The way Mary Lawson tells the story of the children’s life is what captures me the most. She uses scenarios that can happen in any family situation. She creates a history of sacrifice, emotional isolation and family love without it sounding false. She focuses on the emotional and moral effects of a drastic turn of events.
Mary Lawson chooses a wild landscape as the anchor in this story told in flashback. "Wherever you are now and wherever you may be in the future, nothing alters the point you started from." The Morrison family has standards that have to be met, Great Grandmother Morrison has set them high. Education is like the Morrison family's religion. Brothers did more than their share of work in order for the younger children can study in high school. At seven years old, Kate shows her thirst for knowledge, the ponds near her home were her learning spots; she learned about snapping turtles, frogs and beetles. Matt ( ten years older then Kate) has taught her most of what she knew about the pond. He is her idle, setting her on a path which lead her to become an assistant professor in invertebrate ecology. Kate's other brother Luke's achievements trigger the book's central events. Nineteen years old and is not a scholar like his older brother Matt. The children are left orphans when the parents take a trip, twenty miles away to buy Luke a suitcase for college. This is the beginning of a series of complicated emotional debts and disappointments, which impact their life as an adult.
Lawson created a subplot along with the Morrison's tragedies. The Pye family collides with the dreams of the Morrison’s. This subplot manages to be riveting for this family because they belong to a Greek tragedy, each generation has produced an abusive father who drives his sons away and only one son ever stays to become the next tyrant with terrible consequences.
Lawson is very good with the details that the children notice daily. For example, Kate has a hard time recalling her mother's face but can easily remember the doctor's dog that could pick blueberries with her teeth. Lawson made it so the youngest child (Bo) to represent the family's vulnerability. Lawson’s structure is her only weakness, she signposts throughout the novel but it is not necessary. Kate is always known for eavesdropping on conversations so the plot progresses, this can be seen as an awkward device.
Mary Lawson chooses a wild landscape as the anchor in this story told in flashback. "Wherever you are now and wherever you may be in the future, nothing alters the point you started from." The Morrison family has standards that have to be met, Great Grandmother Morrison has set them high. Education is like the Morrison family's religion. Brothers did more than their share of work in order for the younger children can study in high school. At seven years old, Kate shows her thirst for knowledge, the ponds near her home were her learning spots; she learned about snapping turtles, frogs and beetles. Matt ( ten years older then Kate) has taught her most of what she knew about the pond. He is her idle, setting her on a path which lead her to become an assistant professor in invertebrate ecology. Kate's other brother Luke's achievements trigger the book's central events. Nineteen years old and is not a scholar like his older brother Matt. The children are left orphans when the parents take a trip, twenty miles away to buy Luke a suitcase for college. This is the beginning of a series of complicated emotional debts and disappointments, which impact their life as an adult.
Lawson created a subplot along with the Morrison's tragedies. The Pye family collides with the dreams of the Morrison’s. This subplot manages to be riveting for this family because they belong to a Greek tragedy, each generation has produced an abusive father who drives his sons away and only one son ever stays to become the next tyrant with terrible consequences.
Lawson is very good with the details that the children notice daily. For example, Kate has a hard time recalling her mother's face but can easily remember the doctor's dog that could pick blueberries with her teeth. Lawson made it so the youngest child (Bo) to represent the family's vulnerability. Lawson’s structure is her only weakness, she signposts throughout the novel but it is not necessary. Kate is always known for eavesdropping on conversations so the plot progresses, this can be seen as an awkward device.
In Crow Lake, Lawson excludes the misconception of isolation(negative state of being) by conveying the positive aspects of isolation throughout the community. The community's surroundings are described as “miles and miles of nothing..”(93) and the roads are referred to as, “a thin grey-while line”(93) which signifies the community's isolation. Emotional isolation is a major theme in Crow Lake.
Secondary Sources/Critical Author
- Pearl, Nancy. "CROW LAKE." Library Journal 19(2005):108. eLibrary. Web. 18 Oct. 2011.
- Veale, Scott. "Crow Lake. (New & Noteworthy Paperbacks)." The New York Times Book Review 2 Feb. 2003: 24. General OneFile. Web. 19 Oct. 2011.
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