A TOWN CALLED SOLACE by Mary Lawson

Three main characters inhabit this novel—Clara, Liam, and Elizabeth, each of whom headlines the chapters.  Clara is eight years old, and her 16-year-old sister Rose has disappeared after one of many arguments with her mother.  Clara spends her time in a vigil by the window, awaiting Rose’s return, and taking care of her nextdoor neighbor’s cat, Moses.  That neighbor, Elizabeth, is now deceased, and Liam Kane, her heir, has moved into Elizabeth’s house.  His presence is puzzling to Clara, since her parents have chosen not to burden her with the news of Elizabeth’s death.  This novel makes a good case for not sheltering children from this kind of news, because not only does their secrecy erode Clara’s trust in her parents, but she initially mistakes Liam for a burglar.  Liam is not, in fact, Elizabeth’s son, but Elizabeth became very attached to him after her five miscarriages when he desperately needed parental love.  He was a neighbor’s son whose mother focused all of her energy on two sets of twin girls and found Liam to be an annoying and difficult burden.  Elizabeth was more than happy to take up the slack and look after Liam as frequently as his mother would allow.  A catastrophic mistake on Elizabeth’s part ended her relationship with Liam and his family, but she resumes contact with him after he is an adult.  He is now going through a divorce, has quit his accounting job, and has moved into Elizabeth’s house.  This novel bears some resemblance to Anne Tyler’s books in that it takes place in a small town with no real villains.  However, I found this book to be much more engaging, particularly with the intrigue and anguish surrounding the missing Rose.  My favorite character, however, is not one of the main three but rather Moses, the elusive cat.  I particularly love this sentence in the book, from page 188:

“She [Clara] fed Moses and then sat on the floor and watched him turn himself into triangles and squares and circles inside boxes until Mr. Kane stuck the key in the lock, whereupon Moses turned himself into a cat again and skedaddled.”