Book Club: A Town Called Solace

We had a lively and well-attended Book Club meeting at Hanami in March, where we discussed A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson. As someone who has very much liked all of Lawson’s novels, I was delighted to introduce this one. She has only published four books, but each is a gem, set in fictional towns in rural Canada, and all concerned with people’s lives, families and communities.

This novel is narrated by three distinct voices, each adding layers of depth to the story. First, we meet Clara, an eight-year-old girl burdened with worry for her elderly neighbour, Elizabeth Orchard (who is away in hospital for longer than expected), and even more for her 16-year-old sister, Rose, who has run away from home. Then there’s Liam, a young man who mysteriously appears at Elizabeth’s house and starts behaving as if he owns it (which, we later learn, he does). Finally, we hear from Elizabeth herself, who is in the hospital, nearing the end of her life. 

One of the many joys of the book is its careful plotting: as the story unfolds, we discover how these three lives intertwine, revealing a poignant and sometimes painful backstory that binds them together. There is plenty of gentle humour—for instance about Elizabeth's elusive cat, and Clara and Liam's confusion about what each other is doing in Elizabeth's house—and several of the town's people are depicted with great affection, including the policeman and the local builder, but there is also a strong undercurrent of anxiety, danger and mystery. 

Our discussion touched on a variety of thought-provoking questions. Could we trust or forgive Elizabeth for her past actions? Was Liam self-absorbed or simply shy and socially awkward? And what about Liam’s mother—was she truly as cold and unloving as Elizabeth described? I was inclined to believe her account as largely true, but others in the group regarded her as an unreliable narrator. We also had issues with the parenting of both Liam and Clara, which may be one reason why the author chose to set the book in 1972, with its major backstory unfolding in wartime 1942. Other possible reasons might be how much more difficult it would have been to track down a runaway and liaise with Toronto police in a time without the internet or mobile phones, or how attitudes toward crime and punishment have evolved since the 1940s.

As you may have gathered, I love this book and its characters, and others were less taken or more critical. However, we were all in agreement about one thing—the clever plotting and the compelling nature of the story made for a truly engaging discussion.

Until next time—happy reading!