Customer Reviews

The Way the Crow Flies: A Novel

5 star:		(80)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I am a fan of Ann Marie MacDonald. I loved her first book, Fall on your Knees. I do not think that this one was as good as her previous one however. Her storytelling in the first one was phenomenal.

This book is an intense drama taking place in the sixties at a base in Ontario at the height of the Cold War and the space race. The story revolves around the families at the base, most notably that of Jack McCarthy and his family. The story is mostly told through Madeline's point of view as a child and later as an adult. Though it is a dark story, Madeline is able to convey some houmor throughout and still make us feel such sorrow for her shattered innocence.

MacDonald looks into the subject of politics, justice, molestation and many others. She has the ability to understand all of these things and write about them in an amazing way.

It is a fascinating story and at the end the reader has to reconsider the fact that the past is not always what it seems. Sometimes when you seek the truth, you uncover much more about others and yourself.

A father "wants what he has". MacDonald creates a family that all of us who grew up in the sixties wanted to be a part of - and then she deconstructs it!! Exquisitely, quietly, despairingly the characters struggle to make sense of a world, a time and an event that does not fit into their innocent technicolor lives.

MacDonald's story hardly let me breathe - her sense of place, her depth of character, and her incredible insight into the mythical innocence of childhood is so pure and so true it hurts.

MacDonald is my kind of writer. She uses up all your senses, she surrounds you with place and time, and she pulls you into the story and leaves you exhausted but hopeful.

I couldn't agree more with most of the other reviewers here, although I will go so far as to say that the first 150 pages (rather than 100 as mentioned by another reviewer) are a bit slow and difficult to wade through, even so I say it still earns 5 stars. Once this wonderful, destined to be a classic novel gains momentum, you'll be rereading passages just to make it last longer. It is a very long book at just over 700 pages. As in MacDonald's debut novel Fall on Your Knees, she has created characters that you will love, hate, cheer for, jeer at and cry for. Both of her books have a penchant for elicting our emotions. I found myself weeping for the main character Madeleine at several points throughout the book. This is a mystery, a family saga, a spy novel, a coming of age novel, a comedy (though possibly a dark one), a love story, and a horror story. It encompasses all genres in one.
Set amidst the backdrop of the race for the moon, the cold war and a time that was safe and family oriented but rapidly changing.
I loved the depiction of the family of the era, the marriage of Jack and Mimi, who was the consumate wife of the time. The relationships between parents and children, especially that of Jack and Madeleine. MacDonald's use of language and realism is incomparable to most of todays authors.
I just can't say enough about this book, if you are considering it, and you must be or you wouldn't be reading this, consider no more, click on the buy button, you won't regret it. The characters will live on in your memory like old friends forever.

I read Ann-Marie MacDonald's first novel "Fall On Your Knees" and felt that was an incredible story. I believe this is just as good if not better.

It takes place in 1963 Canada. It is about an Air Force Family and what takes place at the base they are presently stationed at, Centralia in Ontario near the US border. The father, Jack, is quite a likable all around guy who gets in over his head on a secret mission that just about destroys him. The wife, Mimi, a French-Canadian is perhaps my favorite character. She is such a typical 60's mom.

Actually all the characters depict the early 60's right down to the smallest detail. The story is mostly told from the 9 year old, Madelines, point of view. It involves child abuse and murder and espionage and it all intertwines to make for quite an exciting and enjoyable read.

Ms. Mac-Donald captures the times so well it takes me back.. I was a child from the 60's and appreciate her well defined descriptions of life as it really was then, right down to when the young girls sign each others autograph book at the end of the school year......boy, can I remember that!!!!

This is not only about going down memory lane. It is a good mystery and character study of real everyday people and circumstances that can so truly happen in anyones life.

I appreciate Ms. Mac-Donalds writing and look forward to her next novel.

I don't read much fiction, preferring nonfiction because of its generally closer connection to the real world. I want to learn about the way things really are, and I just don't see the point of reading a lot of crap that people have dreamed up in order to be cool or clever or that will look good on the big screen after the movie rights are sold. Many of the novels I read are programmatic, transparently plotted, implausible, mannered...all sorts of dismaying faults that are so glaring to me I can't believe other people tolerate them.

From this book, however, it is possible to learn about realities: of the human soul, the psyche, ethics and morals, the crossed stars of differing outlooks, the failure of simplified rules of conduct, the tragedy of missed signs and mixed signals, and the random, remorseless absence of justice in the world. There is so much that is so deeply perceived in this book that I was amazed. I consider myself a pretty fair writer, but I could write for a thousand years and never create a book as good as this.

The plot is intricate, beautifully so, but in the best way--it unfolds with a seeming randomness, turning both on large events and small ones and accidental congruences between the two in a way that seems unpredictable, uncharted, natural. Apart from just a few compressions and conveniences for the sake of comprehendability, the plot is unusually believable. But unlike fiction where the action truly IS random, and thus purposeless, there is a concerted story here, meanings that lie in the unfoldings of events. Beneath its superficial appearance of being just another chatty modern book with the helpful label "A Novel" on the dust jacket, The Way The Crow Flies is tragedy in an ancient sense. It's about lies, concealments, perversions, flaws of character; if you have never pondered seriously on the subject of ethics and morals, good and evil, the dilemmas and concequences upon which this story centers will have little meaning for you.

I read a professional, published(!) review in which the reviewer said, in exasperation, that the book is "about a murder, after all," and the author should just stop talking and tell us who did it! I think this illustrates the exact wrong way to approach this book. The fact that the most serious event in the book is a murder (two, actually), and the author waits until the end to reveal the criminal, is the ONLY commonality that this novel has with the genre of the "thriller," the murder-mystery-detective-drama that has such well-established conventions and such an avid fan base. This plot is not complicated in order to better hide the clues as you follow along trying to figure out whodunnit...in fact, I think I could even argue that whodunnit is more or less incidental to the story, except in a couple of dimensions that don't have much at all to do with crime and punishment. (For those of you who have read the book, consider what the author actually tells us near the end about the actual instigator of the murder.)

...And speaking of crime and punishment, that's who this book most reminds me of: Dostoevsky. As writing it is flawed, but in the way that Dostoevsky is flawed, and brilliant, in the way Tolstoy can be. Its subject is not a murder mystery, but an acute psychological portrayal of the human condition and the human soul. It may not have quite the cachet of a Russian novel because it lacks the remoteness in time and the veiling of slavic consciousness that those books have for English-speaking readers, but it is really the same kind of book, and just as well done; if anything, better done, because its speaks to us more directly. I am roughly a contemporary of Madelaine's, and many of the period details brought long-forgotten associations seeping back into my consciousness.

I have to admit that when I first got to Madelaine's adult years, I was mistrustful, for a few fleeting pages wondering whether the book was going to turn out to be a great shaggy-dog morality tale of political correctness. That would have been the dirtiest of dirty tricks! I shouldn't have worried, though. This author is true to her genius (and her characters) to the last, and the story leaves as many loose ends as those it neatly ties off. Just as life does.

Don't read this book if you're expecting a thriller, or some kind of relational Peyton Place. This is a novel as great and rich as a 19th-century Russian masterpiece, except set in the fastnesses of Canada and written by a woman.

Oh, and grateful thanks to Walter Moseley, whose appearance with the author on a television show turned me on to this.

I enjoyed "Fall On Your Knees," but "The Way the Crow Flies" may be the best novel I've read in a year or two. MacDonald employs much more than clever turns of phrase; her genius is obvious in every single page. Among her many devices is the precise insertion of quotes and lyrics which effects credibility and achieves a broad context that weaves historical events and culture into the fictional storyline. The drama is underscored by allowing the reader to be "all knowing." Being privy to all the "secrets" pulled me into the plot and pushed me along with a desperation to reveal the information. The character driven, emotional storyline, is fraught with humor which is at once intelligent and silly. I recommend this book, without reservation, to anyone who appreciates fine literature.

A previous reader review compared The Way the Crow Flies to The Lovely Bones. I don't see that at all, the only similarity being the charm bracelet. I thought that this book was more like the book The Little Friend by Donna Tartt, could have been, but wasn't. Both books begin with the murder of a small child, but Ann-Marie MacDonald not only gives us an ending, she makes us see how such a horrific thing could happen.
The book is long, and some of the political conversations are too long and boring, but they are quite necessary, as they give the reader a complete understanding of Jack McCarthy, the father of Madeleine. Everything adds up, there are no loose ends. The sixties are vividly brought to life, from the perfect military wife Mimi, to the almost bohemian Karen Froelich, who wasn't perfect and didn't have "perfect" children. All of the characters are important, each one has a place in the story; Henry Froelich, Simon, Oscar Fried, Mr. March, each of the children. They all have roles, and it is all tied together perfectly.
My only complaint about The Way the Crow Flies is the very end. With all of Ms. MacDonald's attention to detail, she doesn't tell us anything about the two people I really wanted to know what happened to. But all in all, a wonderful book. Highly recommended.

"The Way the Crow Flies" is simply a great book. I rarely give 5 stars to any book but this one has it all ... great plots (yes, there were many), interesting characters, an ending that makes you sit up, and enough twists and turns to rival on old back road. MacDonald succeeds in interweaving multiple diverse plots - a spy story, a murder mystery, a coming of age story, and a few love stories - set against an accurate depiction of the era. And she does it all with beauty. I had to read certain descriptive passages aloud to others - they were breathtaking.

Be patient through the first 100 or so pages. They are a bit on the dry side. At some point you will become captivated! Once you are, you will be taking this book everywhere with you in case you have an extra 5 minutes to return to Centralia.

I was not particularly enamored of the "grown-up" Madeline when I first started Part Four. As her frantic, mixed-up life became undone, I began to see MacDonald's purpose. The after effects of abuse and the murder carry deep, deep scars.

Buy this book. You shall not be disappointed.

I love a book that makes me think as well as feel and this is top of the line for me! I finished this book wees ago and still the characters and the story are with me. I've passed it along to my friends and family and they've all loved it. At first it sems like it will never end, the book is long, then you are hoping it never does! Read and Enjoy!
Debbi

I was captivated by this book. I too fell in love with Madeleine, even her adult self, as sudden as the transformation was. I identified with the military life of moving, the lack of sense of home, it made me take her to my heart even more. I was appalled at the crime and who committed it, the chapter of discovery of the culprit was hard to read, for the victim's sake. It did help to know French, for all the little phrases interspersed. I loved it more for the length, it made it wonderful to really sink into it. Highly recommended if you have the time, I had trouble putting it down long enough to get dinner on the table.