Road Ends - Hardcover

Lawson, Mary

4.15

6,730 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0812995732 ISBN 13: 9780812995732

Publisher: Dial Pr, 2014

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From an acclaimed writer whose work invites comparisons to Elizabeth Strout, Rick Bass, and Richard Ford comes a brilliantly layered novel about self-sacrifice, family relationships, and the weight of our responsibility to those we love.

The New York Times bestselling author of the critically acclaimed Crow Lake and The Other Side of the Bridge returns with a brilliantly layered novel about self-sacrifice, family relationships, and the weight of our responsibility to those we love.

Twenty-one-year-old Megan Cartwright has never been outside Struan, Ontario, a small town of deep woods and forbidding winters. The second oldest in a house with seven brothers, Megan is the caregiver, housekeeper, and linchpin of the family, but the day comes when she decides it’s time she had a life of her own. Leaving everything behind, Megan sets out for London.

In the wake of her absence, her family begins to unravel. Megan’s parents and brothers withdraw from one another, leading emotionally isolated lives while still under the same roof. Her oldest brother, Tom, reeling from the death of his best friend, rejects a promising future to move back home. Emily, her mother, rarely leaves the room where she dreamily dotes on her newborn son, while Megan’s four-year-old brother, Adam, is desperate for warmth and attention. And as time passes, Megan’s father, Edward, stubbornly refuses to acknowledge that his household is coming undone. Torn between her independence and family ties, Megan must make an impossible choice.

Nuanced, compelling, and searingly honest, Road Ends illuminates how we each make peace with the demands of love. Mary Lawson delivers compassion and heartbreak in equal measure in her most stunning novel to date.

Praise for Road Ends

“Mary Lawson’s story of a dysfunctional family in a northern Ontario logging town is told in scenes that are as palpably tender and surprising as they are quietly disturbing. . . . [Lawson] has an uncanny talent for evoking the textures of her characters’ moods while moving them unsentimentally through London and Struan.”—The New York Times Book Review

“Like all great writers—and Lawson is among the finest—she tells her story in a deceptively simple and straightforward way, but one that resonates with anyone who has ever struggled with doing the right thing by a family member despite a desperate longing to escape that burden.”—The Star

“[Lawson] can justifiably lay claim to an oeuvre as well as a personal geography. If the part of Ontario west of Toronto is Munro country, then the area northwest of New Liskeard and Cobalt—where her fictional towns of Struan and Crow Lake are roughly located—may well end up being dubbed Lawson Country.”—National Post

“A beautiful novel, with the psychological twists and turns of each character gently and poignantly unfurled.”—The Globe and Mail

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Review:

Praise for Mary Lawson:

"Soon after Mary Lawson's first novel was published in 2002, she joined an elite group that includes Mavis Gallant and Margaret Laurence: female Canadian expatriate writers whose work is as popular with critics as it is with readers.... Lawson is an expert manipulator of family dynamics.... Lawson's northern Gothic is fascinating."
--"Winnipeg Free Press"
Praise for "The Other Side of the Bridge"

#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER
LONGLISTED 2006 - Man Booker Prize
FINALIST 2007 - Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize

"I could not put it down, but perhaps [it is] better to say that I could not let it go or that it would not let me go.... The novel is infused with warmth and affection.... Lawson transported me into a place that I know does not exist by taking me deep down into the story of a family whose fate is inexorable and universal. Her reality became mine."
--"The Globe and Mail"

"An excellent novel.... Lawson's gifts are enormous, especially her ability to write a literary work in a popular style. Her dialogue has perfect pitch, yet I've never read anyone better at articulating silence. Best of all, Lawson creates the most quotable images in Canadian literature."
--"Toronto Star"

"Lawson beautifully skirts the cliches of sibling rivalry embedded since Cain and Abel, with a story that aches with its inevitability and yet suggests hope."
--"New York Daily News"

"Like her fellow Canadians Alice Munro and the late Carol Shields, Lawson is a master of the quiet moment made significant, with a tremendous eye for detail."
--"The Scotsman"

"Soon after Mary Lawson's first novel was published in 2002, she joined an elite group that includes Mavis Gallant and Margaret Laurence: female Canadian expatriate writers whose work is as popular with critics as it is with readers. [B]oth "Crow Lake" and ["The Other Side of the Bridge"] succeed because of the emotional wallop they deliver. Lawson is an expert manipulator of family dynamics. Lawson's northern Gothic is fascinating." "Winnipeg Free Press"

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

"The frozen landscape, which might fill some with dread, opens a rich world for Lawson.... It is a beautiful novel, with the psychological twists and turns of each character gently and poignantly unfurled."
--Sarah Hampson, "The Globe and Mail"

"Every Canadian student should be reading Mary Lawson novels--starting with "Crow Lake" and now including her newest accomplishment, "Road Ends".... Like all great writers--and Lawson is among the finest--she tells her story in a deceptively simple and straightforward way, but one that resonates with anyone who has ever struggled with doing the right thing by a family member despite a desperate longing to escape that burden. She humanizes even the least sympathetic of her charges."
--Laura Eggertson, "Toronto Star"

"Mary Lawson finds literary gold in the hard landscape of the Canadian Shield."
--"Ottawa Citizen"

"What sets Lawson apart is storytelling so matter-of-fact (in the best possible way) that readers are able to feel the emotional intensity of the characters' situations without succumbing to moroseness.... The same easy grace and economy of language that drew readers into [Lawson's] earlier stories are employed to full effect, and the setting, along with the welcome reappearance of a few familiar characters, imparts a sense of homecoming.... Complex and satisfying."
--Dory Cerny, "Quill & Quire"

"If the part of Ontario west of Toronto is Munro country, then the area northwest of New Liskeard and Cobalt--where [Mary Lawson's] fictional towns of Struan and Crow Lake are roughly located--may well end up being dubbed Lawson Country."
--Emily Donaldson, "National Post"

NATIONAL BESTSELLER
"The frozen landscape, which might fill some with dread, opens a rich world for Lawson.... It is a beautiful novel, with the psychological twists and turns of each character gently and poignantly unfurled."
--Sarah Hampson, "The Globe and Mail"
"Every Canadian student should be reading Mary Lawson novels--starting with "Crow Lake" and now including her newest accomplishment, "Road Ends."... Like all great writers--and Lawson is among the finest--she tells her story in a deceptively simple and straightforward way, but one that resonates with anyone who has ever struggled with doing the right thing by a family member despite a desperate longing to escape that burden. She humanizes even the least sympathetic of her charges."
--Laura Eggertson, "Toronto Star"
"Mary Lawson finds literary gold in the hard landscape of the Canadian Shield."
--"Ottawa Citizen"
"What sets Lawson apart is storytelling so matter-of-fact (in the best possible way) that readers are able to feel the emotional intensity of the characters' situations without succumbing to moroseness.... The same easy grace and economy of language that drew readers into [Lawson's] earlier stories are employed to full effect, and the setting, along with the welcome reappearance of a few familiar characters, imparts a sense of homecoming.... Complex and satisfying."
--Dory Cerny, "Quill & Quire"
"If the part of Ontario west of Toronto is Munro country, then the area northwest of New Liskeard and Cobalt--where [Mary Lawson's] fictional towns of Struan and Crow Lake are roughly located--may well end up being dubbed Lawson Country."
--Emily Donaldson, "National Post"

NATIONAL BESTSELLER
The frozen landscape, which might fill some with dread, opens a rich world for Lawson . It is a beautiful novel, with the psychological twists and turns of each character gently and poignantly unfurled.
Sarah Hampson, "The Globe and Mail"
Every Canadian student should be reading Mary Lawson novels starting with "Crow Lake" and now including her newest accomplishment, "Road Ends" . Like all great writers and Lawson is among the finest she tells her story in a deceptively simple and straightforward way, but one that resonates with anyone who has ever struggled with doing the right thing by a family member despite a desperate longing to escape that burden. She humanizes even the least sympathetic of her charges.
Laura Eggertson, "Toronto Star"
Mary Lawson finds literary gold in the hard landscape of the Canadian Shield.
"Ottawa Citizen"
What sets Lawson apart is storytelling so matter-of-fact (in the best possible way) that readers are able to feel the emotional intensity of the characters situations without succumbing to moroseness . The same easy grace and economy of language that drew readers into [Lawson s] earlier stories are employed to full effect, and the setting, along with the welcome reappearance of a few familiar characters, imparts a sense of homecoming . Complex and satisfying.
Dory Cerny, "Quill & Quire"
If the part of Ontario west of Toronto is Munro country, then the area northwest of New Liskeard and Cobalt where [Mary Lawson s] fictional towns of Struan and Crow Lake are roughly located may well end up being dubbed Lawson Country.
Emily Donaldson, "National Post""

NATIONAL BESTSELLER
The frozen landscape, which might fill some with dread, opens a rich world for Lawson . It is a beautiful novel, with the psychological twists and turns of each character gently and poignantly unfurled.
Sarah Hampson, The Globe and Mail
Every Canadian student should be reading Mary Lawson novels starting with Crow Lake and now including her newest accomplishment, Road Ends . Like all great writers and Lawson is among the finest she tells her story in a deceptively simple and straightforward way, but one that resonates with anyone who has ever struggled with doing the right thing by a family member despite a desperate longing to escape that burden. She humanizes even the least sympathetic of her charges.
Laura Eggertson, Toronto Star
Mary Lawson finds literary gold in the hard landscape of the Canadian Shield.
Ottawa Citizen
What sets Lawson apart is storytelling so matter-of-fact (in the best possible way) that readers are able to feel the emotional intensity of the characters situations without succumbing to moroseness . The same easy grace and economy of language that drew readers into [Lawson s] earlier stories are employed to full effect, and the setting, along with the welcome reappearance of a few familiar characters, imparts a sense of homecoming . Complex and satisfying.
Dory Cerny, Quill & Quire
If the part of Ontario west of Toronto is Munro country, then the area northwest of New Liskeard and Cobalt where [Mary Lawson s] fictional towns of Struan and Crow Lake are roughly located may well end up being dubbed Lawson Country.
Emily Donaldson, National Post

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

"The frozen landscape, which might fill some with dread, opens a rich world for Lawson.... It is a beautiful novel, with the psychological twists and turns of each character gently and poignantly unfurled."
--Sarah Hampson, The Globe and Mail

"Every Canadian student should be reading Mary Lawson novels--starting with Crow Lake and now including her newest accomplishment, Road Ends.... Like all great writers--and Lawson is among the finest--she tells her story in a deceptively simple and straightforward way, but one that resonates with anyone who has ever struggled with doing the right thing by a family member despite a desperate longing to escape that burden. She humanizes even the least sympathetic of her charges."
--Laura Eggertson, Toronto Star

"Mary Lawson finds literary gold in the hard landscape of the Canadian Shield."
--Ottawa Citizen

"What sets Lawson apart is storytelling so matter-of-fact (in the best possible way) that readers are able to feel the emotional intensity of the characters' situations without succumbing to moroseness.... The same easy grace and economy of language that drew readers into [Lawson's] earlier stories are employed to full effect, and the setting, along with the welcome reappearance of a few familiar characters, imparts a sense of homecoming.... Complex and satisfying."
--Dory Cerny, Quill & Quire

"If the part of Ontario west of Toronto is Munro country, then the area northwest of New Liskeard and Cobalt--where [Mary Lawson's] fictional towns of Struan and Crow Lake are roughly located--may well end up being dubbed Lawson Country."
--Emily Donaldson, National Post

Book Description:

The new novel from Mary Lawson, set in the frozen north of Canada, and London in the 60s, about a family which is falling apart.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.