Saturday, July 18, 2009

The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry

History of Ipswich Lace
Some excerpts from Book Buzz

Look for something that enhances the pattern or something that breaks it.
—from The Lace Reader's Guide

The Lace Reader must stare at the piece of lace until the pattern blurs and the face of the Seeker disappears completely behind the veil. When the eyes begin to fill with tears and the patience is long exhausted, there will appear a glimpse of something not quite seen.
—from The Lace Reader's Guide

In this moment, an image will begin to form… in the space between what is real and what is only imagined.
—from The Lace Reader's Guide

Each Reader must choose a piece of lace. It is hers for life. It might bea pattern handed down through the generations or a piece chosen by the reader for its beauty and familiarity. Many Readers prefer the handmade laces, particularly those of old Ipswich or the laces madetoday by the women of Yellow Dog Island
—from The Lace Reader's Guide

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We all agreed that Cal was a horrible man, charming in public, evil on the inside.

The sheltering of women was similar to the Underground Railroad for African Americans.

We wanted more about the lace included in the story.

Many of us agreed that when Towner says she’s unreliable, she is. Things aren’t what they seem in this book.

Some of us had trouble keeping the names apart – Towner was Sophia and her twin was Lindsey, whom she called Linely. Call is the biological father.

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Look into the lace . . . When the eyes begin to fill with tears and the patience is long exhausted, there will appear a glimpse of something not quite seen... In this moment, an image will begin to form . . . in the space between what is real and what is only imagined.

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? (From the publisher.)

We also took a trip to Salem, MA. First, we saw a film at the Visitor Center about Essex County, it's culture, industry, history, and integration of people and ideas. Pretty good, for what it was. Tag line… There's more to Salem and Essex County than just the witch trials…




One of the walking books included an architectural tour of houses. We took our own walk and the ones we found interesting weren't in the tour book. The tour book seemed to mostly have houses related to historic figures and those which charged admission.













The Witch Trial Memorial and Graveyard were fascinating.
There was one man crushed to death and all the others were women who were hanged.







The judge who presided over during the hysteria (Nathanial Hawthorne's uncle) is buried here.
One of the original "pilgrims" from the Mayflower is also here.
And, Cotton Mather's relative!











"Bewitched" was honored by TV Land, but I really liked the Maiden, Mother, and Crone (historically, thought of as the "witch") paintings.









Rockafellas for lunch.










The Ropes Mansion formal garden.