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Product Details
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Product Description
From Amazon
Brunonia Barry dreamt she saw a prophecy in a piece of lace, a vision so potent she spun it into a novel. The Lace Reader retains the strange magic of a vivid dream, though Barry's portrayal of modern-day Salem, Massachusetts--with its fascinating cast of eccentrics--is reportedly spot-on. Some of its stranger residents include generations of Whitney women, with a gift for seeing the future in the lace they make. Towner Whitney, back to Salem from self-imposed exile on the West Coast, has plans for recuperation that evaporate with her great-aunt Eva's mysterious drowning. Fighting fear from a traumatic adolescence she can barely remember, Towner digs in for answers. But questions compound with the disappearance of a young woman under the thrall of a local fire-and-brimstone preacher, whose history of violence against Whitney women makes the situation personal for Towner. Her role in cop John Rafferty's investigation sparks a tentative romance. And as they scramble to avert disaster, the past that had slipped through the gaps in Towner's memory explodes into the present with a violence that capsizes her concept of truth. Readers will look back at the story in a new light, picking out the clues in this complex, lovely piece of work. --Mari Malcolm
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. In Barry's captivating debut, Towner Whitney, a dazed young woman descended from a long line of mind readers and fortune tellers, has survived numerous traumas and returned to her hometown of Salem, Mass., to recover. Any tranquility in her life is short-lived when her beloved great-aunt Eva drowns under circumstances suggesting foul play. Towner's suspicions are taken with a grain of salt given her history of hallucinatory visions and self-harm. The mystery enmeshes local cop John Rafferty, who had left the pressures of big city police work for a quieter life in Salem and now finds himself falling for the enigmatic Towner as he mourns Eva and delves into the history of the eccentric Whitney clan. Barry excels at capturing the feel of smalltown life, and balances action with close looks at the characters' inner worlds. Her pacing and use of different perspectives show tremendous skill and will keep readers captivated all the way through.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Richly Textured Like a Piece of Good Lace,
By
This review is from: The Lace Reader Lp: A Novel (Paperback)
Towner Whitney returns to her hometown of Salem, MA from California after the mysterious disappearance of her Aunt Eva. Towner comes from a family of women who can read the future through lace. The family has buried secrets that unfold throughout the novel, including the truth about Towner's twin sister's death.Towner starts off by stating that her real first name is Sophya. She say's "Never believe me. I lie all the time..." When I requested an advance reader's copy of this novel, I was under the mistaken impression that it was both about modern day Salem and an historical fiction about the Salem witch Trials. Though the historical was only slightly touched upon, the story did not disappoint! This richly textured novel paints a vivid portrait of modern day Salem and how self-proclaimed witches live today. With a cast of eccentric characters and themes abound such as abuse, mental illness, witches, forgiveness, etc this is a real page-turner! This is sure to become a classic. Highly recommended!
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good read with an unnecessary twist ending,
By
This review is from: The Lace Reader: A Novel (Paperback)
This is a beautifully written book, richly textured and full of depth. It is easy to imagine the isolated islands, the well-developed characters and the mental disturbances experienced by Towner. It was hard to put the book down until the novel approached its conclusion. Sometimes an unexpected twist ending is both unnecessary and disappointing. In this novel there was no need for any twists, especially after the author had written about spousal abuse and mental illness with great skill. I would happily give this book 5 stars if it wasn't for the ending.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome literary debut! Poetic, mysterious.,
By
This review is from: Lace Reader, The: A Novel (Hardcover)
In the town of Salem, Massachusetts, innocent women needing to be controlled were once accused of witchcraft. Now Salem plays host to a group of women who openly parade around as witches and a whole tourist industry reenacts the past in broad daylight. A new religious group calling themselves the Calvinists goes about admonishing and threatening witches and unusual or strong women. Towner's great aunt is a lace reader, a woman who can read the future in lace. Her home and the lace reader group become a sanctuary for women escaping their abusive husbands. Together this circle of women find support and strength.Towner comes back to town after her aunt Eva goes missing, embarking on a journey that puts her past and present life into perspective. She meets Rafferty, the detective intent on solving the case. Together, their perspectives create an aura of mystery to the events of both the past and present. Towner narrates the history of Salem, Salem's current life, her own personal history and her present in a unique pattern as finely interwoven as lace. Each chapter is prefaced by a quote from the Lace Reader's Guide written by Eva describing the art, history and technique of lace reading and the Ipswich lace makers. Towner's life is like the lace with fine threads all interwoven yet converging. The reader follows all the strands in her life, not as a straight direct kind of plot, but as different memories, some reliable and others imagined, all forming the uniqueness of a piece of art---the life of human being. Brunonia Barry's narrative presents a portrait of Towner not as an isolated separate individual but a person with whom other lives converge. Yellow Dog Island's circle of women reinforces this theme on the interconnectedness of individuals. This novel was incredible. Brunonia Berry does deal with some hard issues like spousal abuse so if you are looking for a light, happy easy read, this is not a good choice. That warning being said, this novel was awesome! THE LACE READER inspires readers to follow with the imagination and go it where it leads. By the end, all the narrative threads and images add up to something spectacular and rich as past and present and landscape, history and the personal all combine. THE LACE READER is a novel built in layers and nuances like a person's life or like the memories in the mind or like the depths of psychology. THE LACE READER has some surprising and poetic twists towards the end. There is no guaranteed happy easily resolved ending --- but the ending has it's own kind of satisfying richness that combines deep emotion, sadness, even trauma into a new beginning and a new sense of freedom. Beautifully poetic!
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