2
Sep
2009
The Lace Makers of Glenmara by Heather Barbieri
This is one of those books where when you finish it, you close, sigh, and say to yourself, “what a good book.”
It might not be for everyone. It is kind of a chick book. I can’t see many dudes liking it, unless they were into fashion-design or small town life in Ireland.
Kate, 26, takes off for Ireland, after A. her mom dies B. her boyfriend of five years dumps her (at a wedding, no less!) and C. her fledgling fashion line fails.
She does all the usual touristy stuff, but finds herself stuck in a very small village, which starts to feel more and more like home.
A long-time fashion enthusiast, she starts hanging out with a circle of women who come together and make lace, they way their mothers and grandmothers taught them. They make tablecloths and whatnot, occasionally trying to sell them at the Sunday market (which nobody really attends).
But then! Enter Kate! And her precociousness! And her ideas of lingerie! And the internet!
But, since nobody really has a computer, even though it’s 2009, she has to go hang out with the town hottie, who has a laptop, but who has his own past he is running from, and it kind of resembles Jane Austen’s romances, as in, nobody gets along at first.
Meanwhile, each of the women in the circle are going through their own personal crises. Breast cancer scars, teenage daughters, widowhood, men out at sea in the storms, abuse.
And if that isn’t enough drama, wait ’til the town priest hears about this lingerie…
Judging by the plot I’ve let you glimpse, I don’t know if I’d be compelled to read this book. I actually won it from Book Club Girl, and needed another book that took place in a different country for the Summer Reading Challenge. But I’m really glad that I read it, because it was awesome. Kate felt real to me–and not just because she is from Seattle, where I live. Barbieri’s writing does get a tad sentimental at times, but there is enough going on in this world of characters that she has created to look past that. It might be chick lit, but this isn’t fluffy chick lit. And, no shock, I definitely cried.
Buy The Lacemakers of Glenmara on Amazon
If you like this book/author, you might like:
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
How to Make an American Quilt by Whitney Otto
The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry
The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak
Dakota by Kathleen Norris
The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs
The Guernsey Literary and Potato-Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
sounds great to me… know what you mean about it not being immediately attractive but I’ve found that these sorts of books can actually be little treasures… I think its because they are so human… basic human stories… little towns are great for staging them.
Awesome, I am so glad you liked it. This book has been on my TBR for some time. I love the cover too.
Violet,
For whatever reason, I still can’t get your comments to show up. I am working on it, but as this only happens with you, I think that wordpress might just hate you.