Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780061624766
ISBN: 0061624764
Label: William Morrow
Languages: Array
Manufacturer: William Morrow
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 400
Publication Date: 2008-08-01
Publisher: William Morrow
Release Date: 2008-07-29
Studio: William Morrow

Every gift has a price . . .

Every piece of lace has a secret . . .

My name is Towner Whitney. No, that's not exactly true. My real first name is Sophya. Never believe me. I lie all the time. . . .

Towner Whitney, the self-confessed unreliable narrator of The Lace Reader, hails from a family of Salem women who can read the future in the patterns in lace, and who have guarded a history of secrets going back generations, but the disappearance of two women brings Towner home to Salem and the truth about the death of her twin sister to light.

The Lace Reader is a mesmerizing tale that spirals into a world of secrets, confused identities, lies, and half-truths in which the reader quickly finds it's nearly impossible to separate fact from fiction, but as Towner Whitney points out early on in the novel, "There are no accidents."

Amazon Best of the Month, August 2008: 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

Customer Rating:
Summary: Lace Reader engrosses
Comment: Brunonia Barry's THE LACE READER grabs the reader's attention from the first page, and never disappoints. It's well-written, well-edited, and tells quite a "tall tale" that seems real. I read it almost nonstop and immediately sent it to my best friend, who quickly emailed "Read one page and I'm hooked." It's clear why this book has gotten the attention that it has. I can only hope that the author will write more.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: A fascinating story!
Comment: THE LACE READER (Novel/Susp-Towner Whitney-Mass-Cont) - VG
Barry, Brunonia - 1st book
Wm. Morrow, 2008, ARC - ISBN: 9780061688584

First Sentence: My name is Towner Whitney.

Towner Whitney grew up in Salem, Massachusetts, a town known for the witch trials in the 1600s and where, in the present, witches have become a major economic asset; except to Cal and his group of "Calvinist" religious fanatics. Tower descends from a family of women who read the future using lace as the medium.

Having lived in California for the past 10-years and recovering from surgery, she returns to Salem after being notified that her Aunt Eva, who principally raised her, is missing. Coming back to Salem is memories and relationships, including Cal, whom she believes is responsible for Eva's disappearance.

The story begins with our being told that everything Towner tells us is a lie and everything told by the narrator is true. It is important to keep that distinction in mind. But rather than it being a lie, it's about memory and a distorted perception of what is true. This changes as the story unfolds.

There is a theme of circles throughout the story; the circle of women whether they be the lace makers, the witches or the Red Hat Ladies, and the circle of past and present. For Towner, it's her life, memories and the relationships with those around her.

Towner is a fascinating protagonist and certainly unusual. She is a seer and a lace reader, but you never quite know where things stand with her. When young, she and her sister broke into a house and cleaned it. "The kind of thing only a girl would do."

It's not the easiest book to follow But it is a compelling story with a wonderful sense of place, wry humor, a paranormal element that I very much enjoyed, and some very good suspense that kept me turning the pages wanting to know how it would end.

It's not a perfect book. There were some threads begun and left hanging. But I was reading the ARC and can hope those were corrected in the final version. I may just be curious enough to buy the final to find out.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: skip this one...don't waste your precious time
Comment: Normally before I read a book that is on the bestseller lists I read the one and two star reviews on Amazon.com. I really wish I had done this before I read this book. Thank goodness I didn't waste money on it..got it out of the library..but I am deeply upset that I wasted my precious time on this junk. It was poorly written and extremely boring. I am sorry I pushed through until the end and had no satisfaction when it finally ended. The characters are boring and poorly executed. Other reviews express this much better so be sure to read the one and two star reviews. I am shocked she was paid so much for this trash. SKIP IT!!!

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Lace Reader - Quirky with Twists and Turns
Comment: I found this book to be exactly what I wanted to read. Its plot is unique and the subject of the Salem witches, lace makers, etc., set in Massachusetts was perfect from start to finish. There are many twists and turns and the reader will find it hard to put the book down. Read carefully between the lines, there is a lot going on. I have recommended this book to my book club.

Diane James

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Comment: Things I liked: Barry has a powerful ability to evoke "place." Her descriptions of the locations were masterful. I especially enjoyed the subtle way that she drew us into the more fantastic or fantasy aspects of the story. I found the premises and settings and characters all quite believable. Towner and her Aunt Evie were especially well done.

I also enjoyed the way the story flowed along. Its pace was quite well done; I felt neither rushed nor mired down as the story progressed and the elements began to weave themselves together.

What didn't I like? (and how to review them without spoilers?) By the time the stories began to draw to a conclusion, I was confused, but Barry had drawn her characters so well that I cared what happened to them. Then, unfortunately, the plot twists overwhelmed both the pace of the novel - more or less just ended with a "revelation." I closed the book thinking - truth! - "OK, what was the point of that?"

The book is worth reading if you enjoy immersion in place and character. If plot is important, the book will even satisfy to a degree... so long as you don't demand that it end - um - logically.

I suspect this review may not be very helpful, but it may give you a sense of how befuddled you might be when the book ends.

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