The Other Side of the Bridge - Mary Lawson

From the author of the beloved #1 national bestseller Crow Lake comes an exceptional
new novel of jealously, rivalry and the dangerous power of obsession.

Two brothers,
Arthur and Jake Dunn, are the sons of a farmer in the mid-1930s, when life is tough
and another world war is looming. Arthur is reticent, solid, dutiful and set to inherit
the farm and his father's character; Jake is younger, attractive, mercurial and dangerous
to know - the family misfit. When a beautiful young woman comes into the community,
the fragile balance of sibling rivalry tips over the edge.

Then there is Ian, the
family's next generation, and far too sure he knows the difference between right
and wrong. By now it is the fifties, and the world has changed - a little, but not
enough.


These two generations in the small town of Struan, Ontario, are tragically
interlocked, linked by fate and community but separated by a war which devours its
young men - its unimaginable horror reaching right into the heart of this remote
corner of an empire. With her astonishing ability to turn the ratchet of tension
slowly and delicately, Lawson builds their story to a shocking climax. Taut with
apprehension, surprising us with moments of tenderness and humour, The Other Side
of the Bridge is a compelling, humane and vividly evoked novel with an irresistible
emotional undertow.

Arthur found himself staring down at the knife embedded in his
foot. There was a surreal split second before the blood started to well up and then
up it came, dark and thick as syrup.

Arthur looked at Jake and saw that he was
staring at the knife. His expression was one of surprise, and this was something
that Arthur wondered about later too. Was Jake surprised because he had never considered
the possibility that he might be a less than perfect shot? Did he have that much
confidence in himself, that little self-doubt?

Or was he merely surprised at how
easy it was to give in to an impulse, and carry through the thought which lay in
your mind? Simply to do whatever you wanted to do, and damn the consequences.
-from
The Other Side of the Bridge