The Way the Crow Flies (Paperback)

The McCarthy family has thrived after the Second World War. When the family is posted to a secluded Canadian Air Force base, a new world opens for eight-year-old Madeleine, who is intoxicated by the sights around her. Her world, she thinks, is perfect: an exquisite mother and a dashing father who is a wing commander. But this is the early 1960s, and the cold war is in place. Madeleine doesn't know that her father is involved in a world of secrets, and when a savage killing in the region begins to affect the family, cracks begin to appear in Madeleine's perfect world. Twenty years pass, and Madeleine's life is still affected by the search for the truth and a killer.

Weighing in at some 700-odd pages, The Way the Crow Flies reads quite as compellingly as a much shorter novel, and the earlier sections of the book are magically rendered, with Madeleine an affectingly drawn character. But MacDonald's story extends beyond this era; the latter part of the book, as her heroine grows older, is quite as assiduously detailed as the earlier sections. The author's subjects are commitment and betrayal, and these themes are realised in the context of a trenchant and distinctive narrative. MacDonald's earlier Fall on Your Knees achieved some acclaim, but this one is likely to bring her many new readers. --Barry Forshaw --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
Praise for FALL ON YOUR KNEES 'An epic in the true sense: a magnificent novel.' Sunday Times 'Extraordinary ... A magical tale, a curious testament to both the power of love and the inability of humans to live fully without it.' The Times 'A heady, haunting brew, carefully structured, witty and distinctive.' Observer 'Astonishing and original ... There's humour and sensitivity here, as well as profound understanding.' Elle 'MacDonald's wonderfully true tale of familial pain and damage make every page sing ... Outstanding.' Mail on Sunday

This truly remarkable book is set in the early 1960s when the McCarthy family are sent to a quiet Canadian air-force base. Madeleine is eight years old and her father is a wing-commander, devoted to her, his beautiful wife and Madeline's 12-year-old brother, Mike. A loving, attractive and popular family, they are soon settled and through Madeleine's eyes we savour the security of the post-war dream. The threat of the cold war remains at the outer edges of her world but when the idyllic innocence of her childhood is shattered, and then a friend is murdered, the adult world is forced upon her with devastating results. Misplaced loyalty, betrayal and bravery form a conspiracy of silence and we follow the consequences of this into Madeleine's adult life, where her quest for truth leads ultimately to forgiveness and acceptance. This is a rare book that accurately evokes a child's view of a confusing, adult world, while at the same time laying bare the vulnerabilities of the adults themselves. Madeleine is trapped because she wishes to protect her parents' innocence and her father, Jack, is trapped because he wishes to spare his family from terrible secrets. MacDonald brilliantly articulates human frailties and sets them against a picture-book image of happy family life in an era we think we understand. She has created a mirage of nostalgia and then lets us get too close to the reality, making this book at once both uplifting and chilling to read. Her previous book, Fall on Your Knees, was an international bestseller with over two million copies worldwide, and readers of this novel will certainly understand why. (Kirkus UK) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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