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margaretefg's review
3.0
Two stories of Toronto, one in 1856-57, the other in 1997 overlap in ways that aren't immediately clear. While Jem Hallem tries to survive in 1850s Toronto, first as an apothecary then a photographer, John Lewis is trying to navigate the tense relationships in his fiancee's family in the 1990s. Slowly we see how the stories connect, Jem becomes less stiff and prim and John maybe more confident? as always I'm captivated by the reconstruction of the historical city.
emmkayt's review against another edition
4.0
Redhill does a remarkable job conveying a sense of place and history, and it's this that has remained with me more than the characters or plot. Incidentally, the 19th century photo series at the heart of the story is real, and is available online through the Toronto public library. Very interesting to look through it after finishing the book.
flogigyahoo's review
5.0
What a fine writer Michael Redhill is. I enjoyed his mysteries under the name Inger Ash Wolfe as well. But Consolation is a strange book. David Hollis believes that under Toronto's land fill lies a ship that sank during the 1850's carrying with it a photographer who made a record of every street, building, road, shack and shop in Toronto's history. Although his colleagues shrug off his ideas, his widow consoles herself by trying to prove he is right. The area is now being prepared for the building of a sports arena and she and her son in law watch the progress of the building from a hotel overlooking the site. The story then flashes back to 150 years prior and the life of Jem Hallam who is sent to Toronto to start a pharmacy which fails. He becomes fascinated by photography and begins to take pictures of the town. Beautifully written, I savored every sentence and scene. A difficult book but worth it.
clarehitchens's review
4.0
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's not a quick read, in fact I've been working on it for a while in between other books, but in the last couple of days I couldn't put it down. Two connected stories set in Toronto, one around 1850 and one in 1997. It was fascinating to see them come together.
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