The Way the Crow Flies: A Novel (P.S.)

While Jack scrambles to keep his activities hidden from his wife, Madeleine too is learning to keep secrets (about a teacher at school). The Way the Crow Flies is all about the fertility of lies, how one breeds another and another. Although the writing flows with a strong current, the profusion of pop references, especially ad slogans, grows tiresome. The author can, however, capture a lovely image in few words: "The afternoon intensifies. August is the true light of summer" and "yes, the earth is a woman, and her favorite food is corn." At times the story is marvelously compelling, as the mystery of a horrific murder in the fields near the base is unravelled. When events lead to a trial and its outcome, the story peaks, in a conclusion with no easy answers. The last third of the book takes place, for the most part, 20 years later. Here the novel meanders somewhat, losing its ability to captivate with the same intensity. The reader longs to return to the earlier world, which MacDonald has captured in vital detail. --Mark Frutkin, Amazon.ca

Product Description

The optimism of the early sixties, infused with the excitement of the space race and the menace of the Cold War, is filtered through the rich imagination of high-spirited, eight-year-old Madeleine, who welcomes her family's posting to a quiet Air Force base near the Canadian border. Secure in the love of her beautiful mother, she is unaware that her father, Jack, is caught up in a web of secrets. When a very local murder intersects with global forces, Jack must decide where his loyalties lie, and Madeleine will be forced to learn a lesson about the ambiguity ofhuman morality -- one she will only begin to understand when she carries herquest for the truth, and the killer, into adulthood twenty years later.

Ah, but this second novel is talkin' `bout My Generation - complete with soundtrack and immersion in the history and pop culture of the times. It is often not pretty and the reader feels like a passenger on a slo-mo train wreck while it happens. But it's beautifully written and well worth the time and trip. Like Harper Lee's Scout in *To Kill a Mockingbird,* Ann-Marie MacDonald's Madeline McCarthy will linger with you long after you leave the book. Another time, another trial. But the good Gregory Peck was not up there in Ontario. There's a surprise "Who-Dunnit" from clues craftily placed throughout.

Duck, Cover, and get this Book, eh?
/TundraVision, Amazon reviewer


Disturbing but well-written   February 15, 2004
Diane (Newfoundland, Canada)
21 out of 22 found this review helpful

I am a fan of Ann Marie MacDonald. I loved her first book, Fall on your Knees. I do not think that this one was as good as her previous one however. Her storytelling in the first one was phenomenal.

This book is an intense drama taking place in the sixties at a base in Ontario at the height of the Cold War and the space race. The story revolves around the families at the base, most notably that of Jack McCarthy and his family. The story is mostly told through Madeline's point of view as a child and later as an adult. Though it is a dark story, Madeline is able to convey some houmor throughout and still make us feel such sorrow for her shattered innocence.

MacDonald looks into the subject of politics, justice, molestation and many others. She has the ability to understand all of these things and write about them in an amazing way.

It is a fascinating story and at the end the reader has to reconsider the fact that the past is not always what it seems. Sometimes when you seek the truth, you uncover much more about others and yourself.


LOVED THE FIRST - THE SECOND EVEN MORE!!   November 16, 2003
16 out of 16 found this review helpful

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.


Incredible Story Telling   December 15, 2003
Jeanne Anderson (Swartz Creek, MI United States)
15 out of 16 found this review helpful

I read Ann-Marie MacDonald's first novel "Fall On Your Knees" and felt that was an incredible story. I believe this is just as good if not better.

It takes place in 1963 Canada. It is about an Air Force Family and what takes place at the base they are presently stationed at, Centralia in Ontario near the US border. The father, Jack, is quite a likable all around guy who gets in over his head on a secret mission that just about destroys him. The wife, Mimi, a French-Canadian is perhaps my favorite character. She is such a typical 60's mom.

Actually all the characters depict the early 60's right down to the smallest detail. The story is mostly told from the 9 year old, Madelines, point of view. It involves child abuse and murder and espionage and it all intertwines to make for quite an exciting and enjoyable read.

Ms. Mac-Donald captures the times so well it takes me back.. I was a child from the 60's and appreciate her well defined descriptions of life as it really was then, right down to when the young girls sign each others autograph book at the end of the school year......boy, can I remember that!!!!

This is not only about going down memory lane. It is a good mystery and character study of real everyday people and circumstances that can so truly happen in anyones life.

I appreciate Ms. Mac-Donalds writing and look forward to her next novel.


MacDonald's done it again!   January 23, 2004
Lisa Fischbach (Henryville, IN United States)
13 out of 13 found this review helpful

I couldn't agree more with most of the other reviewers here, although I will go so far as to say that the first 150 pages (rather than 100 as mentioned by another reviewer) are a bit slow and difficult to wade through, even so I say it still earns 5 stars. Once this wonderful, destined to be a classic novel gains momentum, you'll be rereading passages just to make it last longer. It is a very long book at just over 700 pages. As in MacDonald's debut novel Fall on Your Knees, she has created characters that you will love, hate, cheer for, jeer at and cry for. Both of her books have a penchant for elicting our emotions. I found myself weeping for the main character Madeleine at several points throughout the book. This is a mystery, a family saga, a spy novel, a coming of age novel, a comedy (though possibly a dark one), a love story, and a horror story. It encompasses all genres in one.
Set amidst the backdrop of the race for the moon, the cold war and a time that was safe and family oriented but rapidly changing.
I loved the depiction of the family of the era, the marriage of Jack and Mimi, who was the consumate wife of the time. The relationships between parents and children, especially that of Jack and Madeleine. MacDonald's use of language and realism is incomparable to most of todays authors.
I just can't say enough about this book, if you are considering it, and you must be or you wouldn't be reading this, consider no more, click on the buy button, you won't regret it. The characters will live on in your memory like old friends forever.