The Mookse and the Gripes discussion

A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson

I am so excited about this nomination! I am sure most people have never heard of this wonderful Canadian writer. I have fallen in love with every book she has written. Every one of her books has made me want to move to a small town in Northern Ontario. That said, I think her previous books Crow Lake, and The Other Side of the Bridge are better.

Great to hear - and I see Ang has also given it 4 stars. Looking forward to this

Ang called this early in the speculation thread too.

Yep - I didn't go back far enough for the speculation books as I was going off the predictions from late May onwards, but she did indeed all it.

Yes that is how I knew of the book

I’m glad your here to tell us about this, Louise. I would have book snobbishly lumped it with the cutesy bookclub type. It will one of the first books I order now.

WndyJW wrote: "I’m glad your here to tell us about this, Louise. I would have book snobbishly lumped it with the cutesy bookclub type. It will one of the first books I order now."

Cutesy on the outside but a lot more going on underneath.

Like a true Canadian!

I read this a while back, I think based on a recommendation by Louise.

It has a lot to it- mental health, family, memory. There’s also that Jekyll/Hyde feel of characters who aren’t exactly what they seem.

I think it’s worthy of the long list, and may just be the surprise book that gets a lot of love from readers.

Am I the only one who writes A Town Called Ali..(backspace, backspace, backspace) Solace?

Or "Town Called Mali..." (I grew up listening to The Jam).

Or that!

I keep on calling it a town called malice as well

Yes it is one of two books that immediately invokes a song in my mind. The Jam here and Spitting Image for The Promise.

A Town Called Malice sounds like a better book to me, there is dramatic tension in that title

That book exists - by an Adam Abramowitz. But I think we are getting off topic!

Is this by the same author as Going Underground Railroad?

Don’t Start

I didn't expect to see two Canadian authors on the Booker this year (not complaining) and I thought the one slot allotted to Canada would go to Cusk, so this is a nice surprise.

I was expecting to see this for the Giller Prize, so it's been on my shelf for a few months now and seeing it on the Booker gives me an excuse to read it earlier than I had anticipated.

It is reminding me quite a lot of Canadian Literature as a whole in that it is quite bittersweet. The sense of sentimentality is I think counterbalanced by some more difficult subject matter (which is not as yet fully revealed to me, as I am only halfway through).

While I am quite enjoying it, I suspect some might think it too simple (ie. not experimental enough - unless the latter portion takes some big risks) despite its strength as an actual story.

I am sorry but I still slightly smile at the idea of Cusk really being Canadian other than having citizenship through her birthplace. I think she was a little thrown when first entered for the Giller Prize by her publisher.

Of course Lawson has lived in England for the last 54 years as well but did spend 20 years in Canada.

Agreed, GY - I personally don't think of Cusk as being especially Canadian but inasmuch as being 'Canadian enough' to 'count' so that the Booker could acknowledge a Canadian author.

I am often surprised by some of the names that appear on the Giller - many of whom are technically Canadian (though often quite removed) in the same way that Cusk is.

Second Place did not really feel like 'Canadian Literature' where 'A Town Called Solace' does.

After making some more progress, I think the best way to describe this book is "charming".

I was worried that it might be too sweet, but a strong recommendation from Louise was enough for me to try it.

We know this isn’t a cutting edge list, but cutting edge isn’t the only definition of a literary book.

I like this a lot more than I expected to. It’s the kind of novel where you just enjoy getting to know a few characters and the small town they live in. It feels simultaneously like a lot happens and nothing happens. The subject matters are quite bleak, but the novel doesn’t feel bleak. It manages to avoid sentimentality, whilst still being sweet and somehow comforting. I like being in this world, and I think the characters are so well written. I don’t think it will be a favorite for me, but I’m enjoying it a lot and I do think it will stay with me for a while after I’m done (I’ve read a bit more than half so far).

That sounds great.

Seems not so much two Canadian writers on the list as two from the town of Kingston-on-Thames, which is about 4 miles from me. Mary Lawson and Nadifa Mohamed. One was brought up there (from the age of 5) and the other has lived there for over 50 years.

Just finished A Town Called Solace. It was an enjoyable read, but seemed a bit light to be on the Booker longlist.

Debra wrote: "Just finished A Town Called Solace. It was an enjoyable read, but seemed a bit light to be on the Booker longlist."

That may be a theme this year. I'm halfway through Light Perpetual and have the same thought.

Hmmm - this wasn't for me I have to say.

There is a quote where one of the narrators is contemplating hospital food, in a ward for the elderly, and says:

Liver for lunch. I hate liver. And I don't think it's tactful serving offal to patients whose own innards might be causing them distress. But there was apple pie and ice cream for dessert, which was some consolation. Not enough apple, of course, but the cook is good at pastry and it was beautifully sweet. You know they say that the elderly develop a taste for sweet things? It turns out to be true.

And that was my issue. This was all a bit apple pie in the end, despite some dark undertones, and my literary tastes run more to liver.

An enjoyable read for me but a disappointment in literary terms.

But still good to see diversity of styles on the list and I can see this appealing to a lot of readers.

Louise in your review you said "Every time I read a Mary Lawson book (and I wish there were more), I want to move to a small town in Northern Ontario" - again a personal thing, but this had the opposite reaction to me - makes me glad I live in a city!

Interestingly the author herself has mixed views I think - she has lived in the UK as long as I have (and I have lived here all my life) and close to where I live. While showing a reporter around her house - the 'this' referring to her suburban life, she said:

"I could never live now in a small Ontario town. But I know it in a much more profound level than I will ever know this."

As I read it, I couldn't help thinking about The Shipping News, another book set in a remote Canadian town. For me, that book conveyed a strong sense of place - and made me want to visit.

Paul wrote: "Louise in your review you said "Every time I read a Mary Lawson book (and I wish there were more), I want to move to a small town in Northern Ontario" - again a personal thing, but this had the opp..."

Yeah, small towns can be stifling but I love the communities she portrays. I have lived in the suburbs, on a farm in Ontario, and right smack downtown Montreal. Now I am in the country-ish (but close to the city) and now have neighbours popping up too close for comfort so I feel a deep desire to move further into the country. A small town in Northern Ontario would suit me just fine at this point in my life. But definitely not for everyone that is for sure.

I have often heard writers say that they needed to leave a place to be able to write about it, and this may very well be the case for Mary Lawson as well because she does write about small towns very well.

The judges' citation:

`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:

Well with reference to the conversation starting at message 12 I could not resist writing this Oulipian review

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Unfortunately I enjoyed writing the review more than reading the book

And on that conversation

lark wrote: "A Town Called Malice sounds like a better book to me, there is dramatic tension in that title"

The fact that the town is called Solace not Malice seems rather key to what the author is trying to achieve (and what didn't work for me).

Yes but that was explicitly based on Weller's words at the very end of the song (as was the length of the book) as I point out in my review

I'm agreeing with you

Although do the lyrics include solace?

Er no

The missing girl's name is taken straight from the song though. Its cleverly done

The part I was struggling with was why the cafe did not serve Roast Beef and why there was no train but otherwise she did really well to get everything in.

So, I am one of those people who had never heard of Mary Lawson, and now I am going to read all of her previous novels. A Town Called Solace has been out in the US since February, but not one of the 30+ libraries in my library's consortium owned it in any format. I bought it, read it in one afternoon and am donating it to my library to get it into circulation for others to read. I loved it, absolutely loved it. I cared about the characters, felt that they were three dimensional and real, flawed but likable and that they were people I'd like to know (even if I would not necessarily want to live in Solace). I don't this is experimental, but as I've said elsewhere I don't think that's what the Booker is for. Is it "finest fiction?" As I've also said, I don't know what that means, but it is certainly one of the books I've read so far this year that has made me unequivocally happy to be a reader, so that's something. I'd be very surprised to see this on the shortlist, but I'm very happy it made the longlist.

Nightmare Cindy - we are disagreeing!

I enjoyed this book. The three sections all had distinct voices and wove together well. It didn’t blow me away but I have a few friends I will recommend it to. More depth to it than I expected when I first started reading.

Cindy wrote: "So, I am one of those people who had never heard of Mary Lawson, and now I am going to read all of her previous novels. A Town Called Solace has been out in the US since February, but not one of th..."

I know GY! It was bound to happen sooner or later.

I'm going to comment before reading any of this thread or anyone else's reviews. I did not like this book. It was, for me, rather trite. The storylines were poorly connected. The audiobook was well done though, with three different narrators. Now off to see what others thought!

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I have not finished this yet, but so far (about two thirds) I can't see it making the shortlist - pleasant enough but nothing special

Thus far (36% into the novel) I much prefer the company Klara over Clara, but otherwise this is, as Hugh says, a pleasant read. Maybe child protagonists are my pet peeve.

I am hoping neither K/Clara advance to the shortlist.

I've just finished this and find myself agreeing with Hugh and Tommi. This is a "nice" book and so completely inoffensive that I felt I had to give it 3 stars because it doesn't deserve anyone being nasty to it. But it's very safe and, for me, a little dull.

My copy arrived today.

I’m a few hours into the audio version of this. It seems rather light, particularly on the heels of the excellent Passage North, but I’ll withhold judgment until I finish.