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3.35 AVERAGE
3.35 AVERAGE
The beginning of the book...
"My name is Towner Whitney. No, that's not exactly true. My real first name is Sophya. Never believe me. I lie all the time.
I am a crazy woman...That last part is true."
So what is true and what is not? You'll have to read the book to find out, but I believe that you will be surprised.
"My name is Towner Whitney. No, that's not exactly true. My real first name is Sophya. Never believe me. I lie all the time.
I am a crazy woman...That last part is true."
So what is true and what is not? You'll have to read the book to find out, but I believe that you will be surprised.
This wasn't what I thought, then it took forever for it to really get started. Of course then, I skipped to the last chapter, read some spoilers, and called it a day.
Confusing, and the ending was a bit implausible. Interesting ideas about lace.
I found this book to be written well, the descriptions of the settings and characters were impressive, and made me want to learn more about Salem lace reading, the surroundings, and it's history (even travel there), but there were some serious flaws that made this book quite unlikable. For one, it was hard to follow because of the flip flopping between characters, a few narrators, and the the biggest part, the self confessed unreliable main narrator, Towner, so I was having troubles believing what was going on, and definitely not connecting with, or liking any one particular character. Not to mention that critical questions were not answered at the end and left readers dangling, particularly the death of Eva, did she die by accident, suicide, or is she really even dead, or is it all fantasy? There was a great mix of action, devastating domestic abuse, persecutions, mental illness, magic/witchcraft that could have made several great stories, but all smashed together made it confusing, disjointed, even slow moving at times, and basically not a very solid good read.
This was better than OK, but I can't quite commit to liking it. After an irresistible opening paragraph, the first two-thirds of the book were more or less involving, but too much was thrown into the last. This is one of a growing number of books that loses my good opinion as I near the climax. Too bad.
audiobook note: Steady, well-nuanced narration by Alyssa Bresnahan.
audiobook note: Steady, well-nuanced narration by Alyssa Bresnahan.
For the majority of this book, I was a little confused about where it was heading. Then it all clicked--Barry gives just enough of a hint that you kind of see the twist coming, but it's elegantly done nonetheless. Highly enjoyable.
This just got better and better. Absolutely love how the story unfolded, unexpected twists and turns. Her subtle writing style really grew on me. Definitely going to look for more by Barry!
I found this on my library's community shelf. So far, it's a little confusing but intriguing. I'm looking forward to discovering exactly what happened in this family.