Crow Lake (Today Show Book Club #7)

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Author(s):

Mary Lawson

Label: Dial Press Trade Paperback
Publisher(s):

Dial Press Trade Paperback

Studio: Dial Press Trade Paperback
Manufacturer: Dial Press Trade Paperback
Binding: Paperback
List Price: $14.00
Our Price: $11.20
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Crow Lake is that rare find, a first novel so quietly assured, so emotionally pitch perfect, you know from the opening page that this is the real thing?a literary experience in which to lose yourself, by an author of immense talent.

Here is a gorgeous, slow-burning story set in the rural ?badlands? of northern Ontario, where heartbreak and hardship are mirrored in the landscape. For the farming Pye family, life is a Greek tragedy where the sins of the fathers are visited on the sons, and terrible events occur?offstage.

Centerstage are the Morrisons, whose tragedy looks more immediate if less brutal, but is, in reality, insidious and divisive. Orphaned young, Kate Morrison was her older brother Matt?s protegee, her fascination for pond life fed by his passionate interest in the natural world. Now a zoologist, she can identify organisms under a microscope but seems blind to the state of her own emotional life. And she thinks she?s outgrown her siblings?Luke, Matt, and Bo?who were once her entire world.

In this universal drama of family love and misunderstandings, of resentments harbored and driven underground, Lawson ratchets up the tension with heartbreaking humor and consummate control, continually overturning one?s expectations right to the very end. Tragic, funny, unforgettable, Crow Lake is a quiet tour de force that will catapult Mary Lawson to the forefront of fiction writers today.

Amazon.com Review

Canadian writer Mary Lawson's debut novel is a beautifully crafted and shimmering tale of love, death, and redemption. The story, narrated by 26-year-old Kate Morrison, is set in the eponymous Crow Lake, an isolated rural community where time has stood still. The reader dives in and out of a year's worth of Kate's childhood memories--when she was 7 and her parents were killed in an automobile accident that left Kate, her younger sister Bo, and two older brothers, Matt and Luke, orphaned. When Kate, the successful zoologist and professor who is accustomed to dissecting everything through a microscope, receives an invitation to Matt's son's 18th birthday party, she must suddenly analyze her own relationship and come to terms with her past before she forsakes a future with the man she loves. Kate is still in turmoil over the events of that fateful summer and winter 20 years ago when the tragedy of another local family, the Pyes, spilled over into their lives with earth-shattering consequences. But does the tragedy really lie in the past or the present? Lawson's narrative flows effortlessly in ever-increasing circles, swirling impressions in the reader's mind until form takes shape and the reader is left to reflect on the whole. Crow Lake is a wonderful achievement that will ripple in and out of the reader's consciousness long after the last page is turned. --Nicola Perry, Amazon.co.uk

Customer Reviews

A Troubled Family

Crow Lake tells the story of the Morrison family and how, in a small community, all lives are interweaved. Passing from past to present, we quickly learn the story of Kate and her brothers and sisters, who tragically lose their parents. We also meet the Pyes, a family that has struggled for generations with a hidden turmoil.

I was able to read this book rather quickly, despite how busy I have been at work. Well written and wonderfully descriptive in it's narrative, Crow Lake is all in all an exciting and fast read. While the novel starts off slower, by the fourth chapter I was quickly hooked. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a beautifully written story about a troubled, but loving family.

A shaggy-dog tale writ long.

Apropos in light of the title of this review, not far into reading the novel my hackles went up...and they basically stayed there for the duration of the book. There was something in the narrator's tone, the 'Wait until you see how this all turns out' way things were put that disturbed me. Because a) it was incredibly risky, b) it seemed cheap and c) it had me wondering just how out-of-control this début was going to get.

As I approached the end, my suspicions were confirmed, my disappointment grew and my anger found its release.

Much of 'Crow Lake' had a simple, delicate craftsmanship about it. (I cannot say 'beauty'.) Some passages were nicely fashioned. But clearly, a more guiding editorial hand was called for.

I think that unless you've hit your stride as a writer, using the first-person for the narrative is a gamble...especially when much of the narrative voice is, essentially, that of a seven year old. In this case, I believe that it wasn't the right way to go.

Further, using what amounts to extended flashbacks require a deft touch...and at this point in her career, the author simply did not possess this.

What Ms Lawson was aiming for in terms of insight into the narrator's makeup (by way of the character's own voice) wasn't achieved. Kate is a little too wounded to be a powerful narrator, and, given the premise of the tale, this is what was required.

In the end, I could not find what so many have found in this book. It is a pale imitation of another Canadian offering of generational travails, Ann-Marie MacDonald's 'Fall on Your Knees'. I admit that the comparison was right there, all the time, and did Ms Lawson's efforts no favours.

Ah, well. Now onto her second novel...

great book!

I also found this one hard to put down....great storyteller! From the beginning to the end, you live and feel the lives and the place where this all happens so clearly. I'm recommending this on to family and friends...it was a great find!

MOST TOUCHING

"Mrs.Stanovich arrived at least twice a week, heaving her bulk from behind the steering wheel of her husband's battered truck and puffing her way up to the front door with two loaves of bread balancing on the top of a bushel basket of corn, or a leg of pork tucked under her hand and a sack of potatoes under the other."

Crow Lake was very touching for me. Kate Morrison narrates her story with the human touch, which allowed me to feel her every emotion, the joy, the relief, sadness, the good, the disappointments and otherwise.
Crow Lake is set in the terrain of northern Ontario.
Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Morrisons are thrown into great despair while at a tender age. Luke, Matt, Kate are at school and Bo their little sister is still a babe, ever to be found on the arm of big brother Luke.
When disaster strikes, the family feels like they have been thrown off the deep end without a lift support. But rescue comes in the help of the country folk friends who are willing to do their Christian duties in this small knit society. They make sure that they are well looked after and fed. Some even pitch in with the housework, and the mysterious Pike family offer part time jobs to the boys. The boys take the labour as it is very much needed at this time.
Kate delves into all aspects of their life, their life on the pond, the quiet moments together listening to the birds; nature was at their back and front and also the beach.
Towards the end of the novel, Kate shows a picture, which relates to them eighteen years later. Kate is now a Zoologist and there are some great changes in their lives as adults. It soothes and touches the heart in a bittersweet way. This is an ideal gift for a good friend, and I highly recommend it.
Reviewed by Heather Marshall Negahdar (SUGAR-CANE 15/07/08)

Quiet But Brilliant Novel About Family

This is the story of Katie Morrison, a zoology professor from Toronto. Told in alternating chapters of past and present, it reveals her life growing up in rural Crow Lake in the wild terrain of Ontario. When Katie was 8 years old, her parents were killed in an automobile accident, leaving her alone with her older brothers, Luke and Matt and her baby sister, Bo. Relatives had gotten together to figure out what to do with the kids. Because money was tight, no one was able to take all 4 kids together. Luke, the oldest, was supposed to leave for teacher's college in the fall. Matt was going to have to leave high school to help on an Uncle's farm. And the girls were to go live with another relative. But Luke would have none of that talk. There was no way he was going to let them be separated, and made the decision to stay home from college to take care of the girls, and find a job. Because Matt was the exceptionally brilliant student, he needed to finish high school so he could go to college himself.

The story mainly centers on Katie's hero worship of her brother, Matt. It is his influence that has made Katie the person she is today. Starting with their trips to the lake to watch the water creatures, Matt is reason that Katie becomes so interested zoology. Matt is still stinging from Luke's self-sacrifice of giving up college for him, but decides he will do so well in school, he will get a great job and send all the kids to college himself (with a little help from Katie). But somehow, things never go as one plans, do they?

Their neighbors, the Pyes, have a family history rich with abuse, that spills over into the Morrison's lives. Both Matt and Luke work the farm for Mr. Pye, who spends his days terrorizing his own children, Laurie and Marie. The intertwining relationships with Pyes causes a chain of events that even further changes the lives of the 4 Morrison siblings.

This book is a slow, family drama. But not slow in a bad way. Lawson tells a beautiful story about the meaning of family. The rich detail of life in Crow Lake paints a picture that is easy to see. She creates a cast of characters that you grow to love. The events of the past have made Katie the quiet, reserved person she is today. It affects her relationship with Daniel, the man in her life who is so anxious to know about her past, and yet is kept hopelessly in the dark. It is the story of jealousy and resentments that build over time. But it is also the story of love and family, loss and healing. It is truly a beautiful story, at times so heartbreaking, it makes you ache. I highly recommend this wonderful book to anyone who has ever questioned their place in life. And really, isn't that all of us??

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