S. I. (RedHeadDread) reviewed on 9/24/2008 + 43 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 6

The Lace Reader is not Great Literature (thank god), but I did enjoy it very much. It's a little more thriller-y than my usual thing, however it's not exactly a thriller either. I did not see that *particular* big twist at the end coming though there were more minor plot twists I did anticipate, which was fine. I'd been through a string of unsatisfactory books recently and this ended it. In short, my reading palate has been satisfactorily cleansed by this book. It is not as sorbet-y as that metaphor might lead one to believe--it's got more gravitas than a sorbet--but it was certainly refreshing. I'd recommend it as a good summer beach read but with more heft than that might might ordinarily imply. It's not a potato chip read, more like pita chips and hummous. Snacky, tasty, but not unhealthy or empty calories.

Now that I think about it, it kind of reminds me of The Time Traveler's Wife for reasons that I cannot quite pin down in my own mind. Partly it's that it is mainstream fiction with a little skid into the speculative/paranormal realm, not enough to scare the normals of course, just enough to make things more interesting. I am a sucker for a sympathetic but unreliable narrator, and Barry's book has that in spades. I predict good things for Ms. Barry if she can keep this up.

Back to all reviews by this member
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details