Journal Entry 1 by indygo88 from Lafayette, Indiana USA on Saturday, December 03, 2005

"Here is a gorgeous, slow-burning story set in the rural badlands of northern Ontario, where heartbreak and hardship are mirrored in the landscape. For the farming Pye family, life is a Greek tragedy where the sins of the fathers are visited on the sons, and terrible events occur - offstage.

Centerstage are the Morrisons, whose tragedy looks more immediate if less brutal, but is, in reality, insidious and divisive. Orphaned young, Kate Morrison was her older brother Matt's protegee, her fascination for pond life fed by his passionate interest in the natural world. Now a zoologist, she can identify organisms under a microscope but seems blind to the state of her own emotional life. And she thinks she's outgrown her siblings - Luke, Matt, and Bo - who were once her entire world.

In this universal drama of family love and misunderstandings, of resentments harbored and driven underground, Lawson ratchets up the tension with heartbreaking humor and consummate control, continually overturning one's expectations right to the very end. Tragic, funny, unforgettable, Crow Lake is a quiet tour de force that will catapult Mary Lawson to the forefront of fiction writers today."

Picked up a second copy of this at the library book sale (I still have a copy on my TBR list). Will see if there's any interest in a bookray.

11/3/08 -- Finally (!) read this one for myself! And I enjoyed it -- I did. But. I was not blown away. I felt like I was waiting for the other shoe to drop and it never did. Or rather, I guess it did, but it was a letdown after all the hype and buildup in the story. I felt like it was written well & I enjoyed the alternate past/present chapters, but like I already said, I guess I was just waiting for this big climax that I felt never really was realized. So that was disappointing to me. However, I'm still interested in reading Lawson's subsequent works, so I'll be on the lookout. 

Journal Entry 2 by indygo88 from Lafayette, Indiana USA on Tuesday, December 06, 2005

Starting a bookray for this one! Some general guidelines . . . .

*Please journal the book once you receive it, and again when you are shipping to the next person (as well as your comments about the book!).

*It's not a race of course, but try to get the book moving again within a month or so. I realize things can happen, and if that's the case, please PM me to let me know what's going on. Or PM me if you need to be moved farther down the list.

List order as follows:

Evicka (Ontario, Canada)
Nelle (Ontario, Canada)
cougmax (Washington)
Lpree (Nebraska)
Katiesmama (Florida)
4everLostInBook (California)
cowgirl-up (Ohio)
Luintaurien (Nebraska) *STALLED*
TeenieBeanie (Ontario, Canada)
honey1982 (Ontario, Canada)
 

Journal Entry 3 by indygo88 from Lafayette, Indiana USA on Thursday, December 08, 2005

Sent off today to Evicka. Enjoy! :') 

Journal Entry 4 by Evicka from Toronto, Ontario Canada on Wednesday, December 21, 2005

I just received Crow Lake in the mail today-- thank you indygo88! I will try to read this over the holidays and then get it out to the next bookcrosser.

I look forward to reading this! 

Journal Entry 5 by Evicka from Toronto, Ontario Canada on Friday, December 30, 2005

What a great book.

On the surface, the tragic themes are all typical; ones we have all seen a million times. But the author has a way to crafting her story, of weaving all the themes together that is fresh, keeps the reading hanging on and will surprise you right until the end. Once I started reading it, I didn't want to put it down.

I won't say any more because I don't want to give anything away.

This is travelling to Nelle next. 

Journal Entry 6 by Nelle from Barrie, Ontario Canada on Tuesday, January 17, 2006

I just received this from Indygo88. Thanks for the bookmark,as well. I love the quote! It's so appropriate for bookcrossing. I am partway through a large book right now but I will put this next on my list. 

Journal Entry 7 by Nelle from Barrie, Ontario Canada on Wednesday, February 01, 2006

I agree with the praise for this book expressed by the two previous journallers. It is very well-written and keeps you interested by dropping hints now and then about the plot but not revealing the ending.
I will be mailing it off to "cougmax", in Washington,today. 

Journal Entry 8 by cougmax from Seattle, Washington USA on Monday, February 13, 2006

Arrived safe today, will read this week. The bookmark is fun, somebody is crafty! ;) 

Journal Entry 9 by cougmax from Seattle, Washington USA on Saturday, February 25, 2006

A wonderful story! I love the emotions and heartbreak that is so well written for Kate.
I found a used copy at Goodwill yesterday so I will send this one on and finish the book with my new find...

will pm lpree now. 

Journal Entry 10 by cougmax from Seattle, Washington USA on Monday, February 27, 2006

I finished the book last night. Amazing! I loved the way she closed up the ending. An author to watch for sure! I agree with previous journalers that the tragedy is similar, but the way she described the family's fallout and then finding they needed eachother again was fresh and a joy to read.
sent to lpree today 

Journal Entry 11 by Lpree from Omaha, Nebraska USA on Saturday, March 04, 2006

This arrived in today's mail. I have some other bookrings ahead of it but will read it as soon as I can. I'm looking forward to reading it! 

Journal Entry 12 by Lpree from Omaha, Nebraska USA on Tuesday, April 04, 2006

I've only read a little bit of this, and can't really get into it. So since I've had it for a while now and have other rings stacking up, I'm going to mail this on without finishing it.

Thanks for sharing this book! Maybe later there will be a better time to read this. 

Journal Entry 13 by katiesmama from Cape Coral, Florida USA on Thursday, April 20, 2006

Crow Lake is here!! I have one book for my book club to read ahead of this (for next Tues meeting) but this will come up right after. I'm looking forward to reading this. Thanks, Indygo88. 

Journal Entry 14 by katiesmama from Cape Coral, Florida USA on Saturday, April 29, 2006

I loved this book! And I suppose I should be ashamed, but I identified so much with Kate at the end...I can see me exactly the same at her age. I don't want to ruin this for anyone else, but I'm definitely going to be watching for more from Mary Lawson. Am PM'ing next in line and will journal again when its in the mail. Thanks, Indygo88. Oh!....the bookmark is really cool too, loved it!! 

Journal Entry 15 by 4everLostInBook from Riverside, California USA on Sunday, May 07, 2006

Crow Lake arrived in Saturday's mail. Thank you very much! It's next on my list to read and I'll get it in the mail to the next person once I finish with it. I'll be sure and post here to let you know the status.

Update 05/11/2006: I enjoyed reading Crow Lake although I thought it got off to a slow start. Definitely worth reading! Thank you so much, indygo88 for making the book available to me through the bookring. And thank you Katiesmama for the lovely bookmark and for passing the book on to me.

I will be taking Crow Lake to the post office later today to mail off to cowgirl-up. 

Journal Entry 16 by cowgirl-up from Springfield, Ohio USA on Saturday, May 13, 2006

Arrived in the mail today! I have a few books ahead of it, but I'll read and pass along ASAP. 

Journal Entry 17 by cowgirl-up from Springfield, Ohio USA on Monday, July 17, 2006

This book was very well traveled while in my posession. I took it with me on my cruise to the Bahamas and finished it while laying out on the deck. It flew from Ohio to Orlando, Florida and then went by boat to Nassau and Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas before returning home safely with me.

I really enjoyed this book. I've never read this author before, but I really liked the style and the foreshadowing. It was hard to put down and really a great story. I never really had any idea what was going to happen and the ending really wasn't what I had expected at all. I'll certainly look for more books by this author.

I've PMed the next in line and will pass it along as soon as I receive an address. 

Journal Entry 18 by cowgirl-up from Springfield, Ohio USA on Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Mailed today to Luintaurien to continue the bookray. Happy reading! 

Journal Entry 19 by Luintaurien from York, Nebraska USA on Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Got it today. Thank you. Will read and pass on ASAP.