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Crow Lake
Crow Lake
Sep 11, 2025 1:09 AM

Author:Mary Lawson

Crow Lake

The Morrison siblings have been haunted by tragedy since the sudden death of their parents in an accident when they were young.

Kate found an escape from the legacy of their dark past in her passion for the natural world. Now a zoologist far away from the small farming community where she grew up, she thinks she's outgrown her three brothers, who were once her entire world.

But Kate can't seem to escape her childhood or lighten the weight of their mutual past.

'I've been trying to tell everyone I know about Mary Lawson . . . Each one of her novels is just a marvel' Anne Tyler, bestselling author of French Braid

'A remarkable novel, utterly gripping...I read it at a single sitting, then I read it again, just for the pleasure of it' Joanne Harris, bestselling author of Chocolat

'Full of blossoming insights and emotional acuity...a compelling and serious page-turner' Observer

Reviews

Beautifully written, carefully balanced, Mary Lawson constructs a history of sacrifice, emotional isolation and family love without sounding a false note

—— Daily Mail

Full of blossoming insights and emotional acuity...a compelling and serious page-turner

—— Observer

Lawson's evocative storytelling...knows just how to draw the reader on...this is a novel of disappointed hopes and self-delusion, but it has a feel-good finish. Move over Lake Wobegon

—— Spectator

A novel of a darkly unpredictable and compelling kind. It is a wise book

—— Financial Times

Bulawayo is really out-Orwelling Orwell. This is a satire with sharper teeth, angrier, and also very, very funny

—— New York Times Book Review

Glory revels in the absurd but offers a terrifying vision of political disintegration for readers today

—— Financial Times *Summer Reads of 2022*

An urgent and engaging meditation on the farce of totalitarianism and the struggle of those who live under it to forge something better

—— i

Glory is a witty and moving tribute to the people of Zimbabwe and their history

—— Literary Review

Bulawayo broaches what it means to fight for democracy and call somewhere home in a timely and imaginative way . . . A memorable, funny and yet serious allegory about a country's plight under tyranny and what individual and collective freedom means in an age of virtual worlds and political soundbites

—— Franklin Nelson , Financial Times

It delivers, over the course of 400 pages of wordplay and animal magic, a surprisingly warm, intimate and, yes, human feeling

—— Melissa Katsoulis , The Times

You thought you were getting a novel as good as We Need New Names . . . Glory is even more dazzling . . . Calls to mind other great storytellers such as Herta Müller, Elif Shafak and Zimbabwean compatriot Yvonne Vera

—— Sarah Ladipo Manyika , Guardian

Bulawayo's tale of dictatorship and oppression explores the exaltation and downfall of a would-be savior

—— The 50 Most Anticipated Books of 2022, Oprah Daily

Robert Mugabe is there in all but name in this striking allegory - an Animal Farm that shows how narratives of liberation and self-determination curdle under a dictator's power

—— Fiction to Look Out For in 2022, Guardian

Based loosely on the events following former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe's 2017 fall from power, the various dazzling voices of this novel will draw you deep into its ambitious and mystifying heart

—— Most Anticipated Books 2022, Vulture

Bulawayo keenly displays the perspectives of political players and the civilians who bear the brunt of their violence. With satire that feels necessary and urgent, Bulawayo brings clarity to a murky political morass

—— Publisher's Weekly

From the author of We Need New Names, and inspired by the fall of Robert Mugabe, a parable of oppression and revolution told through the animal kingdom

—— 2022 in Books, Guardian

Genius

—— Jason Reynolds

Bulawayo says that, while writing non-fiction about the coup, she found herself constantly returning to George Orwell's Animal Farm . . . In Zimbabwe, where people are ascribed a totem from birth, usually an animal, the device works perfectly

—— Lindsey Hilsum , Times Literary Supplement

The world play dazzles

—— The Times

Glory is a witty and moving tribute to the people of Zimbabwe and their history

—— Literary Review

She writes in exuberant, looping sentences and wittily experiments with form, incorporating elements of social media... an urgent and engaging meditation on the farce of totalitarianism and the struggle of those who live under it to forge something better

—— Max Liu , i news

A story which, bravely, speaks truth to power

—— Methodist Recorder

NoViolet Bulawayo speaks truth to power with verve, employing her own lexicon and memorably vivid, often hilarious imagery

—— Sunday Times, *Books of the Year*

This Booker-nominated tale is the uplifting and original book you're looking for.

—— Stylist, *Christmas Gift Guide 2022*

I find NoViolet Bulawayo's writing profoundly salient and her novel Glory is a masterpiece for our times. Gripping and exhilarating

—— Observer, *Christmas Gift Guide 2022*

A powerful satire of political corruption... With its vivid storytelling and biting caricatures...Glory is a scathing and uproarious rebuke to tyranny

—— Daily Mail

A marvellously original, clever satire about political corruption... Bulawayo...writes with a passion which is very moving... Chipo Chung gives one of the best audiobook readings I have ever heard

—— Tablet

A warm-hearted exploration of the foibles and dynamics of family life

—— The Times, *Books of the Year*

Tyler is a superb observer of family life... Heartbreak is deftly layered over a vibrant portrayal of the city, its codes and nuances

—— Lady, *Books of the Year*

Anne Tyler is a wonderful storyteller and French Braid is another classic... Funny but hearthbreaking, too. I loved every single page

—— Good Housekeeping, *Books of the Year*

Anne Tyler's genius lies in her ability to make this unremarkable family so enthralling

—— Sunday Express

Tyler is a genius at telling big stories with small details and this is an engrossing, fascinating family portrait

—— UK Press Syndication

Gentle and comforting, but with a hidden core of desperate, cloying sadness, and is vintage Tyler

—— Sunday Times, *Summer Reads of 2023*

An astute, well-observed and compulsively readable saga

—— Daily Mirror

I adore her [Tyler] books. She’s written 24 novels and I’ve read every single one. She’s 81 and yet French Braid, her latest, is one of her very best

—— Jacqueline Wilson , Sunday Times

Kimberly Farr reads with a gentle-paced wryness, thoughtful and exact

—— Tablet
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