Springtime in Lawrence Park (Library Discount)

CA$16.00 CA$20.00

Marie Barnacle should have had the perfect life. Born into wealth and prestige, she grew up in posh Lawrence Park, with its winding roads, stone mansions, and old money. But Marie’s charmed life is haunted by a dark family secret.

The youngest child of Raul and Tabitha Barnacle, Marie Dorée is burdened by her parents’ attempts to burnish the faded glory of their dynasty. This dark satire follows Marie through her troubled childhood, rebellious adolescence, and her efforts to establish a life beyond the reach of her domineering parents and possessive brothers. She traipses from one unfulfilling career to the next and drifts through a series of dalliant affairs. When she finds a love that offers a real escape, Marie’s family tightens its noose. The Barnacles would do anything to protect their darling - even destroy her.

Springtime in Lawrence Park peers past the veneer of our most dignified neighborhoods to explore the hidden - and often hysterical - lives of the decadent elite.

Marie Barnacle should have had the perfect life. Born into wealth and prestige, she grew up in posh Lawrence Park, with its winding roads, stone mansions, and old money. But Marie’s charmed life is haunted by a dark family secret.

The youngest child of Raul and Tabitha Barnacle, Marie Dorée is burdened by her parents’ attempts to burnish the faded glory of their dynasty. This dark satire follows Marie through her troubled childhood, rebellious adolescence, and her efforts to establish a life beyond the reach of her domineering parents and possessive brothers. She traipses from one unfulfilling career to the next and drifts through a series of dalliant affairs. When she finds a love that offers a real escape, Marie’s family tightens its noose. The Barnacles would do anything to protect their darling - even destroy her.

Springtime in Lawrence Park peers past the veneer of our most dignified neighborhoods to explore the hidden - and often hysterical - lives of the decadent elite.

REVIEWS

“I love books with unexpected twists and unanswered questions. This book had plenty”

“A clever, witty, dark tragi-comedy. Beguiling characters. An excellent read!”

“Arnold Logan has written a great story with really good characters.”

"Spring. Marie's time. The time she was happy."

This literary fiction took me somewhere I had never been before -- the hidden and hysterical lives of Toronto's decadent quasi-aristocrats.

It's expected that when élites attempt to restore the faded glory of their "lost" dynasty by burdening their children with their hopes and ambitions, the children's lives usually tend out to be dark satires and tragedies. (Look no further than Manhattan's Upper East Side.)

The female protagonist in this novel is from such an élite family in Lawrence Park, one of Toronto's most exclusive residential neighborhoods. After a troubled childhood and rebellious adolescence, Marie tries to establish a life away from her domineering and possessive family. During her journey to find her long-lost self, she drifts through a bucketload of unfulfilling jobs as well as a series of similarly dalliant affairs. ("Self-doubt tied her to the railroad tracks of desire where every passing train severed her mind from her heart.") Marie boldly plunges into unknown waters, "trusting that Trinity would work Fate's strings in her favor." Sadly, she can never escape the shadow of her family's tyranny, which ultimately destroys her.

The novel spans a few decades. Once I started reading it, I found it hard to put it down. The author obviously did a great job shaping his characters, bringing them to life, and exploring their delicate internal thoughts. The ending of the novel is heartbreaking but expected. Indeed, "[i]t's horrendous to watch the canker poison a once-vibrant flower."