THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BRIDGE

Mary Lawson. The OTHER SIDE OF THE BRIDGE. Vintage, 2006. 

Found this book at the thrift store on Saturday and finished reading it in 4 days. That is fast for me. I chose it because I have enjoyed two other novels by this writer, CROW LAKE and A TOWN CALLED SOLACE. 

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BRIDGE braids three time periods, pre-1939, post-1939, and mid-1950s, in a small northern Ontario farming community. The family dynamics, sibling rivalry, is fascinating, especially around the difficulties of dealing with a child who lies and manipulates. The struggle to make decisions for himself for Ian, the doctor's son, is also convincing. And the types of trauma common to such a place and such a time--accidents, suicide, betrayal, drunkenness, peer pressure--are well told. I was somewhat skeptical at the twice-referenced return of soldiers for R&R from WW II. Canadian troops travelled by sea and no one got to come home on a break in the same way members of the armed forces did in England. Members on R&R at home would have been troops in training who never left Canada or the training officers. This caused a credibility problem for me, in an otherwise gripping story.