Book 19: The Lace Reader

The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry. This narrator tells us from the beginning that she's a liar, and you would be wise to remember that. She has been a mental patient and has received electric shock treatments which destroyed some of her memories. Plus, she lies. I think you know that I enjoy an unreliable narrator, and this one was no exception.



Some elements of this story include twins, domestic abuse, identity, being "damaged", witches, going home again, and duty to family v. escaping from family.

Some connections to other books I've read this year:

1. Roger Williams. A Puritan who I learned about in Sarah Vowell's The Wordy Shipmates. He was the most confrontational of the New England colonists, insisting that the church should cut off all contact with the Church of England. The Lace Reader takes place in and near Salem, Massachusetts, which was established by some Puritans.

2. In both The Lace Reader and The Empty Chair, by Jeffery Deaver, a bad man is trying to break into a house to hurt a woman. He breaks a window, and the woman grabs his hand and brings his wrist down on the broken glass.

3. In The Lace Reader, a character compares himself to John Newton, who wrote "Amazing Grace" and was a depraved slave trader. In A Maiden's Grave, by Deaver, one of the main characters realized she was going deaf when she mis-heard the name of a song as "A Maiden's Grave" instead of "Amazing Grace" and asked for the sheet music in a store.

What about the name "Brunonia"??? According to Wikipedia, it's the name of an Australian plant, otherwise known as the blue pincushion.

If I ever finish one of my novels, perhaps I will publish it under a nom de plume like "Trunonia" or "Tonyaniana."