‘Road Ends’ by Mary Lawson       (2013) –  311 pages

Well, I finally did it, and I’m very happy that I did. I have now read all four of the consequential novels written by Canadian/English author Mary Lawson.

Although Lawson has lived in England a long time, all of her novels take place in Canada, her childhood home. The Cartwright family of ‘Road Ends’ live in the small town of Struan in northern Ontario, but the daughter Megan does move to London, England where much of the novel does take place.

Megan is the glue that holds the large family in Canada together. When Megan decides to begin a life of her own in London, her Cartwright family falls apart. Megan makes an outstanding success of herself in London, but she still gets worrisome reports from back home.

Megan gets a letter from her father saying that her mother Emily is expecting another baby.

“Her mother wouldn’t be able to cope. The place would be utter chaos.”

After the birth of her eighth baby, mother Emily’s only interest is the newborn baby, and she neglects everything and everyone else. Four year-old Adam must fend for himself.

Edward, the father, a successful bank manager, is rather a cold fish at home.  Usually he is immersed in his own reading and tries to avoid disturbances from his large family. When a neighbor tells the oldest son Tom who lives at home how helpful Edward was at the bank, Tom muses,

“Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde, Tom thought bitterly. Maybe he should make an appointment to see his father at the bank. That way he might get ten minutes of his time.”

Son Tom has his own problems which prevent him from helping his family much. His best friend has committed suicide after a drunk driving incident killed a young girl. Maintaining one’s sense of well-being when faced with the vicissitudes of every day life is more difficult than one would think. However at home when Tom sees his little brother Adam wandering around the house going hungry, Tom does open a can of beans for him.

Here is a novel that can make the everyday life in a small town seem dramatic, important, and meaningful. There are not many authors who can write a long vivid novel that maintains one’s total interest and enthusiasm throughout. Mary Lawson has now written four of them.

Grade :    A

‘The Other Side of the Bridge’ by Mary Lawson       (2006) – 294 pages

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It can happen. Two brothers with the same mother and the same father can be very different from each other. It probably happens more often than we like to think.

Two opposite brothers – Arthur and Jake Dunn – living on a farm in northern Ontario, Canada are the basis for Mary Lawson’s compelling novel ‘The Other Side of the Bridge’. Arthur, the older brother, follows in his farmer father’s footsteps. He works on the dairy farm all day long and enjoys it. His parents appreciate all the work he does for the farm. Arthur has little use for school or anything else.

His younger brother Jake had a difficult birth, and their mother had a complicated pregnancy. Jake has always been his mother’s favorite. Jake avoids farm work as much as possible, and his mother sides with him and believes his excuses. Jake is a much better student at school than Arthur ever was. Jake is also better looking, and girls are attracted to him. Whereas Arthur is very much honest, dull, and a straight shooter, Jake will tell lies when it is to his own advantage.

“Jake’s lies were far more convincing than the truth.”

The arrangement of the story in ‘The Other Side of the Bridge’ is quite unique. There are two strands to the story. One strand takes place in the 1930s when the two brothers are still boys. The other strand takes place twenty years later, in the 1950s, when their father has died, and Arthur is now running the farm. This second strand to the story is told from the perspective of the town doctor’s son, Ian Christopherson, who has come to work on Arthur’s farm. Ian is also from a difficult family situation as his mother has left him and his father to be with another man.

‘The Other Side of the Bridge’ was very affecting for me. The intensity of the drama here is at a Shakespearean level. Yes, modern stories, if told the right way, can be that dramatic. Author Mary Lawson is a writer whose novels I trust to create a compelling story. The only problem is now I must read all of her novels.

Grade :   A