Apologia

Mary Lawson, author of Crow Lake, is an extraordinary author who has managed to write a true Canadian classic. Crow Lake is a well written Canadian classic that it sure to stand the test of time. As a woman who grew up in the Canadian north, Lawson is able to realistically and expertly describe life in a small rural town. Lawson respects her audience by creating “a community without ever giving in to the Leacockian impulse to poke fun at small-town ways, instead showing respect to lives shaped by hard work and starved for physical comfort.” (Garvie). To those Canadians with similar childhoods to the Morrison’s, Crow Lake serves as an incredibly relatable book. However, Crow Lake is an appealing book for anyone, regardless of their environment. Perhaps Lawson’s largest gift is her ability to describe incredibly real and intrinsic characters who you never doubt, and who you always empathize with. Clearly, Lawson knows her characters well, and does not allow the plot to control them. Joanne Harris, author of Chocolat described Crow Lake as is “a remarkable novel, utterly gripping and yet highly literate, written in such a fresh, believable voice that I had to keep reminding myself that this was fiction. I read it in a single sitting (almost unheard of!), then I read it again, just for the pleasure of it. I await her next work with eagerness (and a little envy)." (Harris). Another one of Mary Lawson’s qualities is her ability to carefully play out the plot with perfect timing allowing the characters to progress very realistically and the reader to remain intrigued. Mary Lawson is a wonderful author, who has written a book with heart. Crow Lake is a timeless novel, because the essence of the book is the development and relationships of the characters, not the plot itself. The human traits of the Morrison children explore situations that will always be relevant. The emotions and feelings the characters experience are ones that have been felt for hundreds of years and will be felt for hundreds more. Because of the beautiful character evolution and beautifully written plot and landscape description, Crow Lake is likely to stick around for a long time. As Publishers Weekly reviewed, "Lawson delivers a potent combination of powerful character writing and gorgeous description of the land. Her sense of pace and timing is impeccable throughout, and she uses dangerous winter weather brilliantly to increase the tension as the family battles to survive. This is a vibrant, resonant novel by a talented writer whose lyrical, evocative writing invites comparisons to Rick Bass and Richard Ford." (Publishers Weekly). Mary Lawson is an author to watch because she is able to write a simple and realistic story that neverless grips the reader. Crow Lake reminds us of the importance of education, the fight to find and keep love, and most importantly the value of family. Family is one of the heaviest themes in Crow Lake, and rightfully so. Family is a timeless topic that will always have an audience. No matter how much time goes past, readers will still find Crow Lake a refreshing story of the importance of family and for that reason alone it will stand the test of time as a Canadian classic. Mary Lawson holds the ability to make the ordinary extraordinary. A seemingly ordinary story of a girl from Northern Ontario becomes a highly relatable and suspenseful story that explores the qualities that make us human. A spectacular first novel by Mary Lawson, Crow Lake will continue to defy expectations for generation of loyal readers. While she might be a late bloomer; Mary Lawson has found her voice in Canadian literature and is likely to continue to build her reputation as an emotive and timeless Canadian novelist.