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Summary: Eccentric Dysfunction Celebrated
Review: "The Way The Crow Flies" is a book you will enjoy if you enjoy stories that weave together multiple eccentric and damaged characters who are linked in some sort of dysfunctional grouping (pseudo-family). The best way to judge it is if you like stories like "Running With Scissors" by Augusten Burroughs and "My Fractured Life" by Rikki Lee Travolta. Crow follows that same sort of path, and with equal skill. As one who enjoys this type of story, I loved Crow.
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Summary: An author juggles many plots
Review: "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.
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Summary: Good book
Review: A devilishly good book. One of the best I've read in recent weeks.
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Summary: LOVED THE FIRST - THE SECOND EVEN MORE!!
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Gobsmacked
Review: Absolutely spellbound although not quite from the beggining. A little patience is needed for the first 100 pages scene setting but once you join the family in Centralia you cant leave them. I am so disappointed that the journey, all 700 pages of it, is over. The character building is outstanding, I had to put the book down to catch my breath on too many occasions. My wife thinks I'm suffering from some rare sighing, bleating and "swearing under my breath" complaint. If Mr M turns up in my patch I think I'll do time to be rid of the man. And so or similar with many of the other characters. I love, hate and feel for all of them, most of whom are living in our spare bedrooms. I know them all so well. However a complaint, and if other reviewers can assist I would welcome some guidance. How come Madeline knows so many details of the twist at the end ? She wasnt a silent witness. The whole book is told through her and Jacks eyes, not some anonymous narrator. For those who have not yet read the book, this truly does not spoil anything, it just feels out of MacDonalds style. Personally I could have done with another 100 or so pages leading to the climax !!!!!! My book of the last 12 months including all the UK Booker long list.
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Summary: Wonderfully Visual
Review: After a bit of a slow start, THE WAY THE CROW FLIES really picks up steam. There is definitely a slant towards the absurd, but with an enjoyably capricious approach. Nazi-scientists in hiding on the Canadian-American border and the effects of rapidly escalating deceit borne of the father and infected through the family of a blossoming comic....I'm not sure how to sum it up better than that. THE WAY THE CROW FLIES is wonderfully visual and engaging, as enjoyable of a recommendation as THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE, MY FRACTURED LIFE, and CURRIOUS INCIDENT OF DOG IN NIGHT-TIME
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Summary: You will never look at a crow the same way
Review: Ann-Marie MacDonald is a Governor-General's award-winning playwright and the author of "Fall on your Knees," which won the Commonwealth Prize for Best First Book and an Oprah Book Club pick. Apparently, her new novel follows in the inevitable path of success.
You will never look at a crow the same way after reading this author's newest work of fiction, The Way The Crow Flies. This long-awaited novel is an intense psychological drama, an indictment of justice and politics of the sixties. Although, the subject of pedophilia is very disturbing and "creepy," Ann-Marie MacDonald has an uncanny understanding of childhood, its humor, its pitfalls, its pain and confusion in a dangerous adult world. The author sets the stage for upcoming events with poignant cameos at the beginning or the end of each chapter. Their innocent illustrations of a crow flying and of an innocuous mountain are the keepers of dark and mysterious secrets Ann-Marie MacDonald the actress, through her different characters, is able to brilliantly convey the illusions of the different roles of this drama. Poetic prose flawlessly ties up the dialogues and monologues. The author aptly inserts the lyrics of songs from the sixties (This land is my land, Un Acadien Errant, Thank Heaven for Little Girls, etc...) to lull the reader into a make believe world where everything is dandy! The use of German and Acadian French are the spice that covers up rotten apples.
We meet Madeleine with her family on a car trip to Centralia, Ontario, where they are being transferred from a Canadian Air Force base in Germany in the early 1960's. Jack McCarthy, her father, is a decorated CO (Chief Officer) and an IO (Intelligence Officer), caught in a spy web bringing Nazi rocket scientists to the US. Jack is a devoted Canadian who loves his family above all. Mimi, an Acadian, is a ditzy housewife. Although she loves her children, she fails to communicate with them. And Mike, her older brother, is her older brother, charming and annoying like all normal older brothers. Jack has a marked preference for his youngest daughter, Madeleine, the heroin of this novel, who is about to start Gr.4 in Centralia's school; an innocent, funny little girl whose pet is a battered up and feisty Bugs Bunny. Bugs Bunny will play a big role in alleviating Madeleine's pain. A myriad of other sub-characters live on the base. The most important being Mr. March, the pedophile teacher, the neighbors, Henry Froelichs, a Holocaust survivor, his adopted family, Ricky, Colleen, and twin boys and of course Madeleine's 9 year old school mates. The plot is based on the true story of Steven Truscott, accused of murdering a little girl in Ontario and the aftermath. Madeleine is forced to testify at the trial of the innocent teenage boy.
The trial not only haunts Madeleine but also her father who knowingly withheld crucial information.
Ann Marie MacDonald parallels the unfolding drama of Centralia with an overall indictment of the rocket space race created on the backs of slaves by the Nazis. The burden of secrets, molestation, injustices are gradually revealed to the reader. An uneasy feeling is built up to the point where the suspense becomes almost unbearable. Madeleine grows up to be a successful comic who has never told anyone about her experiences and as Ann-Marie MacDonald says it so eloquently on p. 528:
"Laughter bubbles from the well of tears and at the bottom of your well, there is blood" What's to become of Madeleine? And the crows? Readers will be compelled to read "The Way the Crow Flies" to the bitter end! Lily Goldman Bookpleasures
Rating: 
Summary: Commendable effort from a talented author
Review: Anne-Marie MacDonald's second book, written six years after her very successful debut novel, Fall on Your Knees, starts woefully slowly but for those that endure the beginning, a compelling and well-written story awaits that will absorb you. The Way the Crow Files deviates strongly from the geography and timeline of 'Knees', but they share many of the same themes and MacDonald certainly writes both books in a similar style. Whereas the bleak splendor of Cape Breton Island, WWI and New York carries much of her first novel, she relies on her own abilities in 'Crow'. Predominately set at a non-descript air force base in Southern Ontario during 1962 and 1963; MacDonald has essentially demanded her writing to carry the book. While shaky at times, she produces a commendable accomplishment. The book revolves around the McCarthy family. Jack, the patriarch is an air force officer who has been recently promoted to Wing Commander at Centralia, Ontario, just north of London. It's a prestigious position for a 36-year old officer and he arrives in Centralia with his practically perfect wife, an Acadian named Mimi and their two children, eleven-year old Mike and eight-year old Madeleine. There is the general assortment of officers and wives, nothing too extraordinary except for the neighbors across the street, the Froelich's. Henry Froelich is from Germany and teaches at the local school. His family is mainly comprised of misanthropes except for his oldest adopted son, fifteen-year old Ricky. The event that changes everyone's lives is the murder of a neighborhood girl. I won't give away the balance of the plot, but suffice to say that many are directly affect by this murder in ways that MacDonald skillfully develops. The verdict arrives around page 500, but there are 200 pages left. MacDonald jumps 20+ years. Jack and Mimi are retired in Ottawa and Madeleine is a living in Toronto and experiencing a fair amount of success. However, the events of 1963 still haunt the family. The final pages explore the way people absolve themselves of unshared guilt. As mentioned before, 'Crow' begins maddeningly slow. Snails crawl faster that the first 200 pages. MacDonald grew up in the sixties and she seems to enjoy conjuring up every mundane relic from the time. References to television shows, advertisements and common adolescent activity belabor the point that the McCarthy's lead a very charmed and healthy life, physically, emotionally and mentally. While it is important to anchor this in their lives it should have been done much more efficiently. MacDonald did receive a $1,000,000 advance for this book, the largest ever provided a Canadian author and this may have influenced her writing style. I almost gave up on this book at pages 70, 150 and 210. Once the murder occurs, MacDonald hits her stride. The writing is much cleaner and has appropriate pace. She begins to flesh out her characters and drive the reader's interest. She brings the reader to care about the motivation and actions of the central characters. The murder and subsequent trial increases the complexity of character's actions and allows MacDonald the freedom to write what essentially is a 200-page addendum. She understands that horrible and life-changing events more than linger into the future. They guide people's behavior and alter their perspective throughout their life. Many authors would not be willing or able to meld this into this novel. If she ended the book at the verdict, the reader would be left to speculate on the balance of the characters' life, but you could walk away satisfied that MacDonald hasn't stranded you in mid-story. While the ending, like the beginning is too long and drawn out, it still resonates with a closure that is fitting without being cloy.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty good read
Review: As with most of the reviewers, I agree that MacDonald spins a good story. Her characters are rich, settings are very well described. I did find that the book seemed to take on a less enjoyable storyline as Madeline became an adult. I didn't think that all of the lesbian turmoil was fitting, and was disappointed in that storyline. I guess it is a matter of personal preference, but lately I feel that gays are pushing their agenda in my face a little too much. I, too, wondered how the mystery would be solved, and though the reader is informed I am disappointed that the characters are not included in the revelation.
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