The Lace Reader

The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry - set in Salem as I've mentioned before. A very spooky book but not really for the obvious reasons though witches did feature. The witches who appeared were mainly for the tourists except that some of the 'real' ones read the future through patterns in hand made lace. Towner - christened Sophya - returns to Salem when she's told of her Great Aunt Eva's disappearance whilst swimming. But Towner's childhood is full of shadows which she will need to confront before she can move on with her life.

It is difficult to tell at times what is real and what a figment of the narrator's imagination and sometimes the only sane person in the story seems to be Rafferty - the cop. One of the most frightening aspects of the book is the strange religious sect which appears totally out of control and which participate in the terrifying ending. I thought it was well written but a shade difficult to follow at times, but worth reading.

Current reading

I am currently reading The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry. It is set in Salem, Massachusetts and centres on Towner Witney - newly returned because of the disappearance and death of her Aunt Eva. It soon becomes clear there is something in Towner's past which is coming back to haunt her. She left Salem as a teenager because of a terrifying experience and has returned against her will. It is an atmospheric story where the bounds between reality and Towner's nightmares appear very thin. I find I have to read it carefully because it is constantly referring to things in the past and I'm never quite sure whether I'm supposed to be in the past or the present. Certainly an interesting book though I shall reserve judgement until I finish it.

I'm also reading Alexander McCall Smith's latest No 1 Ladies Detective Agency story - Teatime for the Traditionally Built. I love the gentle humour in these stories and their traditional values. In this one Precious Ramotswe is upset because she thinks she will have to finally give up her trusty little white van. Her assistant is worrying that a new assistant in her fiance's furniture store is going to try and steal him from under her nose. Then of course there are several detective agency problems which also need the attention of the two detectives.

Then I'm also plodding a way with The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff. This is a very long book and I'm beginning to think it could usefully have been about half its length. Fascinating about the history of polygamy and the Mormons and the way, like any sect, they seek to control the thoughts and actions of their followers. It is, of course, fiction but there appears to have been a lot of research gone into it.

More of all three when I've finished them.

Coincidence

Following on from yesterday's post I looked up Sempringham and St Gilbert in Wikipedia only to find that the village was involved later on in the 17th century with the Puritan exodus to America. The vicar of Sempringham - Samuel Skelton - sailed to Massachusetts in 1628 and was in the first group of settlers to found Salem along with a lady called Anne Dudley - later Anne Bradstreet who became the colony's first published poet.

Here is the coincidence - I am currently reading The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry set in Salem. Anne Bradstreet is also mentioned in the book.