The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry
Book description
Can you read your future in a piece of lace? All of the Whitney women can. But the last time Towner read, it killed her sister and nearly robbed Towner of her own sanity. Vowing never to read lace again, her resolve is tested when faced with the mysterious, unsolvable disappearance of her beloved Great Aunt Eva, Salem’s original Lace Reader. Told from opposing and often unreliable perspectives, the story engages the reader’s own beliefs. Should we listen to Towner, who may be losing her mind for the second time? Or should we believe John Rafferty, a no nonsense New York detective, who ran away from the city to a simpler place only to find himself inextricably involved in a psychic tug of war with all three generations of Whitney women? Does either have the whole story? Or does the truth lie somewhere in the swirling pattern of the lace? Published in 2006, 353 pages.
Description from book jacket
Research the author and the book using library resources
Information on the author’s life and works is available through our library’s online resources. Recommended online resources for The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry include Literature Resource Center and Academic Search Premier. Enter your library barcode and then use the author’s name to search for full-text encyclopedia or magazine articles.
Discussion questions
The Lace Reader discussion questions from Reading Group Choices
Additional information
Brunonia Barry’s website
Borders Book Club has a video interview with the author in which she discusses the novel as well as other related topics.
Harper Collins has collected resources about The Lace Reader and Brunonia Barry
NPR interviewed Brunonia Barry about the book
Readalikes
Susannah Morrow by Megan Chance
The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O’Farrell
Summertime by Liz Rigbey
The Last Witchfinder by James Morrow
