Tuesday, October 7, 2008 9:17 PM CDT
BOOK REVIEW: 'The Lace Reader' By Brunonia Barry
Review by Juanita Sherwood
In the first paragraph of “The Lace Reader,” the main character/narrator, Towner Whitney, says that she “lies all the time.” As you read, you will forget about that statement, but at the end, you’ll realize that it is true. And then you will be stunned.
She also says that she is crazy, and that her family is sometimes referred to as “unusual,” “oddball” or “quirky.” After the last page, the reader might agree with that as well.
The book is set in Salem, Mass., amid residents who make money from the notoriety of that community. Some of the residents have moved there for the proximity to the tourist business, whereas some characters are multi-generation residents.
Towner is called to Massachusetts from California when her great-aunt Eva, with whom she is very close, is found to be missing. Although she is recovering from a hysterectomy and shouldn’t travel, Towner feels the obligation to return home.
When she arrives in Massachusetts, we meet her brother Beezer; his fiancée, Anya; Towner’s mother, May; and Towner’s aunt Emma and uncle Cal Boynton. Later, we become acquainted with Detective Rafferty, who falls for Towner; Jack LaLibertie, important in Towner’s past; Angela Rickey, a crucial character in the story, especially at the end; and Lyndley, Towner’s sister.
Several members of the family are lace readers: those who can look into a piece of handmade lace being held in front of another and glean that person’s future. Towner has the ability to “read lace” and sometimes the thoughts of others, as well.
This is partly what has caused problems for her emotionally; another cause of her problems, not revealed right away, is what has been done to her in the past.
As the story unfolds, we find that there is conflict in Salem between a controversial religious group called the Calvinists and other people in the community. Cal Boynton is their leader, thus the name Calvinists.
Cal purports to assist his followers with bettering themselves, but uses them instead. A failed sailing champion, Cal also seems to have made a great deal of money from the group’s proselytizing activities, but the members themselves remain poor. Cal is involved more in the story than this, but that is not revealed until the end.
That Towner’s real first name was Sophya is more important to the story than it first seems. It might be assumed that she changed it on a youthful whim, but later it is discovered that it was to exert some control over her life when it had gone terribly out of control.
At the beginning, it seems that this might be a ghost story. It is not. Then, it seems that it might be a detective story, or one centered on psychic phenomenon. It is not those, either.
Rather, it is a story where all that the narrator tells us is fact mixed with fantasy. The revelations of which is real and which is not will leave you thinking, “Oh, my,” when the story is finished.
Keep in mind that Towner’s psychic abilities are important, but her predictions are not always totally in focus and that has contributed to a great deal of her difficulties in the past.
You will need a little time to mull over every situation in the story, to be able to sort out for yourself “what was real,” “what was not” and “why” after you have finished. You will appreciate the author’s skill in creating this intricately woven tale. It is well worth your time and deserves the spot it had on the best-seller list a bit of time ago.
Sherwood of Charleston is a retired reading teacher.
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