The Way the Crow Flies

Every once in a while a book will come along that is pretty much pitch perfect.  Everything comes together in just the right way--good writing, a well plotted story, fine characterizations, weighty subject matter dealt with with sensitivity but in such a manner that you can't help turning the pages even when it's almost unbearable knowing what is coming (and you can almost see it coming, but the author still manages to floor you in the end). 

Ann-Marie MacDonald's The Way the Crow Flies is just such a book for me.  I finished it in October, but the task of writing about it has felt so monumental that I keep putting it off.  And now the year is nearing the end and I want to make sure I give it the attention it deserves even if I feel like I won't be able to write about it adequately (hence my putting off writing about it for so long).  It's quite a chunky book weighing in at over 800 pages.  I could have went back to the beginning when I finished and started reading all over again.  It's a book that I will happily reread someday (maybe even sooner than later).  I even bought a new copy to give a coworker who I know will love it as much as I did, and I can't wait to thrust it into her hands and urge her to read it over the holiday break.

So now the problem (and what I've been trying to figure out since October) is how much to tell you to convince you to take a look at the book, too, without giving too much away.  I went into the book knowing very little about it, letting the story unfold before me and tugging me along, allowing all the details to settle in my mind, letting the light bulbs go off in just the right sequence so I could piece it all together.  There were moments during that process that were excruciating, but in a good way.  Having an idea of what was coming yet not being entirely sure--sometimes being proven right and other times wrong made for compelling reading.  That's the best way to experience this book. 

Steeped in the culture of the 1960s the story focuses primarily on one family living on an Air Force Base on the Canadian border.  Centralia has all the outward appearances of being a wholesome little community where neighbors are friends and people don't need to lock their doors at night.  There is an innocence to the time and the people and the place even coming out of the horrors of the Second World War, which is still close enough to be a memory yet distant enough for the future to look bright and rosy where all things are possible--even putting a man on the moon.

For eight-year-old Madeleine childhood is a happy place within her tight-knit family.  She idolizes her father Jack who to her young eyes can do no wrong.  Her Acadian mother, Mimi, is firm but loving.  And older brother Mike a typical boy who dreams of flying military jets like his father once trained to do, but was invalided out of the war early on.  But maybe the Sixties were never quite as innocent as they seemed.  Centralia is a fresh start for the McCarthys who were formerly living in West Germany.  They arrive full of hope and optimism, with no greater expectations really than leading a good and happy life.

In books as in life the worst things can happen to the best people and sometimes they happen purely by chance, by being in the wrong place at the wrong time.  And good people can make bad decisions.  Or hard decisions.  Jack McCarthy is a good man, and an honorable man, and it is just that honor that he tries so hard to uphold that lands him in a difficult position that will have repercussions for his family and community that will resound for many years after they've left Centralia. 

It's through Madeleine's innocent eyes that this world is viewed and experienced.  But Madeleine's own world implodes while the adults around her are dealing with their own 'adult' problems.  Madeleine is a  marvelous character, full of humor and insight--the sort of insight that comes with innocence even if it isn't really understood.  And twenty years after her family has left Centralia she is still trying to make sense of what happened that year in 1962.

This is a story that reads like the best thriller, has elements of a mystery about it but is complex and sophisticated in what it sets out to accomplish.  It's a morality tale of sorts and an exploration of the memory of not only the individual but of the collective memory of a society.  I recently mentioned that books often make me feel all tingly.  Well, this particular book makes me feel all tingly because what Ann-Marie MacDonald managed is such an impressive feat.  If I've made you curious, do give the story a go.  And don't be intimidated by the length as it reads very fast.  

I read MacDonald's Fall on Your Knees about six years ago.  While I found it a little harder to get into, once the story began to really roll, I couldn't put it down either.  I have every intention of revisiting it as well and plan on digging around my bookshelves over the break to find my copy.  Something to look forward to.    

Comments

[Lee-Anne]

I have this one at the cottage and am really eager for the summer to come so I can dive into it. The size is a bit intimidating, but you do make it sound so worth it! Thanks for your review. - I've been reading your blog for a while now, but this is the first time I've left a note. So... hello :)

[Mrs. B]

This along with Fall on our Knees have always been on my radar but I never picked them up. Now after your review Im really compelled to read one of them. Which one should I start with?

[Cathy]

This title has been sitting on my bookshelf for years and you have given me the push to get into it; I read Fall on your Knees years ago and loved it! Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Danielle!

[Caroline]

I had to place an order for this right away. I liked her first novel very much but this sounds so much better even.
It's not easy to write about such a long book.
I like that when you think you know where a story is going but are surprised all the same. I missed that a bit in Crow Lake. I had an idea where it was going and it really went there... It was still good. I just discovered that she was born in Europe. In Baden-Baden, that is just a few miles from where I live.

[litlove]

I'm so glad you loved this, as I own a copy and really want to read it. But it has tiny type which is a bit off-putting. Knowing there's a great story waiting for me is exactly the incentive I need to pick it up. And your review is perfect in that it would surely make any reader want to pick this book up!

[Danielle]

Hi Lee-Anne--thanks so much for leaving a comment--very nice to be able to chat with you! It is intimidating to look at I agree. Once you get into the story, though, it is so easy to get caught up in it you won't want to put it down!

[Danielle]

They are both really good. In looking back on my notes Fall on Your Knees was a much slower start with me, but it might have been the timing--I read the book about six years ago. I want to reread it now and wonder if it will be a much better reading experience. So all that to say--I think I would start with this one since it reads almost like a thriller at parts. But they are both good!

[Danielle]

Thanks so much Cathy! Best wishes to you as well for the holidays! If you loved Fall on Your Knees I think you will love this one, too. Definitely pick it up sometime soon.

[Danielle]

This is one I can heartily recommend--especially if you have read her before and like her writing. I was so excited reading it and even now it sticks in my mind. I gave it to a friend and she is looking forward to reading it over the break. I still need to read Crow Lake, but maybe next year I will get to it. If your copy has material in the back about the book--wait to read it. I didn't know anything about the story going into it and it made for a really good reading experience trying to figure things out as there is a little mystery involved in the story as well. I had no idea the author was born in Europe. I wish she had written more books, but it seems she has only written the two and some plays.

[Danielle]

I know the size and print can be off-putting. That made me hesitate, too, when I first picked it up, but I think once you start reading you won't want to put it down. I was really captivated by this story--at times she dealt with heavy subject matter but it was so well done. Definitely my favorite book of the year.

[Stefanie]

Oh, you have me curious! Clearly you loved the book. I will add it to my list!

[Cathy]

There comes a time in every reader's life when you have to acquire a pair of those magnifying glasses that are ubiquitous in drug stores everywhere. I bought them to read the tiny print on medicine bottles, but they make reading small-print books a much more enjoyable experience.

[Danielle]

Do keep an eye out for it-it was *so* good! I can't wait to dig through my bookcase for her first book now (just one more work day to go...).

[Danielle]

Oh, I know that moment unfortunately. I have had my eyes checked and don't really need glasses for everything, but I do have those magnifiers for really, really small print but mostly to use while stitching as I can't quite see the linen threads as easy as I used to... Every once in a while a book will come along that does work better with the glasses, too. The US edition of the book, while very hefty, has okay print luckily.

[Aarti]

I love when a book touches a reader in this way and just the enthusiasm that comes through in a review - it makes you want to go hug your favorite book and thank it for existing :-) Great post here.

[Danielle]

This one really clicked for me. It was certainly a matter of the right book for the right reader at the right time. I so understand that feeling that you want to hug a favorite book--in my case it makes me feel all tingly when one really 'speaks' to me! :) I'm so glad I finally managed to write about it and hope I conveyed to others just how wonderful it is.

[Literary Feline]

I am so glad you enjoyed this book, Danielle. It is one of my all time favorites. From the writing to the characterizations--and the way it touched me personally. I could relate to so much of it, even though I am an American born in a different generation. Thank you for your insightful review!

[Danielle]

I felt the same way. Everything about the story was so well done--I was very impressed, too. I think it's a mark of really good writing that she can make a story so real to people who live in a different time and place--the greater themes, though, were really universal. This is one I could happily reread right now!