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Crow Lake
by: Mary Lawson

List Price: £7.99

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Used Price: £1.26
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Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780099429326
ISBN: 0099429322
Label: Vintage
Manufacturer: Vintage
Number Of Pages: 304
Publication Date: February 06, 2003
Publisher: Vintage
Studio: Vintage
Sales Rank: 5105

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Editorial Review:

Amazon.co.uk Review:
Canadian writer Mary Lawson's debut novel is a beautifully crafted and shimmering tale of love, death and redemption set in the eponymous Crow Lake, an isolated rural community where time has stood still. Narrated by 26-year-old Kate Morrison, we dive in and out of the troubled woman's childhood memories over the passage of a year--when she was seven and her parents were killed in a motoring accident, leaving Kate, her younger sister Bo and two older brothers Matt and Luke orphaned. The proverbial can of worms is opened for our heroine when she receives an invitation to Matt's son's 18th birthday. The successful zoologist and professor, so accustomed to dissecting everything through a microscope, must suddenly analyse her own relationship and come to terms with her past before she forsakes a future with the man she loves. She 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 own lives with earth-shattering consequences. One dark night, a shivering Laurie, Pye's only son, stands mute in their porchlight, straining to share something with them but, startled, turns and runs away. The many strange, longing looks which pass between Matt and Marie, Pye's eldest daughter. And the awful night when Marie stands in their doorway whispering unspeakable horrors. In Kate's eyes, the Pye family drown out the hopes and dreams of her own in that one moment. But does the tragedy really lie in the past or is it in 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 the reader's consciousness long after the last page is turned. --Nicola Perry

Customer Reviews

Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating:

- Charming book
This is one of those feel-good books that's great to read on holiday. It tells the story of two teenage brothers who are left to bring up their younger sisters after their parents are killed, and it's very well done, heart-warming and better written than many similar efforts. There are no great moments of dramatic tension, the story moves along at a good pace though, and I have to say that it's the younger sister, Bo, who steals the show. I preferred reading about her and older brother Luke than about the two main characters, Katie and Matt. The whole story hangs on Katie's disappoinment with a choice made by Matt, and to be honest, when the revelation comes, you can't help feeling rather frustrated with Katie. Still it's a lovely story.

Rating:

- lacks any depth
I completely disagree with the blurb on this one. It is dreadfully written and has no depth whatsoever. I was unable to identify with any of the characters and the only part of the family life I could really understand was the will to achieve. I couldn't work out why Kate couldn't bring herself to speak to her older brother Matt years after their family tragedy. Even once the author revealed this it still didn't seem quite right.

The blurb informs you of this slow burning story, well for me it didn't even get ignited, let alone burn slowly. I found Kate, the narrator of the story a dreadful character. It wasn't even the lack of empathy she exhibited but she was simply awful. I can't see why she had to be written this way ... Read More:

Rating:

- frustrating to read!
I have never been so frustrated while reading a book as I was with this one! All the way through this book I was trying to figure out what year it was taking place in...which ruined any chance of actually enjoying it. The story was OK and if I am being honest a little boring. I only finished it because I paid for it. Do not buy this book, if you must read it go to your local library and check it out.

Rating:

- Crow Lake
This book gives a real sense of time and place with wonderful descriptions of rugged countryside and extreme weather. The story is based around a struggling family, and through the different strands of the story, it is apparant throughout that Matt for some reason fails to fulfill his sister Kate's idea of his potential. There are no great plot twists, but this doesn't stop it being a really good read. It is almost worth reading for Luke and Bo alone.

Rating:

- 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 ... Read More:

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