Arthur and Jake: brothers, yet worlds apart. Arthur is older, shy, dutiful, and set to inherit his father's farm. Jake is younger and reckless, a dangerous to know. When Laura arrives in their 1930s rural community, an already uneasy relationship is driven to breaking point...
The Other Side of the Bridge
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Review
A beautiful read, on every level (Louise Doughty Independent on Sunday )
Like the great 19th-century novelists of provincial life, Mary Lawson is fluent in the desperate intensity of the small, individual dramas of respectable people - and she paints an eloquent picture (Sunday Telegraph )
Evokes beautifully the big joys and sorrows of most people, no matter how small their town (The Times )
Discreetly powerful (Ruth Scurr Daily Telegraph )
This is a fine book - an enthralling read, both straightforward and wonderfully intricate (Penelope Lively Guardian )
Like the great 19th-century novelists of provincial life, Mary Lawson is fluent in the desperate intensity of the small, individual dramas of respectable people - and she paints an eloquent picture (Sunday Telegraph )
Evokes beautifully the big joys and sorrows of most people, no matter how small their town (The Times )
Discreetly powerful (Ruth Scurr Daily Telegraph )
This is a fine book - an enthralling read, both straightforward and wonderfully intricate (Penelope Lively Guardian )
Book Description
A powerful, heartbreaking story about tempting fate and living with the consequences, set like Lawson's magical Crow Lake in the far north of Canada but with a magnificently broader reach.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
30 of 31 people found the following review helpful
By L. Scarpati
Format:Paperback
I saw this book on the Richard & Judy Summer read and thought I'd try it on for size. I'd never read anything by Mary Lawson before and immediately fell in love with the characters Ian and Arthur.
Lawson beautifully creates a scene of growing up in a small town, both pre and post WW2 and uses realistic description of the town's scenary throughout the seasons.
She also creates a marvellous relationship between Arthur and the rest of his family (and later his wife) and encapsulates the very essence of sibling rivalry - with a more vicious twist.
It's a moving and somewhat heartbreaking tale of love, loss and humanity. I liked the way that Arthur and Ian's stories were structurally broken up by chapters; there was no jumping backwards and forwards that often loses a reader.
I'd definitely read more of her work; I read this in 2 days on holiday and felt sorry to finish it.
Lawson beautifully creates a scene of growing up in a small town, both pre and post WW2 and uses realistic description of the town's scenary throughout the seasons.
She also creates a marvellous relationship between Arthur and the rest of his family (and later his wife) and encapsulates the very essence of sibling rivalry - with a more vicious twist.
It's a moving and somewhat heartbreaking tale of love, loss and humanity. I liked the way that Arthur and Ian's stories were structurally broken up by chapters; there was no jumping backwards and forwards that often loses a reader.
I'd definitely read more of her work; I read this in 2 days on holiday and felt sorry to finish it.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By Jenna
Format:Paperback
Here it is again. The gentle but persistent voice of the author of "Crow Lake," as she tells another story set in the same area of Northern Canada.
This time it is a tale of two brothers, just about as different as brothers could be. Inevitably they are rivals and whilst Arthur is the strong dependable one, Jake is spoilt and over protected by his mother.
There is little, if any, love between the brothers, and as time passes and the boys grow up, not surprisingly they find themselves in competition for the same girl.
The narrative is divided between two time spans, one leading up to and during the Second World War, and the other in the 1950's, and these alternate, chapter by chapter throughout the book.
Mary Lawson writes with compelling style and her characters are well drawn and complex, but nevertheless easy to empathise with. I simply loved this story although not quite as much as Mary Lawson's first novel, "Crow Lake." There again that was a hard act to follow.
The tension builds slowly as the feeling grows that somehow, someway something has to give; something has to happen to break the spell, redress the balance and bring justice.
It does, and it is well worth the wait!
This time it is a tale of two brothers, just about as different as brothers could be. Inevitably they are rivals and whilst Arthur is the strong dependable one, Jake is spoilt and over protected by his mother.
There is little, if any, love between the brothers, and as time passes and the boys grow up, not surprisingly they find themselves in competition for the same girl.
The narrative is divided between two time spans, one leading up to and during the Second World War, and the other in the 1950's, and these alternate, chapter by chapter throughout the book.
Mary Lawson writes with compelling style and her characters are well drawn and complex, but nevertheless easy to empathise with. I simply loved this story although not quite as much as Mary Lawson's first novel, "Crow Lake." There again that was a hard act to follow.
The tension builds slowly as the feeling grows that somehow, someway something has to give; something has to happen to break the spell, redress the balance and bring justice.
It does, and it is well worth the wait!
45 of 48 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I was a little disappointed by some of the Richard and Judy choices so came to this late, but it was sheer reading pleasure from beginning to end. It's a story of good people doing the best they can with the lives they have and how one small action can cause so much damage and such sad consequences.
I loved everything about this book. It had me in tears more than once, the whole thing fitted together so beautifully, and the detail was loveley, from the repercussions of the war to the spots on the throat of the little girl with measles. It's beautifully written, it's a lovely story and it has real soul.
I loved everything about this book. It had me in tears more than once, the whole thing fitted together so beautifully, and the detail was loveley, from the repercussions of the war to the spots on the throat of the little girl with measles. It's beautifully written, it's a lovely story and it has real soul.
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4.6 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A brilliant story, Mary Lawson is my kind of writer
This book was so well crafted that I call it unputdownable, with all elements of a really strong story, and you are kept on the edge of your seat, a rare thing, when the book is... Read more
Published 1 month ago by UK Reader
5.0 out of 5 stars
Once you get over the initial way it is writen this is a truly...
Will keep you guessing until the end. I would definitely recommend it. Along with some deeply moving extracts there is also some humour. Stick with it a really brilliant book.
Published 2 months ago by J. D. Brown
3.0 out of 5 stars
Some unbelievable characters
I enjoyed the book but some of the characters were a little unbelievable. Why did Arthur put up with his brothers behaviour? Read more
Published 2 months ago by Val Alcock
3.0 out of 5 stars
astonished
We ready this as a book club book and most of us really loved the book. I was alone in thinking Ian a somewhat reprehensible character. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Fp Green
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fine
Was a gift, so did not read it, but it arrived on timeWas a gift, so did not read it, but it arrived on time.
Published 4 months ago by David UK
4.0 out of 5 stars
Canadian farming life
Set before and during WWII, a moving story of the lives of two brothers. One meets the doctor and his son, the German prisoners of war and the people in a small town in... Read more
Published 4 months ago by zkarimjee@talk21.com
4.0 out of 5 stars
A story of another time
Mary Lawson's biopic is set in small-town Canada. It tells the story of two very different brothers (Arthur and Jake) growing up before and during WW2, and continues the story... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Avid reader
4.0 out of 5 stars
Left strangely unsure.....
The Other Side of the Bridge
This book was chosen by my reading group but I would have picked it up while browsing along a library shelf. Read more
This book was chosen by my reading group but I would have picked it up while browsing along a library shelf. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Sue Ryan
5.0 out of 5 stars
A lovely book
The first couple of chapters were quite slow and I found it difficult to get engaged but after that I was hooked. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Sue Stevenson
5.0 out of 5 stars
LYRICAL & MOVING
Struan - a small town in Canada's far north. The Dunns - a farming family with two sons: hard working Arthur, dull but dependable; charismatic Jake, a wastrel and troublemaker. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Mr. D. L. Rees
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