Reviews

A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson

kathaleeeeen's review against another edition

fast-paced

4.5

sarahay's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Reviews
A trio of narratives weaves the story of Liam amid a chorus of women. Good looking but determinedly detached Liam at first seems unfathomable and it takes a while to realise this book is actually all about him. The novel opens with Clara whose older teenage sister is missing. Like the others, she is an isolated character with her mother sleeping her way through the crisis while she stands at the window, watching for her sister and observing all that goes on next door. Next Elizabeth, the elderly neighbour, reflects from her hospital bed as she lies dying. She had been a kindergarten teacher but gave up her career, stricken by the grief caused by her own miscarriages. There are hints of some notoriety in her past, but exactly what has she done and how may it have involved Liam? He is first seen by Clara, right at the start, “stealing” his way into Elizabeth’s house next door. Cherished by Elizabeth as a small child, if not by his own mum when their family “full of females” were neighbours, can he snap out of his indecisive paralysis now that he is the sole benefactor of her will and has he left his own life behind?

In the same way that a novella can be an easily enjoyable but unmemorable read, the first half of this book flew by and felt too cooly detached, just like the characters. We were coming to these lives at such a particular moment, and being given a hint rather than a description of life in Solace with winter approaching. I raced through pages which seemed to gain little traction, feeling I could relate to Liam’s repeated determination to be out of there before the first snowflake hits the ground. 

But about 2/3 of the way through, Liam starts to be unavoidably immersed into Solace’s life. The one decision he makes is to respect Elizabeth‘s deteriorating house before selling it and so he finds himself up on the roof, surveying the stunning landscape with wider perspective. The only way to get the repairs done is by helping the local carpenter with his workload and although he continues to resist the community’s attempts to befriend him, he is stuck up there listening to Jim’s family issues. Resonant bells begin to be struck, here it is in the contrast with his own experience- there’s a wide world out there but young people just don’t want to leave. When Clara needs to “trust somebody”, she chooses the outsider Liam and the resonance he feels here in Elizabeth’s house, finally overcomes his reluctance to integrate. Confiding to the Sergeant in order to help her, he is chuffed to become on first name terms with him; by the warm stove in his messy home and to the soundtrack of High Noon playing in another room, the tone of the book finally starts to warm up, just as winter approaches.

I had been expecting the richness that comes from the intimate observation of an Anne Tyler or even Graham Norton, given that their generous praise is quoted on the cover, and it came. Ironically a key player as we melt into this part of the story is the rock hard vanilla ice cream requiring a chisel, made by the librarian. Special mention should also go to Moses, the scarpering cat who twists amid boxes that are packed/ unpacked/ packed again as Liam finally decides his fate.

bcgg's review against another edition

4.0

This is not a book that shouts at you, keeps you on the edge of your seat or would be called a blockbuster. It is a quiet book with precise wording that feels like something familiar. A small town feel throughout.
I enjoyed it.

krunde1126's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

amilabell's review against another edition

emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

saraholiver's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

margardenlady's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Sweet story of longing and found family.  We follow three separate narrators as they navigate how to go on with their lives. The youngest is a 7 yr old who is feeding a neighbor's cat while the neighbor is in hospital.  Then we have a young man whose marriage has failed and who has quit his job in the city. The third is the elderly neighbor who owns the cat. We eventually see that each of them has suffered heartbreak and worry, and that their lives are loosely connected. As the story progresses, each of the characters provides backstory and wrestles with current choices. Not a lot of action, but lives are changed.

backtoearths's review against another edition

hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

livbr0wn's review

emotional hopeful relaxing sad medium-paced

4.0

dadadu10's review against another edition

sad slow-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.75