Solace in Winter

New novel from renowned author Mary Lawson

It is was such a pleasure to read this novel - set in a place and time of uneasiness in North American history in the shadow of the ongoing Vietnam war. It tells the tale of Chris Hansen, who is a draft-dodger and on his way in a car in Canada has a car accident causing terrible injuries to his leg and body. 

Jack Gallagher finds Chris and takes him to the local vet who administers pain relief before he can go to a doctor in a major hospital. The vet convinces Jack to nurse Chris until his health returns and he can move along.

The introduction of Chris into the story is a jolt of the real, the book starts with Jack adopting Lola (a dog he also finds in peril) and gives sanctuary. So Jack gives refuge to both Lola and Chris while they recuperate with casts on their body. Jack is a widow, missing his artist wife and estranged from his daughter, Sally, who has a high opinion of herself.

The introduction of new characters throughout the book - Ellie, the nurse who cares for Chris; her husband, Karl, the local cop and then Patrick (Chris' best friend) from New York.

The sense of time being vital and life being cherished when plans get scuppered is paramount in the novel. The handling of the delicate nature of the individual and how they strive to exist amidst the upheaval they may or may not cause; like the great works of Richard Ford or Paul Auster, the power of the individual in a larger landscape is prevalent.

The sense of time and place, distance travelled, the impending doom of bad weather is all so well handled by Mary Lawson. This is the best American novel I have read since Mary Beth Keane's debut 'Ask Again, Yes' which was a far more reaching across the generations tale but still the message of interfering the status quo can be quite disruptive.

While set in the early 1970s in the draft dodging era, which leads to Chris' leaving US soil to head for Canadian sanctuary - there is nevertheless a comment on current American values being diminished and how so many in that country are suffering from the sins of the fathers, and how the boomer generation really have let down those that followed in their footsteps.

Highly recommend to all.

Solace in Winter is out from Random House on 19th November