be a short stay, but is already stretching out longer than either expected. She is our second narrator (on an almost but not quite contemporaneous timeline with the other two). This is Mary Lawson’s fourth novel and I’d recommend a binge immersion. She has carved out a world in northern Ontario that’s vividly, absorbingly real; she captures tones and voices with exactitude in writing that’s idiomatic but never flashy and carries you along from midnight to dawn, oblivious of the time.”— Literary Review (UK)