Mary Lawson

On a perfect August morning in 1967, above a river just outside a small town in the north of Canada, a young man meets his death. And so begins the unravelling of his best friend Tom's already precarious family...Eighteen months on, and the town of Struan is in the grip of winter. Still reeling from his friend's death, Tom has dropped out and spends his days driving a snow plough. His mother has yet another new baby and is nesting upstairs, increasingly lost in her own world. His father, Edward, retreats to his study and his diaries, unable to cope with his growing, unruly family. There are so many brothers in the house that Tom has almost lost count, but Adam, who is only four, somehow can't be ignored...Their one sister - capable, dependable, formidable Megan - who used to run the show, has escaped to London and is finally living her own life. But then come disturbing letters from home...In this masterful, enthralling, and tender novel, which takes us from the silver rush in Northern Ontario in the early 1900s to London in the 60s, Mary Lawson gently reveals the intricacies and anguish of family life, the push and pull of responsibility and individual desire, the way we can face tragedy and, in time, hope to start again.

Discover this powerful novel about a family falling apart. Tender and surprising... Disturbing letters from home begin to arrive and torn between her independence and family ties, Megan must make an impossible choice. Every bit as good as I expected.

Two brothers, Arthur and Jake, are the sons of a local farmer in the mid-1930s, when life is tough and another world war is looming. Arthur is reticent, solid, dutiful, set to inherit the farm and his father''s character; Jake is younger, attractive, mercurial and dangerous to know. A young woman, Laura, comes into the community and tips the fragile balance of sibling rivalry over the edge...And then there is Ian, son of the local doctor, much younger, thoughtful, idealistic, and far too sure that he knows the difference between right and wrong. By now it is the Fifties, and the world has changed - a little, but not enough. The stories of these two generations in the small town of Struan and its harsh rural hinterland are tragically interlocked, linked by fate and community but separated by a war which devours its young men and whose unimaginable horror reaches right into the heart of this remote corner of an empire. Lawson has an astonishing ability to turn the ratchet of tension slowly and delicately, building to a shocking climax.Taut with apprehension, surprising the reader with moments of tenderness and humour, The Other Side of the Bridge is a compelling, humane and vividly evoked novel with an irresistible emotional undertow.

Una apasionante novela en la que Lawson escribe sobre cómo la carga del pasado puede condicionar inexorablemente la forma de estar y actuar en el mundo.Por si aún quedaran dudas de que la novela es el genero literario mas apropiado para aprehender los infinitos matices que determinan las relaciones humanas, la lectura de esta formidable opera prima de Mary Lawson es la mejor manera de disiparlas. Lawson posee un talento excepcional para dibujar los perfiles psicologicos de sus personajes.Un fatidico dia de verano, los hermanos Morrison, dos chicos y dos niñas, pierden a sus padres en un accidente de trafico. Rechazando el ofrecimiento de diversos parientes lejanos, los niños optan por evitar la separacion y permanecen juntos en la pequeña localidad de Crow Lake, en el agreste norte canadiense. A partir de ese momento, la dura realidad cambiara el futuro de todos. Luke, el mayor, debera renunciar a los estudios universitarios, cerrandose asi las puertas de un futuro prometedor; y Matt, el segundo, asumira la direccion de la familia, convirtiendose en un autentico heroe ante los ojos de Kate y Bo, las dos pequeñas. Y sera precisamente el amor y la admiracion incondicional hacia su hermano el elemento clave que marcara la vida de Kate.Años mas tarde, en una fugaz visita...

" Matt s'est assis à côté de moi et, quand Luke et Bo ont été très loin, il m'a annoncé que nos parents avaient été tués [. ]. Je me rappelle avoir été terrifiée à l'idée qu'il se mette à pleurer. [. ] Comme si la chose impensable était de voir Matt pleurer " Kate a tout pour être heureuse : un travail passionnant à l'université, un homme admirable à ses côtés. Cependant, elle n'arrive pas à construire sa vie de femme. Une réunion de famille lui fait revivre ses souvenirs d'enfance, à la fois tendres et douloureux : après le décès accidentel de leurs parents, Kate et ses frères et sueur ont décidé de rester ensemble, au prix de l'immense sacrifice des aînés. Devenue étrangère parmi les siens, pourra-t-elle enfin vivre sereinement avec ce passé, et retrouver la complicité qui la liait à son frère Matt ? Un émouvant roman familial, celui de la jalousie, de la culpabilité, mais aussi de la solidarité et de l'amour.

Un fatídico día de verano, los hermanso Morrison, dos chicos y dos niñas, pierden a sus padres en un accidente. Rechazando el ofrecimiento de diversos parientes lejanos los niños optan por evitar la separacion y permanecer juntos en la pequeña localidad de Crow Lake, en el agreste norte canadiense.

Huit ans après Un hiver long et rude, lauteure de linoubliable Choix des Morrison revient avec un livre bouleversant autour de trois personnages poignants en quête de rédemption et par-dessus tout da

I've been telling everyone I know about Mary Lawson . . . Each of her novels is just a marvel' Anne TylerClara's rebellious older sister is missing. Grief-stricken and bewildered, she yearns to uncover the truth about what happened.Liam, newly divorced and newly unemployed, moves into the house next door and within hours gets a visit from the police.Elizabeth is thinking about a crime committed thirty years ago, one that had tragic consequences for two families. She desperately wants to make amends before she dies.

**LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE**Arthur and Jake are brothers yet worlds apart.Arthur is older, shy, dutiful and set to inherit his fathers farm. Jake is younger, handsome and reckless, a dangerous man to know.When Laura arrives in their rural community, the fragile balance of the brothers rivalry is pushed to the edge of catastrophe...A powerful, heart-breaking story about tempting fate and living with the consequences.An enthralling read, both straightforward and wonderfully intricateGuardianEvokes beautifully the big joys and sorrows of most people, no matter how small their townThe Times

Discover this powerful novel about a family falling apart, from the Booker Longlisted author of A TOWN CALLED SOLACETender and surprising... A vivid and evocative taleNew York TimesTwenty-one-year-old Megan Cartwright has never been outside the small town she was born in but one winters day in 1966 she leaves everything behind and sets out for London. Ahead of her is a glittering new life, just waiting for her to claim it.But left behind, her family begins to unravel. Disturbing letters from home begin to arrive and torn between her independence and family ties, Megan must make an impossible choice.Every bit as good as I expected. A heart-aching and beautifully written story of a family falling apartWoman and Home

**AS HEARD ON BBC RADIO FOUR**Set in the frozen north of Canada in 1972, this is a novel of painful histories and the moments in life when we can change for the better.Claras rebellious older sister is missing. Grief-stricken and bewildered, she yearns to uncover the truth about what happened.Liam, newly divorced and newly unemployed, moves into the house next door and within hours gets a visit from the police.Elizabeth is thinking about a crime committed thirty years ago, one that had tragic consequences for two families. She desperately wants to make amends before she dies.**LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE**Ive been telling everyone I know about Mary Lawson . . . Each of her novels is just a marvel Anne TylerClose to perfectionThe TimesExquisitely poignant Liane Moriarty

Winter in the small Canadian town of Solace is a season of hibernation. But this year, the snowfall brings a series of accidental encounters that will shake up the lives and loves of an old man, a student on the run and an abandoned dog It is deep winter, 1969. As the Vietnam War drives young men north across the Canadian border, widower Jacks quiet life is overturned by two accidents that happen on the bend in the road into town. First comes a dog in a bad way. Next a draft-dodger, seriously injured, lying in the snow. Suddenly, Jacks cabin is busy with a growing cast of characters and all the baggage, dreams and desires theyre carrying.The atmosphere chills when Jacks daughter Sally drops by one day and doesnt like what she sees. What Sally does next changes everything, for everyone but herself.This exquisite snow globe of a novel is a refuge, a story of connection and moral complexity set in the beloved world of Mary Lawsons bestselling, prizewinning Crow Lake, The Other Side of the Bridge, Road Ends and A Town Called Solace.

AS HEARD ON BBC RADIO 4 BOOKCLUBThe Morrison siblings have been haunted by tragedy since the sudden death of their parents in an accident when they were young.Kate found an escape from the legacy of their dark past in her passion for the natural world. Now a zoologist far away from the small farming community where she grew up, she thinks shes outgrown her three brothers, who were once her entire world.But Kate cant seem to escape her childhood or lighten the weight of their mutual past.Ive been trying to tell everyone I know about Mary Lawson . . . Each one of her novels is just a marvel Anne Tyler, bestselling author of French BraidA remarkable novel, utterly gripping...I read it at a single sitting, then I read it again, just for the pleasure of it Joanne Harris, bestselling author of ChocolatFull of blossoming insights and emotional acuity...a compelling and serious page-turnerObserver

L’onzè manament de la família Morrison diu: No exterioritzaràs cap emoció. ¿Però què passa si els pares moren en un tràgic accident? Mary Lawson ha escrit una primera novel·la fascinant i emotiva en