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Title: The Lace Reader
ISBN: 097915930X
Author:
Brunonia Barry
Publicate Date: 2007-09-01
Publish: 2007-09-01
List Price: $14.95
Average Customer Rating: 3.5
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $59.99
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $41.44
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| Customer Review: |
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1: SLOW, DISAPPOINTING, and MEDIOCRE
THE LACE READER
I stuck with this book to the bitter end, hoping it would get better and more exciting. It never did.
I had high expectations for this book -- set in Salem, witches, lace reading, which seemed akin to palm reading -- however, it just didn't happen. The story line was thick, slow, constantly repeating itself and going in circles.
Towner and her family are lace readers, women who can read people's futures looking at lace. Towner comes to Salem for the funeral of a relative and then what? Not much -- a young woman goes missing, Towner remembers this and remembers that and rides in the boat, and the island dogs chase people, and religious fanatics rant and rave and Towner remembers this and remembers that and rides in the boat, and the island dogs chase people and on and on and on. And on --
I am in the minority with my low rating of this book, many people enjoyed reading this. I started off liking the writing, the story line and by page 25 I knew this was not a book for me. However, I kept reading, wanting to give the author and book the benefit of the doubt. I do not enjoy giving low ratings or negative reviews. The author has potential and it seems a sequel may be in the works. Count me out.
This book was disappointing to me. I won't be recommending it to others -- off to the library donation box.
Thank you!
Pam
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2: Just not impressed
I know there are many fans of this book, and while I tried my best to be drawn in by the characters and the unusual story, I just couldn't care about any of it. The ending, as other reviewers point out, is a huge "huh" moment, and the characters often left me wondering - and not in a good way. There is a great deal of literary fiction I can recommend, like The Thrall's Tale or The Heretic's Daughter, both of which have multifaceted characters you care about. But this novel didn't move me at all, and by page fifty I was wondering when it would end.
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3: I was left confused
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.
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4: Interesting twist and held interest throughout
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!
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5: Different!
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!!
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