Yesterday was book club, and it was my turn to do the book review. The book was Crow Lake by Mary Lawson. Our books come from our local library's book club club, so the librarians select the books and send a dozen copies home with our 'representative' to distribute among the book club members. We have book buddies that we share our book with. It's a great program because no one gets blamed if the book is unliked. (Speaking of not liking a book, I selected a book once and reviewed it with great enthusiasm. But I think I was the only person who cared for it, and that was embarrassing. I still remember - it was Letters to an American Lady by C. S. Lewis.
So, back to Crow Lake. I read, studied, googled, and prepared to review this mostly lovely, kind of complicated, nicely-written-but-full-of-literary-devices, heartwarming, frustrating book.
It is Lawson's first novel and won several awards. It is set in northern Ontario and Toronto, Canada. Her descriptions of the land and countryside are beautifully written. The story is about family and tragedy and traditions and guilt and love. The story is filled with characters we can all identify with. It is at times very sad but also hopeful. I liked the book, but I can tell you that most of our Book Club LOVED the book. So that's a good recommendation.
p.s. I own the book, so if you'd like to borrow it, just let me know.
Also: Lawson has a new book called Road Ends that will be out this summer.
