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Loading... The Lace Reader (edition 2008)by Brunonia Barry
3   fyrefly98 | Nov 23, 2009 | 
This is a really good story! I love books about an America that is so different from the one I was raised in, especially when it takes place in New England. Bobbin lace making sounds great. It makes me want to give it a try. This book is very soulful and beautiful! A story about redemption, forgiveness and how we can't forget our pasts if we are to truly know ourselves. (  ) Erica_W | Feb 3, 2012 | Towner Whitney has been running away from her past in Salem, Massachusetts, moving all the way to California and avoiding contact with her family. But when her beloved step-grandmother Eva and then a young girl Eva was trying to help both disappear, Towner is forced to come home. As she becomes involved with John Rafferty, the detective working the disappearance cases, secrets about Towner’s past and family start to unravel… After reading this book and digesting its contents a bit, I’m still not sure entirely how I feel about it. It was certainly readable and suspenseful (at most times) and I devoured it pretty quickly. But the ending was somehow dissatisfying, even if it became somewhat predictable as the book moved toward its conclusion. Avoiding spoilers, I think I had an issue with the ending because it didn’t quite explain everything that happened in the past as much as I would have liked. The writing style used in The Lace Reader was only so-so. As I mentioned, it was certainly readable and not bogged down with overly flowery and pretentious prose. However, I was not a huge fan of the change in perspectives. The majority of the book is written as a first-person narrative from Towner’s perspective, and these long sections were the best written and most engaging in my opinion. There were also a fair amount of chapters written in third person from Rafferty’s point of view, and these were not particularly compelling and did not add a whole lot to the story. This is also one chapter each for Towner’s ex-boyfriend Jack and her mother May, and these two chapters especially seemed like the cop-out approach – the author feels the need to say something he/she thinks is important and can’t figure out how to get the main character to express it, so he/she switches perspectives to get it done. Considering that the book had a twist ending, having all these perspectives actually hurts the final big revelation. Likewise, given that the book is largely about the unraveling of secrets, it makes sense for the story to be told non-linearly. However, I feel the author makes some mistakes here, too. There are times when she literally repeats herself as well as times when she writes things that no longer make sense once the reader gets to the big reveal. The reader gets the feeling that the author was losing track of where she was in the narrative and what she had already said. In this way, it seems obvious that this book was the work of a first-time novelist, but a better editor should have noticed these things. All and all, this was an entertaining read and it certainly has fodder to fuel discussion, so I can see why book clubs in particular have been drawn to this book. But I don't feel like I can wholeheartedly recommend The Lace Reader to others. (  ) sweetiegherkin | Jan 18, 2012 | I loved the book. I like the twist and turns of the book. The ending was very surprising! (  ) Jenni01 | Jan 5, 2012 | I'd say, overall, The Lace Reader was a solidly good novel. There were some absolutely gorgeous moments in it, certainly, though I found it easy to get bogged down in all the narration. The one gripe I have is that perhaps the ending was far, far too neat for the slogging I had to do to get there - it was surprisingly unsatisfactory, for me, to have everything go crystal clear by the end. Perhaps I would have preferred muddier waters? Or a more drawn-out denouement? Nonetheless, I did enjoy the novel and found it very original - I will have to check out more books by this author in the future, I think! ( ) 391 | Dec 19, 2011 | Enjoyable. ( ) wsperrier | Nov 4, 2011 | This is a very bizarre book about present day witches of Salem, lace reading (a way of divining a person's future), mental illness, sexual and physical abuse, and reality versus imagination. Confusing, but readable, this book had me not exctly sure what to say about it except for the fact that I was glad when it ended. I found it much too confusing to really enjoy. (  )1 SqueakyChu | Sep 30, 2011 | predictable but enjoyable zezzin | Sep 14, 2011 | The novel follows the homecoming of Towner Whitney, a self-proclaimed "unreliable narrator" who returns to her hometown of Salem, Massachusetts for the first time in fifteen years. In this book nothing is as it seems; the witches are on the good side and a popular preacher is abusive. As the story progresses, the reader learns more about why Towner left Salem so long ago and how it impacted the entire community. The title comes from a special talent of the Whitney women; they can "read" lace and see the future. The book is mystical without being unrealistic and draws you completely into Towner's life. ( ) ACQwoods | Jul 10, 2011 | After seeing, Public Speaking, with Fran Lebowitz, I realized that I don't have to like everything I read. As Lebowitz points out, there are too many books and very few are any good. This book is ok. It was constructed well and the writing is compelling at times. The narrative switches back and forth from first person to third person to give perspective on what the main character, Towner, (or Sophya as she is also called) is telling us. She says out right that she is a liar and a crazy woman. Using magical realism, seemingly imitating Alice Hoffman (who also sets her stories in small town Massachusetts), Barry tells us a story of survival. Towner, as it turns out has a gift of premonition and reading the future in lace. The women in her family are "gifted" as in Alice Hoffman books. But Alice Hoffman tells a better story and draws her characters better as well. Towner also has a "twin" sister and a terrible past that overshadows her daily life. (I won't give it away.) The end comes with a violent and gruesome scene and we are left wondering if Towner truly can live a peaceful life from then on. The revelations at the end of the story was dissatisfying to me. (  )1 mstruck | Jun 30, 2011 | chick lit ( ) tac1948 | Jun 6, 2011 | This was just ok for me. I did find it interesting, but also slow and at times hard to follow (I lost track of some of the characters). I was just not a fan of this author's style. ( )1 sbenne3 | Jun 3, 2011 | Unique, hard to describe and one of the best I've read. Truly wonderful story -- inventive, creative, spelling-binding and oh so well-written. ( ) luvoldnew8 | May 25, 2011 | Towner Whitney starts the story by telling you that she's an unreliable narrator. She had electroshock therapy as a teen and it disrupted her ability to remember some things, both in the past and recently. She lives with this. When her aunt Eva, who was her substitute mother, dies she's drawn back to Salem, a place full of pain and trouble for her. While there she has to face some of her ghosts and the legacy her aunt has left her. I did guess the twist but more because I was told that there was a twist than anything else. I found it an interesting, if slow read, wanting to know more about Towner and what happened to her. There were times that things slowed down a bit too much and got bogged down in details I didn't care about but otherwise it was an interesting read. ( ) wyvernfriend | May 24, 2011 | Listened to on Audiobook downloaded from Audible, this details the story of Towner, who returns to her home town of Salem Mass., after her great aunt goes missing. She has spent years away on the other side of the country and her return makes her start to confront many secrets that have been buried, including the domestic abuse of her aunt, and the sexual abuse of her twin sister and her subsequent suicide. Towner is an unreliable narrator (she says so right at the beginning), and the time she has spent in the hospital – including the Electric shock therapy - has made her memories go missing or flaky. She also is prone to hallucinations, believing she sees and talks to her aunt despite her being dead. All the women in her family have been “lace readers” – using lace to seek out signs and give advice to those who come seeking it. The narrator is good, having a nice drawl and able to keep the listener interested. This should not be underestimated when listening to them for 10 hours! The book is a fine mystery, certainly not a police procedural and definitely different. There are enough different “voices” to keep it from getting stale – Towner, her medical notes, her journals, the snippits from “The lace Reader” that has been written by her great aunt. There is also a good sub story of how the people of Salem are coping with their history of being a “witch town” and how it attracts both the tourist and the “crazies”. ( ) nordie | May 23, 2011 | The Lace Reader quickly became one of my favorite books. That characters are all engaging and I really enjoyed how Salem became a character as well. I loved how the history of the Salem witch trials was peppered in among the modern story of ostracism. My favorite part of this novel was the psychological aspect and the somewhat magical yet practical female characters. The twist at the end was something I never saw coming and it made me want to reread The Lace Reader many times. This is an excellent novel! ~ED PeskyLibrary | May 8, 2011 | THE LACE READER by Brunonia Barry begins with the narrator, Towner Whitney, calling herself a liar and warning the reader to suspect everything she says. So you have to wonder as the book progresses if any of her first-person accounts are true. But, at times, the book does switch its point of view with the accounts told in third person and from another perspective. The setting is Salem, Massachusetts. Towner has been gone for the last 15 years but has retuned to Salem because her great aunt was missing. Turns out, though, she’s there for her great aunt’s funeral. Now come pages and pages of character description, each reminding Towner of her history with them: her twin sister, who committed suicide and the mysterious reason; her mother, who doesn’t go to the funeral because she’s so solitary and the mysterious reason she gave up Towner’s twin; the circle of lace makers, abused women who her mother leads; a policeman who’s interested in Towner and usually has a hard time coming up with the right words; her brother and his fiancé; her uncle who makes her sick and the mysterious reason; and the rest of the mixture of Christians and Calvinists and witches who inhabit the town. In keeping with the notorious locale, Towner’s family all have some degree of paranormal ability, at least according to Towner. She reads minds whether she wants to or not. She mostly doesn’t want to. But there it is anyway. This is a relatively short book, but more than 70 pages of it are character introductions. Little by little, Towner is reminded of the history she tried to forget by escaping to California 15 years ago. Later, though, THE LACE MAKER finally gets interesting, then un-put-downable. Mysteries are upon mysteries are upon mysteries, the biggest one being Towner, herself. Another big one is the reason Towner’s twin committed suicide. And there are the mysteries of why Towner’s mother won’t leave the island and why she gave up Towner’s twin. Or is Towner misunderstanding? And did Towner’s uncle kill her great aunt? And what went on between him and Towner’s twin? Or was that just Towner’s imagination? And what went on between Jack and Towner’s twin and between Jack and Towner? There are so many more questions, and they’ll keep catching you up. But you have to be careful when you try to figure the mysteries; remember, Towner is a liar (and, as you will come to see, somewhat crazy) and the policeman’s opinions are partly based on Towner’s writings. While I like Nancy Pearl’s “Rule of 50” (read to the bottom of page 50 and then give up if the book still isn’t good), I obviously read further, and it turned out to be the right move. Although Berry’s writing style, divulging facts in a scattered manner, slowly and little by little, was sometimes hard to follow, it also perpetuated mystery and finally sucked me in. It seemed to me that when the story confused me, when I wasn’t sure whether it was in the past or present, Massachusetts or California, Towner, herself, was confused. Although Barry tried to wrap up the story in the end, she still left some unanswered questions. The first 70 pages rated two stars; the rest rated four. So I guess that makes three. ( ) techeditor | Apr 26, 2011 | This was a fantastic book. ( ) keycat | Apr 12, 2011 | I've never read a suspense/mystery book before and this will be my first. I thought the twist at end of the story was surprising and captivating. I enjoyed this book a lot. ( ) nu-bibliophile | Mar 7, 2011 | The format of This book is a bit different as each chapter begins with a quote from "The Lace Reader's Guide”. The book is not only a story of Towner Whitney, who came form Salem, Massachusetts and returns when it is reported her great aunt has gone missing. It is also a glimpse at the how life and relationships parallel the delicate and interrelated strands of yarn or string which make the delicate lace. The book is a mystery, a story of unsatisfied relationships and also a glimpse back at the mysteries behind psychic readings of lace, women working together, and implied witchcraft connections. The book has received mixed reviews but I enjoyed the read. Many have said it is a hard book to follow. I din’t find that true for me. I would like to have more connections made with Salem and the actual history or the witch trials, or a deeper background in lace making, or the characters have been more fully developed. However, it was an easy book to read and touches on important topics of discrimination, false accusations and abuse. I would recommend this book. ( ) WeeziesBooks | Feb 4, 2011 | Loved this book. Some of the questions I had throughout the book were answered at the end. It's a mystical story that keeps you wondering...what next? I love Ann and the dogs. ( ) bellamia | Feb 3, 2011 | not certain why this book managed to get its hooks into me but I thouroughly enjoyed it. the concept of reading lace seems a little silly until you remember that it was not always done by machine to exacting pattens but was one done by hand jessicariddoch | Dec 21, 2010 | A thriller with a twist! the only thing that let this book down for me it dragged in the middle but persevere as the ending of this book is great ( ) ilurvebooks | Dec 9, 2010 | I really liked this book. I grew up in a town bordering Salem so the vivid descriptions of the area held my interest on their own. Unlike other reviews I've read here and on Amazon I did catch all the clues and figured out the ending about half way through. Perhaps it was because I was listening to the audio version and was truly engaged by the reader or just because I like this genre. I actually think this made it more enjoyable to me. With each clue I was more and more satisfied that I knew the twist coming at the end. ( ) rxtheresa | Dec 6, 2010 | This book started out for me kinda lukewarm, then gradually I got pretty into it, until by the end I was practically obsessed with it. It really grows on you as you get into the story and start to understand what’s going on and then all of a sudden you realize you NEVER understood what was going on and it blows your mind. ( )1 mommablogsalot | Dec 2, 2010 | I liked this book, but i didn't love it. It took me until around the middle of it to really get my interest, and I'd guessed a huge piece of the jigsaw before it was revealed, which probably spoiled the ending a bit. ( ) christinelstanley | Nov 6, 2010 | |
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RatingAverage: (3.56)
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Review: While I really enjoyed this book, an unfortunate vagary of timing kept me from really loving it. See, I started this book soon after finishing Her Fearful Symmetry. Both novels feature storylines involving Huge Unspeakably Bad Secrets from the Past, and both star at least one set of twins. Because my brain was already primed for sniffing out Unspeakably Bad Secrets, and because I knew going in that Towner was an unreliable narrator (that's not a spoiler, she tells us as much within the first paragraph of the book), I was double- and triple-guessing everything that happened instead of just letting the story carry me along, and as a result, I figured out what was going on *way* earlier than I would have otherwise.
The good news is that figuring out the book's twists didn't stop me from enjoying it. The pieces of backstory and the layers of deception are applied - and removed - so carefully and so masterfully that the whole thing hangs together perfectly. Barry's also very good at describing her setting; you can practically feel the salt air blowing off the pages. (Or out of your headphones, in my case.) Towner was an excellently crafted character, feeling full and real and just slightly broken, with minute cracks below the surface that start to widen and show as the novel progresses. Barry's secondary characters are just as wonderful, particularly Rafferty, the detective, and Ann Chase, the leader of the local coven of witches.
The only real thing I had a problem with - other than figuring out the twists too early, which was my fault, not the book's - was the pacing. Or, not exactly the pacing, since things move along at a good clip and I never really noticed any dragging. It's more that I found the frequent narrative tone shifts - from Taylor's first-person narration, to third-person from the point of view of the detective, to Towner again, but reading a story about her past, etc. - a little bit unexpected and wrong-footing. Nevertheless, I tore through this book much faster than average, and only barely stopped myself from immediately starting it again to hunt for the clues I'd missed the first time. 4 out of 5 stars.
Recommendation: Just because it is set in Salem and involves fortune-telling women does not mean that it is historical fiction about witchcraft. I think it would probably appeal most to fans of psychological mysteries and unreliable narrators, or anyone who likes an intricate and very involving story. (