I actually got to audition for the audiobook version of this book, which was awesome. I fell in love with the characters from the first page. I bought the book as soon as it was released, and the final cover was absolutely stunning! There's just something about how Mary Lawson writes these character's that makes you want to comfort them. I can't wait to see what's next for this author.
I've been recommending this novel to so many people!

Ms. Mary Lawson you did it again!

Wow! What a story and heartbreaking topic yet still allowing us to feel invested in the characters. Not easy topics to tackle, missing sibling, death of a friend and a family barely hanging on.

What a great hook and one I will highly recommend!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this copy.

I liked the alternating points of view used to tell this story and I love how the story came full circle with Liam, Mrs. Orchard, and Clara all sharing a bond. It is always fun reading a book with cities you have lived in or visited and even better when they are Canadian towns and it is written by a Canadian author.

Looking forward to reading more books from Mary Lawson in the future.

Rating: 3.5

A surprising book to appear on a Booker long list, this novel isn’t quite literary fiction. Set in 1972, it mostly concerns the friendship of a recently divorced 35-year-old Toronto accountant, the introverted Liam, new to the (fictional) northern-Ontario town of Solace, and a seven-year-old girl, Clara, whose teenage sister, Rose, has run away from home and is thought to be in danger in Toronto. Liam is in Solace because he inherited the house of Clara’s elderly neighbour, Mrs. Elizabeth Orchard. Clara has been caring for the widow’s cat, Moses, unaware that his owner has died of heart failure in hospital. Looking after Moses has been Clara’s only distraction from her worry and grief over her missing sister. It doesn’t take too long before the emotionally wounded Liam and the distressed girl meet. It is, of course, a meeting that will change both of them. Yes, it is that sort of book.

Over thirty years before, Elizabeth and her husband Charles, themselves childless, had taken Liam in for a time. The boy’s mother, who had never properly bonded with him, was overwhelmed by caring for her four other children (all girls, two sets of twins). When Liam’s family had moved into the neighbourhood, Elizabeth was psychologically fragile, having suffered several miscarriages. Her husband had been concerned—for good reason— about her having become too attached to another woman’s child. <spoiler>She ended up abducting the boy from his bed at night and driving around the countryside for the better part of the next 24 hours until being pulled over and charged by police. She would end up spending a year in a Toronto reformatory for women.</spoiler>

While the past is a significant part of Elizabeth’s story. Lawson’s book is propelled by two main questions:
(1) Will Rose be found alive, ending her family’s, and especially Clara’s, terrible distress?
(2) Will Liam stay in Solace? His original plan, after all, had been to come there only to lick his wounds and to sell Elizabeth Orchard’s house.

Lawson employs three points of view: Clara’s, Liam’s, and Elizabeth’s. To my mind the chapters from the third-person points of view of the child and the man are the most successful. By contrast, the first-person “Elizabeth” chapters, in which the elderly woman engages in an extended internal monologue directed at her dead husband, whom she believes she will be joining soon, are a bit too sentimental. Charles is regularly addressed, not by name but by such terms of endearment as “my love” and “dear one”. I don’t think this authorial decision worked well to convey the couple’s obviously complex marital history.

In an afterward, Lawson thanks people who provided her with details about policing and home building in 1970s northern Ontario. While the author seems to have got those details right, the fact that shes’s not lived in Ontario for years and years (but in the UK) shows in her word choice. Ontarians don’t have “rows”; they have fights or arguments. Cigarettes are not “fags” in Canada; in the 1970s (and even now) this was/is a derogatory term for gay men. Finally, doctors who train longer to gain expertise and board certification in a particular medical field are known here as “specialists” not “consultants”. While I’m at it, I’ll also add that Mrs. Orchard’s long drive with the abducted Liam was a little hard to credit. Many people did not own cars in the late 1930s and early 1940s, and women did not commonly drive during those decades. (As some of Alice Munro’s early stories show, horses were still being used for heavy labour on farms even after the war.)

I enjoyed this novel enough to complete it. It’s readable, undemanding, and warm. I particularly appreciated the depiction of Clara, which felt true. The adults? I had a little more trouble buying into their dilemmas. Complexity and nuance are lacking.

Mary Lawson's prose is perfection!
A Town Called Solace is about ordinary (slightly flawed) people in a Northern Ontario community from the point of view of three different people; a man, a child and an elderly woman. It's an engaging story about relationships, sometimes very dark and sometimes very funny.
Clara is a character that will stay with me for a very long time.
This beautifully written novel was an absolute delight to read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada/Knopf Canada for a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Well worth the wait for this latest offering from Mary Lawson. Another novel set in a fictional Northern Ontario town and set in the 1970s. This book follows three characters: Elizabeth, the elderly neighbor whose failing health causes her to move into a nursing home; Clara, the 8 year old next door who promises to take care of her cat and who is also keeping watch for the return of her missing older sister; and Liam, a recently divorced man from Toronto who mysteriously moves into Elizabeth’s house. Over the course of the book we come to learn how these three character’s lives intertwine. I really identified with Elizabeth, especially her early life in Guelph and her struggles with motherhood. I loved learning more of hers and Liam’s connection as the story unfolds. Lawson is a master at the heartfelt, character-driven novel and this was no exception! I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it for any Mary Lawson fans or people who love a good CanLit novel

Every now and then you read a book, a quiet book, that finds an opening deep in your heart, and wedges itself in so deeply that when you finally leave its pages, you find yourself still reeling from your emotional response to the world of its characters.

This is a book about Solace, (a sparsely populated fictional town in remote and chilly Northern Ontario), but it’s really about “solace” - the noun. According to Webster, the definition of solace is 1. To give comfort to in grief or misfortune, to console.

The heart of this book revolves around the three main characters we meet and come to love, - each of them, as a POV character, allowing us inside to see (and feel) their pain and corresponding need for deep, all-encompassing solace.

Liam - a stranger in town, en-route from the big city, is isolated, achingly unloved and socially adrift, all the more alienated as Liam is also going through a painful divorce.

Elizabeth - elderly and ill, Elizabeth is a widow with a tragic and heartbreaking trail of grief and loss that has defined her past, but from which, we learn, she may yet find solace.

And finally, Clara - an odd but totally charming eight year old who trusts no-one and enacts her own desperate tactics to prevent her young life from fracturing upon the sudden disappearance of her sixteen year old sister.

These are some of the most endearing and quietly real characters I’ve encountered in a long while. The pace of this book builds completely around them, moving like a Canadian version of the “soft pull” you will find in an Anne Tyler story.

I couldn’t have enjoyed this book more, and (no spoilers here), I cried several times as the finale wound its way to its (totally satisfying) conclusion.

A great big thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for an advance review copy of this book. All thoughts presented are my own.

It has been about eight years since Mary Lawson’s last book. A Town Called Solace was definitely worth the wait.
The story is told from three different points of view. First we have Clara a spirited young girl. Sadly her older sister Rose has gone missing putting the family into turmoil. Clara keeps a nightly vigil at the front window hoping to be the first to see Rose upon her return.
Next we have Mrs. Orchard who lives next door to Clara and her family. Clara likes to make frequent visits to see Mrs. Orchard and her cat Moses. Not well, Mrs. Orchard goes for what is to be a short stay in the hospital. Clara has been left in charge of feeding Moses.
Finally Liam is our third voice. Liam is in his thirties, recently divorced and has quit his job. At loose ends Liam decides to head to north. Much to Clara’s dismay Liam moves into Mrs. Orchard’s house.
Clara doesn’t understand why Liam is living next door, why Mrs. Orchard hasn’t been released from the hospital and why her sister hasn’t come home.
The connections and stories of all three characters is slowly and beautifully revealed.
I loved A Town Called Solace. The characters are well drawn and engaging. Even though I have not experienced small town living, the people and spirit of Solace rings true. The ending was not a “happily ever after” one but it answered enough questions to keep the reader satisfied.
I hope to see A Town Called Solace on some short lists this fall. Highly recommended.
Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for providing an advanced digital edition of this book.
#ATownCalledSolace
#NetGalley

Opening a new Mary Lawson book is like getting a warm hug. In these times of COVID this is especially welcome in that hugs are few and far between.
The characters and the story draw the reader in immediately. One of my favourite things about Mary Lawson titles is that the sense of place is described so well that it becomes a character in the story.

It's been awhile since Mary Lawson has published a book, but she has not lost her deft touch. Her characters are so real, whether they be an angry teenager, a recently divorced 30 something or a dying woman, they are all fully realised. I have been reading so much "auto-fiction" it was a wonderful change to read about beautifully written story of family told from all sides.

I love Mary Lawson's writing and story telling. She knows how to tug at my heartstrings without leaving me feeling manipulated. A Town Called Solace in no exception. Set in the early 1970s, in a small town in northern Ontario, this is a beautiful story -- full of sadness, things left unsaid, people trying to be kind and people trapped by the limits of their own personalities and circumstances. The story is told from three points of view. Clara is seven years old and is worried about her sister Rose's recent disappearance. Elizabeth, Clara's neighbour, tells her story from her hospital bed as she lies dying. Liam moves into Elizabeth's house, with his own complicated baggage. There's a beautiful symmetry in the connection between these three characters. The story telling is low key but the emotions are intense. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read an advance copy.

A book about waiting and believing that life although difficult at times can also be rewarding . This book talks about sadness and grief on various levels. There is the sadness young Clara experiences when her teenage sister Rose becomes a runaway and when her older next door neighbor Mrs. Orchad dies after a hospital stay. Clara also sees the anguish her sister’s departure has on her mother and father. Young Clara struggles to handle this grief and sadness. There is the old Mrs. Orchard grieving the young Mrs. Orchard who was not able to have children but attached herself to young Liam , a next door neighbor’s child. Then there is the grief she experienced when this child moved suddenly and what happened after. In her dying days Mrs.Orchard reminisces about this child and also her dead husband. Then there is Liam , the middle aged man who grieves his marriage gone sour and the legacy of Mrs.Orchard. These three characters find solace in their sadness and see evidence that happiness and love can also be found .

I enjoyed this novel & would give it 3.5 stars. I liked the exploration of these three different characters' lives in this small town in northern Ontario & I thought the story was interesting. I particularly liked the way the plot was interwoven through three voices & came together in the end. I sometimes felt like the timeline didn't quite work in that a character might be sharing their experience of an event that another character had described a chapter or two before. I thought this was a pretty gentle novel overall & would be a good book to cozy up to on a cold day. I don't know why but I kept wondering what the story might be like if Liam's character had been a woman...
Thanks to PRH & Netgalley for providing me with an arc.

Solace (verb): to give comfort to in grief or misfortune
Solace (noun): comfort in grief; alleviation of grief or anxiety; a source of relief or consolation

The dictionary provided all those definitions for solace and each one applies to the characters in this novel. Mary Lawson paints a vivid picture of the town of Solace and the people in this fictitious town in Northern Ontario. It didn't feel fictitious and I could relate to Elizabeth, Liam and Clare's sorrow. Elizabeth is in the hospital and it's apparent from the beginning she's not going to be going home, Liam is the man going through a divorce who Elizabeth has left everything to including her house. Clare is the young girl next door who Elizabeth has asked to take care of her cat Moses while she's in the hospital. Clare is also in distress waiting for her runaway sister to return home. Clare is an inquisitive child smart beyond her years and by descriptions you can see she has OCD tendencies. There are a few secondary characters in the story and they all play a role in how everything plays out. Small towns are unique in that everyone knows everything about the other (whether you want them to or not). All lives are intertwined and that's how it was with Elizabeth, Liam and Clare they all played a part in how each came together in some way. I loved this book and the mysterious air it had. It kept me turning the pages as I wanted to know how everything would turn out. Another Mary Lawson novel I'm happy to have read.
Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Random House Canada and Knopf Canada for the ARC in exchange for my unbiased view.

I loved Mary Lawson’s three previous novels (Crow Lake, The Other Side of the Bridge, and Road Ends) so was thrilled to see a new title. A Town Called Solace does not disappoint.

Set in 1972 in northeastern Ontario, this book gives the perspectives of three people. Seven-year-old Clara keeps a daily vigil at her front window hoping for the return of her sister Rose who has run away. One day she notices a man moving into the house of the neighbor, Elizabeth Orchard. Clara promised to take care of Mrs. Orchard’s cat while she was in hospital. The man who moves in is Liam Cane who has been gifted the house by Mrs. Orchard whom he hasn’t seen in 30 years.

Each of the three main characters is facing a crisis. Clara is missing her sister and believes her parents are lying to her, and then she has to contend with the man who has moved in. Liam is recently divorced and unemployed and is trying to figure out what he should do with his life. Elizabeth, in hospital, thinks back over her life and slowly remembers what happened between her and Liam so many years ago.

Characterization is outstanding. Clara, for instance, is portrayed so realistically. Because of her age, her understanding of events is limited. She is anxious about her missing sister and believes her parents are lying to her when they are merely trying to protect her from some harsh realities. Clara desperately wants some order in the chaos that is her world. Liam and Elizabeth’s actions show them to be less than perfect. Some of what Elizabeth did in the past is difficult to accept, but given her circumstances, the reader cannot but have some sympathy.

All three of the main characters are dynamic. Clara learns to trust as she struggles with understanding the consequences of keeping promises and secrets. Liam has many regrets about his past but learns that second chances are possible. Martha faces what she did in the past and tries to make amends as best she can at the end of her life.

There is considerable suspense. Where is Rose and is she safe? Concern increases as time passes and no one has heard from her. Elizabeth has secrets which she admits having spent half her life trying to suppress and a past she fears her friends and neighbours might learn about. These secrets have something to do with Liam but the exact nature of them is unclear at first.

There is also humour. Liam, as the newcomer in town, receives the cold shoulder treatment from the waitress at the only café in town. Clara’s activities in Liam’s house cannot but bring a smile. Then there’s the comment by Martha who shares the hospital room with Elizabeth. Martha objects to getting an injection by saying “’I hate having things stuck into me . . . I didn’t even like sex all that much.’”

I lived in northeastern Ontario for 35 years, having moved there 7 years later than the novel’s setting, so I enjoyed the references to places like North Bay, Sudbury and New Liskeard. Though Solace is a fictional town, the author clearly indicates where she imagines it is located. Liam, for example, picks up the local newspaper: “It was called the Temiskaming Speaker and was published in New Liskeard – he’d driven through New Liskeard on his way here, a small northern town, though a metropolis compared to Solace.” The mention of “quart baskets of blueberries” brought back memories of berry picking in the region she describes.

One issue I had is the time frame. When the narrative switches to another person, it is initially unclear whether the time continues. Several times, Clara’s point of view is given over a period of several days; then when Liam’s perspective is given, it covers some of these same days. This back and forth is confusing at times. Elizabeth’s stay in the hospital does not occur during Clara and Liam’s sections, but that is not a problem. (I must also mention the 31 references to cookies. Did everyone in 1972 eat cookies so much?)

I very much enjoyed this book. It is a beautifully written story with a strong plot and realistic characters. It also develops themes clearly but not in a heavy-handed way. I’m certain more than a few readers will find some solace in reading A Town Called Solace.

Note: I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

I didn’t particularly enjoy this book. It was very dry, and not overly plot driven or even character driven. It seemed like there was a lot of irrelevant information that didn’t really help the plot. The only thing I can really seem to gather is that Liam’s adult life has begun to mirror his own childhood. Whereas his home is the safe haven, and a child feels safe in it, just like his neighbours home was his safe haven when he was young.

Mary Lawson is a Canadian author, although she now lives in the UK. This is her fourth novel and like the others ("Crow Lake", "The Other Side of the Bridge" and "Road Ends") this one is set in northern Ontario. The story is told from the point of view of three characters. Clara is a 7-year-old girl whose teenage sister has run away. Mrs. Orchard is an elderly neighbour who is in the hospital. She was friendly with Clara and Clara is feeding her cat. Liam is a divorced man who has moved into Mrs. Orchard's house. The impact these three people have on each others lives is the basis for the plot. This charming story, that has both humour and drama, reminded me a little of the works of Fredrik Backman and would be a great recommendation for his fans and anyone who enjoys good Canadian fiction. I really enjoyed it.

I loved Mary Lawson’s 2002 novel, Crow Lake, and so was very excited to receive an ARC for her latest, A Town Called Solace. This is a warm-hearted story about family, relationships and the connections we form and how they can provide solace and hope.

Set in a small town in Northern Ontario, the story is told from three viewpoints: a seven year old girl, Clara, whose older sister runs away from home, an elderly neighbor, Elizabeth, who is in the hospital for tests, and a mysterious young man, Liam, who moves into Elizabeth’s home while she is away. Throughout the course of the novel, the lives of these characters intersect and each helps the other cope with the challenges they face. Particularly heartwarming is the relationship between Liam, who is emotionally shut off, and Clara, who worms her way into his heart. The characters were engaging and the writing flowed beautifully. This is a wonderful novel and I am so glad I read it.

Thanks to Penguin Random House Canada and Knopf Canada for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I've been a huge fan of Mary Lawson's since Crow Lake. Her writing is elegant and understated.

A Town Called Solace is a character-driven story of love, friendship, family, and community. Told from three different perspectives—a child, a young man, and an old lady—it is a character-driven story that is perfect for book clubs,

Gorgeous, haunting, moving. A Town Called Solace is a must-read that will linger with its reader long after the last page is turned.

Reading a book by Mary Lawson is like enjoying time with a friend. A Town called Solace is her first book in several years so it was like a reunion with an old friend.

The story is told by 3 people. Clara is a little 7-year-old girl whose older sister has run away. Mrs. Orchard is the neighbour next door who has asked Clara to mind her cat while she goes to the hospital. Liam is the stranger who shows up while Mrs. Orchard is away and makes himself at home in her home.

Right from the beginning, there is an undercurrent that all is not right. From previous books, I know it will be a while before we get to find out what that undercurrent is. It is subtle, but it is there. Written in simple language, it's easy to get drawn into each of their stories and watch them develop.

It's a hard book to describe. There's no real action or huge plot developments. It's the 3 characters coming to terms with their lives. For Mrs. Orchard and Liam, it is the past. They are dealing with. For little Clara, it is coping with the disappearance of her older sister. Each narration is interesting. Each narration comes to its own conclusion. It so well written that I became totally involved with their lives.

I love the fact that the author is Canadian. As in her previous books, the setting is Northern Ontario. While the town of Solace is fictional there does exist Solace Provincial Park in the same vicinity, where the town would be located. Other existing towns are mentioned, some of which I have visited.

The ending was good, but, I want to know what happens afterward. I think this book could easily have a sequel.

While this is not my absolute favourite book by Mary Lawson, I did enjoy it very, very much. I hope I don't have to wait as long for her next one. People talk about “comfort food”. I feel that this author's books are “comfort reading”!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an Advance Readers Copy.