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.

" 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.

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...

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.

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 laqual s’explica la història de quatre germans units per una tragèdia que ha marcat les seves vides i els seus somnis. En un paratge idíl·lic del nord d’Ontario anomenat Crow Lake, els germans Morrison -dedivuit anys el més gran i d’un la petita Bo- decideixen mantenir-se units i créixer junts malgrat les dificultats i les pressions de la petita i despietada comunitat rural que els envolta.Amb un estil que arrossega des de la primera línia, Mary Lawson ens presenta una captivadora novel·la sobre l’amor, la culpa i el sacrifici, en què es dóna una gran importància al xoc entre la vella moral del deure i l’esforç i la nova ètica que preconitza la realització dels desitjos personals de cadascú.

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.

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.

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.