I'm confused. Its been a few hours since I finished The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry and I am still mulling it over, because I'm not quite sure what really happened in the story. And to be frank, I'm not sure whether or not I liked the book. There were times when I was reading it that I became more and more interested in seeing where the story was going, but then something would happen that would throw me off a bit and then I wasn't really sure I wanted to know what would happen next. The writing itself was good, but I'll be honest and admit that I didn't care much for the excerpts from The Lace Reading Guide that were included at the beginning of each chapter. The plot itself is a bit puzzling because of the way it unfolds, although I do think that from the beginning we have some suspicion as to what really happened in certain storylines. At the beginning of the book we are introduced to the main protagonist, Towner Whitney (aka Sophya), who declares herself to be a liar and a bit of a crazy woman; thereby assuring the reader not to take what Towner claims to be truth to heart. And so the story begins with the disappearance of Eva, Towner's unofficial mother who has cared for her and Beezer (Towner's brother?) since the day their mother May decided to live on Yellow Dog Island. Upon her return home, Towner is forced to deal with her past and her family and everything that she ran away from. From domestic violence to issues with insanity, the author touches upon numerous topics that connect with each other in so many ways. The characters utilize the art of reading lace as a means to learn about the past and future, which I found to be a useful plot device. However, there was not much I really enjoyed about the book. Towards the end when the truth was revealed I wasn't surprised by it, so much as I was disappointed with it. This is definitely not a book I would recommend to friends. All in all, another book to cross off of my list for the Clear Your Shelves Challenge. Here's to hoping the next book I read is a good one. Happy reading!!
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Saturday, October 24, 2009
The Lace Reader - Brunonia Barry
I'm confused. Its been a few hours since I finished The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry and I am still mulling it over, because I'm not quite sure what really happened in the story. And to be frank, I'm not sure whether or not I liked the book. There were times when I was reading it that I became more and more interested in seeing where the story was going, but then something would happen that would throw me off a bit and then I wasn't really sure I wanted to know what would happen next. The writing itself was good, but I'll be honest and admit that I didn't care much for the excerpts from The Lace Reading Guide that were included at the beginning of each chapter. The plot itself is a bit puzzling because of the way it unfolds, although I do think that from the beginning we have some suspicion as to what really happened in certain storylines. At the beginning of the book we are introduced to the main protagonist, Towner Whitney (aka Sophya), who declares herself to be a liar and a bit of a crazy woman; thereby assuring the reader not to take what Towner claims to be truth to heart. And so the story begins with the disappearance of Eva, Towner's unofficial mother who has cared for her and Beezer (Towner's brother?) since the day their mother May decided to live on Yellow Dog Island. Upon her return home, Towner is forced to deal with her past and her family and everything that she ran away from. From domestic violence to issues with insanity, the author touches upon numerous topics that connect with each other in so many ways. The characters utilize the art of reading lace as a means to learn about the past and future, which I found to be a useful plot device. However, there was not much I really enjoyed about the book. Towards the end when the truth was revealed I wasn't surprised by it, so much as I was disappointed with it. This is definitely not a book I would recommend to friends. All in all, another book to cross off of my list for the Clear Your Shelves Challenge. Here's to hoping the next book I read is a good one. Happy reading!!
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7 comments:
Hmmmm, I've heard such mixed reviews on this one! I may have to try it just to see what I think. LOL
It's truly amazing how different everyone's reactions are to a specific book! I absolutely loved this novel!
I know, right! This book is just a mixed bag and therefore everyone seems to have a different reaction to it. I couldn't even really review it because after I read it I just wanted to forget it. Ugh! Oh well, at least Love Walked In is turning out to be a good read.
I have some of the same feelings about this book. I liked it while I was reading it, and thought it was interesting, but then the ending got muddled and I am still not really sure what happened.
I read something Jo wrote about it, and I thought hmmmm...that's what I missed, but I had already returned the book to the library and couldn't re-read it so it made better sense.
I like Loved Walked In, but I thought it was a little too Chick Lit, and predicatable, but sometimes I like to read those kinds of books, so I did like it.
Brenda, I'm glad you had a similar reaction to this book, because I was sure I was the only one. I'll have to check and see what Jo wrote about the book, because maybe I missed the same thing. But truth be told I am not willing to give the book another read. No thank you!
As for Love Walked In, I can see how it is like Chick Lit and predictable because of that, but I do think it was a bit better then some of the chick lit books I would buy in the charity shop bins when I lived in England. Those books were horrible! But at 25 pence how could I not buy them, right :)Sometimes you need a light read.
I felt like Barry started writing, with no idea exactly where she was going, and through in everything she thought of along the way. Then she had a hard time wrapping things up. Some parts just seemed to go on and on. I felt like it could have been a great book if it had been trimmed up.
To find out more about the real tunnels in Salem Brunonia Barry talks about read Salem Secret Underground:The History of the Tunnels in the City and then take the cool Salem walking tour about them. Learn how 144 people hid behind the creation of a park to build a series of tunnels in Salem utilizing the nation’s first National Guard to build them so a superior court justice, a Secretary of the Navy, and a bunch of Senators could avoid paying Jefferson’s custom duties. Engineered by the son of America’s first millionaire.
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