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weaselweader's review against another edition
4.0
“Ah … what’s up doc?”
There is simply so much to unpack in THE WAY THE CROW FLIES, that it’s all but impossible to imagine the author actually managed to weave it into a credible novel that made sense – a Canadian Air Force teaching base; the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban missile crisis; MI6, British espionage and control of the defection of a Soviet scientist through Canada to NASA; the hot and heavy final stages of the space race between the USA and the USSR; a Jewish survivor from an underground Nazi labour camp; sexual assault, pedophilia, child rape and ultimately murder; the mistreatment of children at aboriginal residential schools; the clash between Parisian, Québécois and Métis variations of French; cerebral palsy; Canadian volunteers to the American armed forces who served in Vietnam; homophobia, homosexuality, bisexuality and lesbianism; the production of ad lib and staged stand-up comedy; military families and children; Diefenbaker’s political mishandling of Canada’s alliance with the US during their stand-off against Khruschev; the cuteness, friendship, brattiness, aloofness, and animosity arising between young girls in school and at play; the grooming tactics of a sexual predator; a murder investigation, a gripping trial and a life sentence based on a wrongful conviction (riffing on the real life Ontario story of Stephen Truscott’s murder trial); and more.
More power to Ann-Marie MacDonald. Although THE WAY THE CROW FLIES comes perilously close to flying off the rails on a couple of occasions, most notably during the collapse of the main protagonist’s lesbian relationship and her ultimate coming to grips with the understanding that her friend had been wrongfully convicted, the story ultimately holds together and closes with a tense and surprising conclusion. Whether or not that conclusion is satisfactory is a decision that will have to be left to individual readers.
Canadian readers who are old enough to have lived through the events in MacDonald’s tale will be thrilled to see that her novel is positively awash in cultural references – song lyrics, cartoon quotes, current events, place names and location descriptions, references to television shows and movies. What an experience to be transported back in time so completely by weird and wonderful memories being hauled to the surface that my own life had buried so deep for so long!
Definitely recommended.
Paul Weiss
There is simply so much to unpack in THE WAY THE CROW FLIES, that it’s all but impossible to imagine the author actually managed to weave it into a credible novel that made sense – a Canadian Air Force teaching base; the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban missile crisis; MI6, British espionage and control of the defection of a Soviet scientist through Canada to NASA; the hot and heavy final stages of the space race between the USA and the USSR; a Jewish survivor from an underground Nazi labour camp; sexual assault, pedophilia, child rape and ultimately murder; the mistreatment of children at aboriginal residential schools; the clash between Parisian, Québécois and Métis variations of French; cerebral palsy; Canadian volunteers to the American armed forces who served in Vietnam; homophobia, homosexuality, bisexuality and lesbianism; the production of ad lib and staged stand-up comedy; military families and children; Diefenbaker’s political mishandling of Canada’s alliance with the US during their stand-off against Khruschev; the cuteness, friendship, brattiness, aloofness, and animosity arising between young girls in school and at play; the grooming tactics of a sexual predator; a murder investigation, a gripping trial and a life sentence based on a wrongful conviction (riffing on the real life Ontario story of Stephen Truscott’s murder trial); and more.
More power to Ann-Marie MacDonald. Although THE WAY THE CROW FLIES comes perilously close to flying off the rails on a couple of occasions, most notably during the collapse of the main protagonist’s lesbian relationship and her ultimate coming to grips with the understanding that her friend had been wrongfully convicted, the story ultimately holds together and closes with a tense and surprising conclusion. Whether or not that conclusion is satisfactory is a decision that will have to be left to individual readers.
Canadian readers who are old enough to have lived through the events in MacDonald’s tale will be thrilled to see that her novel is positively awash in cultural references – song lyrics, cartoon quotes, current events, place names and location descriptions, references to television shows and movies. What an experience to be transported back in time so completely by weird and wonderful memories being hauled to the surface that my own life had buried so deep for so long!
Definitely recommended.
Paul Weiss
bookshy's review against another edition
3.0
I think this boon could have been a hundred pages shorter and it would have improved it immensely.
The good: wonderful writing style, fantastic story, and good character development
The bad: long chapters on (IMO) unrelated 50's politics saying the same thing over and over, most of which could have been covered in a very short period of writing
If you have the patience to get through the long paragraphs on politics then this is a fantastic read, and recommended for anyone with a strong stomach.
The good: wonderful writing style, fantastic story, and good character development
The bad: long chapters on (IMO) unrelated 50's politics saying the same thing over and over, most of which could have been covered in a very short period of writing
If you have the patience to get through the long paragraphs on politics then this is a fantastic read, and recommended for anyone with a strong stomach.
angelica_jardinerica's review against another edition
5.0
This novel just sweeps you along as the past and its painful truths is slowly revealed. The idyllic beginning constantly tempts fate to come along and upset the apple cart, which it does in ways you can't imagine.
worlds_between_the_sheets's review against another edition
5.0
Tämä on aivan uskomattoman vaikuttava kirja. Mieletön ajankuvaus 1960-luvun Pohjois-Amerikasta, Kylmästä sodasta, natseista ja sotarikollisista Yhdysvalloissa sekä tarpeesta päästä kuuhun... Ajankuvan lisäksi kirja tarkastelee uskomattoman tarkkanäköisesti moraalin suhteellisuutta, perhedynamiikkaa, traumojen ilmenemistä sekä lapsen seksuaalista hyväksikäyttöä ja sen seurauksia.
amethyst_hearts_books's review against another edition
5.0
This book is amazing. It had a slow start, but once I got into it I didn't want to put it down. I have an Acadian background, and there were so many things about Mimi that are true about my own mother, down to the ceramic frog to hold the pot scrubber and sending packages in cereal boxes turned inside out.
I just fell in love with Madeleine.
I just fell in love with Madeleine.
16thedition's review against another edition
2.0
Too slow for me. Way too much detail without plot progress. Gave up after 400 pages (there was another 400 to go!).
lesleymac18's review against another edition
5.0
*There aren't REALLY spoilers in here but for some context, some parts of the plot are mentioned* This read of The Way the Crow Flies was my second or third read-through, and I'm glad that I read it again because I'm at a very different place in life as an adult than I was when I read previously, and my perspective on it changed a lot, and I also definitely blocked some things entirely out, which makes sense given the content. But oddly - despite forgetting a lot of the story - I've told many people throughout the years that this was one of my favourite books. So obviously it brought out really strong feelings in me that perhaps I couldn't identify entirely on the first read. If you can believe it, I first read this book as a 14-year-old, possibly 13! Yikes. (I was reading well above my grade level and my parents were very bad at censoring what I chose, LOL). Now for the actual content: I love the Canadiana landscape that MacDonald paints throughout the novel, and as someone who was born well after the Cold War (but had parents who lived through the
The 60s, '70s, '80s, etc.) her descriptions of their home lives, their friends, their inner monologues, and even their clothing, created a time capsule in my mind's eye of an era and place I'll never be able to experience as a Canadian, yet I felt like I was there. The way the book delves into father-daughter relationships and the subtle hints of her lesbianism (you can catch it really early if you can relate to some of Madaline's inner thoughts yourself...lol) are what make this book such a strong emotional read to me. Molestation and murder of a child are hard topics to cover, and there are some detailed sexual assault scenes in the book that are uncomfortable, so be sure you're prepared to read that element before you pick it up. I agree with many other reviews (though some are quite dramatic about it and I do not think it was THAT bad) that the book slows towards the end when we are seeing life in the '80s with Madaline as a 30+-year-old, but I would argue that the way in which she depicts her processing her grief and trauma is quite accurate, it takes time. That, and I get the vibe from some reviews that there's a bit of internal bias happening in regards to being disinterested in reading about the adult life of a lesbian...ahem. I personally really enjoyed reading about her life, career, and relationships. So, the slower pace of the tail end of the book was not bad enough to take away my stellar 5-star rating. There is also quite a major twist at the end and while you may feel confident in your ability to play "whodunnit" and win, the reveal may surprise (and sicken) you.
The 60s, '70s, '80s, etc.) her descriptions of their home lives, their friends, their inner monologues, and even their clothing, created a time capsule in my mind's eye of an era and place I'll never be able to experience as a Canadian, yet I felt like I was there. The way the book delves into father-daughter relationships and the subtle hints of her lesbianism (you can catch it really early if you can relate to some of Madaline's inner thoughts yourself...lol) are what make this book such a strong emotional read to me. Molestation and murder of a child are hard topics to cover, and there are some detailed sexual assault scenes in the book that are uncomfortable, so be sure you're prepared to read that element before you pick it up. I agree with many other reviews (though some are quite dramatic about it and I do not think it was THAT bad) that the book slows towards the end when we are seeing life in the '80s with Madaline as a 30+-year-old, but I would argue that the way in which she depicts her processing her grief and trauma is quite accurate, it takes time. That, and I get the vibe from some reviews that there's a bit of internal bias happening in regards to being disinterested in reading about the adult life of a lesbian...ahem. I personally really enjoyed reading about her life, career, and relationships. So, the slower pace of the tail end of the book was not bad enough to take away my stellar 5-star rating. There is also quite a major twist at the end and while you may feel confident in your ability to play "whodunnit" and win, the reveal may surprise (and sicken) you.
melzer's review against another edition
4.0
This book took me a while to get into, but I was really happy when it did. It caught my attention and I wanted to keep reading.
However at the end, I didn't really like who Madeline turned into in the last section. She really annoyed me for some reason.
But all in all, I think the middle made up for it and I would recommend this book.
However at the end, I didn't really like who Madeline turned into in the last section. She really annoyed me for some reason.
But all in all, I think the middle made up for it and I would recommend this book.