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A Town Called Solace

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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2021.

Clara's sister is missing. Angry, rebellious Rose had a row with their mother, stormed out of the house and simply disappeared. Eight-year-old Clara, isolated by her distraught parents' efforts to protect her from the truth, is grief-stricken and bewildered.

Liam Kane, newly divorced, newly unemployed, newly arrived in this small northern town, moves into the house next door, a house left to him by an old woman he can barely remember and within hours gets a visit from the police. It seems he's suspected of a crime.

At the end of her life Elizabeth Orchard is thinking about a crime too, one committed 30 years ago that had tragic consequences for two families and in particular for one small child. She desperately wants to make amends before she dies.

Set in Northern Ontario in 1972, A Town Called Solace explores the relationships of these three people brought together by fate and the mistakes of the past. By turns gripping and darkly funny, it uncovers the layers of grief and remorse and love that connect us, but shows that sometimes a new life is possible.

©2021 Mary Lawson (P)2021 Penguin Audio Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Small Town & Rural Tear-jerking Heartfelt Inspiring Thought-Provoking Crime

Critic reviews

"I've been trying to tell everyone I know about Mary Lawson.... Each one of her novels is just a marvel." (Anne Tyler)

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The most charming and subtly moving book I have listened to in a while. I intend to gift it to my daughter and several friends

Simply wonderful

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I found myself engrossed in the human dilemmas in this story, a group of characters all struggling to make sense of a difficult world. The quality of the performances added to the enjoyment. I will be exploring more by the writer.

Story telling at it's best

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excellent narration of this very moving novel. set in northetn canada, it interferes the lives of a child a youngish man and an elderly dying woman

subtle moving story of loss love and yearning

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Warm hearted story, excellently narrated. Enjoyed it very much. Nothing deep and meaningful but a good page turner nonetheless

A warm hearted story

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I started listening to this book because it’s on the Booker long list (even though not all Booker long list books make brilliant listening) and for the first chapter or two I wasn’t sure. But then, like the town of Solace, it pulled me into it. And I didn’t want it to stop. The three narrators were each brilliant. (Could they be asked to read Robertson Davies books? That’s a catalogue I’d love to hear.) And the writing is deft; writing so precisely, so gently, is such a skill. I’ll be looking for more of Mary Lawson’s books. Now which long list book will I turn to next?

One of the best audiobooks for a long time

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