Road Ends

by Mary Lawson

My first Mary Lawson novel. I wanted to read her because, like me, she writes about small-town Ontario, and in this one she contrasts the life there with London, England in the 1960s. Without any particular plot, this story takes us deep into the lives of its three central characters, all members of the same family, and all experiencing their own tragedy, frustration and despair. The thing I found most interesting, and depressing, is the assumption by absolutely everyone that the only women can care for children and run a home. It is this belief, and lack of compassion for a mother of eight who cannot cope, that leaves the whole family in ruins and ultimately traps the only daughter. I finished the novel feeling upset and grateful that I born into an era that enabled me to escape such a fate myself.