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| The Lace Reader: A Novel | 
 enlarge | List Price: $24.95 (€19.71)
Buy New: $10.58 (€8.36)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  (based on 143 reviews)
Sales Rank: 776
Category: Book
Author: Brunonia Barry
Publisher: William Morrow
Studio: William Morrow
Manufacturer: William Morrow
Label: William Morrow
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 400
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.6
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6 x 1.3
ISBN: 0061624764
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780061624766
ASIN: 0061624764
Publication Date: August 1, 2008
Release Date: July 29, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
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.com Review
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
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| Customer Reviews: Read 138 more reviews...
 I was left confused November 20, 2008
In many ways, this book left me confused. I read along, following the story closely and with great interest. It moved in strange ways, with different voices, but it all seemed to flow just fine. And then the ending brought me to an abrupt "huh?!?!"
I went back and read large portions of the book thinking I must have just missed something, but in the end it just confirmed that although some of the twist was in the text, a lot of it was not. Too much of the fiction was fiction, or otherwise left completely open ended. I could make sense of some of it, but in the end the reader is left to decide how much of the narrative was a figment of Sophya's mind, and how much was "real". It was pretty unsatisfying, I have to say, and I don't know that it was necessary to the story. I think some of it could have been explained better in the end.
I enjoyed Sophya's story, the hope and circle of life quality of it and I enjoyed reading about her relationship with Rafferty (although I have to say that was telegraphed with the very first appearance of Rafferty in the story). The sense of place was well developed and I felt pulled in, just in the end the whole thing got very tangled and left me with more questions than the text could answer. I believe in leaving some things to the imagination, but I think this one went a bit too far.
In the end, I can't even clearly say whether I really liked it or not - is it a mess, or is it a forgivable twist in an interesting story? Maybe it's just a bit of both.
Interesting twist and held interest throughout November 19, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Thoroughly enjoyed this book - the tidbits at the start of each chapter about Lace/Lace Readers was a nice change up to the story. Could picture each of the characters, appreciate when that connection can be made. The ending did make me want to go back and reread the whole book again! Well done, Enjoy!
Different! November 15, 2008
I didn't think I'd like this book, but got hooked from the beginning. I live in New England, and am very familiar with Salem, so I was happy to see it in the spotlight of this book. The sense of place truly played a role in the lives of the characters.
I did *not* see the twist coming in this story, and it will keep the book with me long since I've finished it as I will continue to review what happened.
All in all, I think this is a good book with interesting characters, including place as a character.
Good job!!
3 Star Should Have Been 5 November 13, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I read this book because it was my Book Club pick. I loved the first half of the book and thought it reminded me a little of "Prince of Tides". I really liked the characters and the setting but soon was completely confused. There were so many discrepancies and surprise endings. There could have been some hints along the way.
My Book Club felt the same way.
One big Question no one could answer was?
WHY DID TOWNER/SOPHYA REFER TO EVA AS HER "GREAT-AUNT"?????
WE UNDERSTOOD THAT EVA WAS G.G. WHITNEY'S SECOND WIFE AND MAY AND EMMA WERE HALF SISTERS, BUT EVA WOULD BE TOWNER/SOPHYA'S GRANDMOTHER IF SHE THOUGHT EMMA WAS HER MOTHER OR EVA WOULD BE HER STEP-GRANDMOTHER IF SHE THOUGHT MAY WAS HER MOTHER.
THIS MAY SEEM LIKE A SMALL THING, BUT IT IS AN EXAMPLE OF OTHER INCONSISTENCIES.
We think Brunonia Barry has a best seller in her, but not this one.
 Disappointed November 4, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I'm sorry to say that after longing to read this book because of the title, I was disappointed when I read it. It seemed to me to just go on and on, never captured my interest.
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