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Book Review: The Lace Makers of Glenmara by Heather Barbieri
May 31st, 2010
So what do you do when you’ve lost your beloved mother, your boyfriend has dumped you for someone else and your clothing line has completely failed – why you take a trip to Ireland of course. That’s exactly what Kate in The Lace Makers of Glenmara by Heather Barbieri does!
Kate was to have taken the trip to Ireland with her mother; it was something they had planned for but after Kate loses her mother she still feels she should take it and experience all that her mother had so looked forward to. As Kate is traveling through Ireland she ends up landing in the quaint little village of Glenmara and it’s here that she meets some wonderful ladies and learns the fine art of lace making.
Kate wanders into the village on market day and meets Bernie and Aileen who are always there trying to sell their lace to tourists passing through. Kate, being a fashion designer and having always sewn things is intrigued by the beautiful lace. Very quickly Kate forms a friendship with Bernie, one of the lace makers and she invites her to stay with her. It is here that Kate is introduced to both lace making and the Lace Makers of Glenmara – a wonderful group of ladies with the exception of one (Aileen) who come together to make lace and chat.
These women have learned this fine art of lace making from their mothers and grandmothers before them. You can feel the generations gone by as they talk about the traditions of lace making. Kate, being very creative feels that the women can go further with their lace making. She thinks that with a few adjustments they can take their product out into the world and really bring it recognition and maybe begin to earn more money for themselves. So Kate suggests adding the lace to undergarments and the idea takes off and the women set about teaching Kate the art while renovating their undies.
For a relatively shorter book there are a lot of characters and at times it is a bit hard to keep track of them and I found myself flipping back and forth a bit. I really liked the characters though and if I had one big complaint it would be that I wished this book had been longer and the characters more fully developed. I would have loved to hear more about each of them. Bernie I think we get to know a bit more as she is more of a main character along with Kate. Bernie is a sweet older lady who I just loved – she’s someone you can absolutely see yourself sitting down to tea and a chat with. Aileen was the one who was not so nice. She was very jealous of Kate and it took her quite a while to warm up to things. The other ladies Oona, Colleen and Moira I liked as well but again we’re given a few pieces of their lives but really left wanting so much more.
All that aside, I really enjoyed this The Lace Makers of Glenmara. Of course for me any book that involves Ireland, a craft and a group of women coming together in friendship is always a book that will capture my interest. I enjoyed hearing some of the history of Ireland along with some points about lace making and only wished there was more. This was an easy, comfortable story about a type of life that is all but gone by and that is exactly what I found charming about it. I just let myself fall into the story and enjoyed it!
My thanks… to me. This was my very own eBook copy that I bought for myself.
Filed under 2010 Book Reviews, 2010 eBook Challenge, 2010-100+ Challenge | Comments (19)
Maybe it's Ireland, dunno, but I really want to read this book, and have wanted for a while.
Great review
Ireland is always a draw for me too. TLMG has been on my wish list for a while. I'm a little disappointed that the characters were less than fully developed. Never the less it does sound interesting. Wonderful review, Dar.
Nice review, Dar. I liked this book!
I've never heard of this book. Will have to check it out!
Great review! I have this book on my bookshelf waiting to be read. After reading this, I just know I'm going to enjoy it.
I like anything Ireland myself as well. This sounds like a great one.
Nice review!
http://thebookworm07.blogspot.com/
I loved your review about this book and makes me want to read it now…
I have added it to my wishlist…
- Arch
If things were going bad in my life, I'd want to take a trip to Ireland too! I'll have to remember this one when next March comes around in honor of St. Patrick's day.
This sounds like a good book, perfect for the summer. I am glad you enjoyed it, Darlene.
What a great review! It is my dream to visit Ireland one day and I love reading books set there. I have seen this book around and truly hope to get to read it soon!!
TLMoG has been on my "want it" list for a while. After learning a little about the art of lace making in The Lace Reader I thought this one sounded like another I'd enjoy, especially with the Irish setting! Glad to hear you liked this one, Dar.
Oh I have been wanting to read this one since it came out..thanks for the review…
I'm always curious about a book when the reviewer says they wish the book had been longer! We're so often saying we wish they were shorter.
Dar, I read this book a while ago and I loved it! I've been to Ireland and it is just as described in the book! I too wish there was more about the lacemaking.
I absolutely loved this one!! I agree that it did leave you wanting more stories of the other ladies…maybe she'll write one for us!
I am reading this one for a book tour in the upcoming months and looking forward to it. I love stories centered in or around Ireland, and I also think I would really enjoy the lace making details. Glad you liked the book, Dar, it sounds wonderful!! Great review!!
I SO agree about wanting more of this cute little novel. I think it's so funny how we both read this one!
BTW…I'd love to read The Help together! I know you left me a comment about it. I'm going to be picking it up for the 48 hour readathon this coming weekend. Would you be interested in reading it sooner than later?
Great review as always, Dar! I have a thing for lace but hardly wear them. They're so beautiful though…
I really found this one to be a pleasant surprise. here's my review!
http://bibliofreakblog.com/fiction/lace-makers-glenmara-iby-heather-barbierii/