Each step she took left a mark, some visible, some not, marks that said, I was here, I exist. That was one of the reasons people went away, wasn’t it, to forget, to reinvent themselves?
She’d been a quiet person at home, had let the gregarious people in her life — Ethan, her friend Ella, even her mother — take the lead, happy to be the soft-spoken sidekick who offered the occasional sage remark, witty aside.
She was on her own now. It felt strange, yes, but she was ready for something new, to be someone new.
(from The Lace Makers of Glenmara, page 5)
I absolutely adored The Lace Makers of Glenmara, the story of Kate Robinson and her solo trip to Ireland after a break up, a career failure, and the recent death of her mother. After her bus breaks down and she walks for miles, she goes for a ride in William the Traveler’s wagon and ends up in the village of Glenmara. She happens upon two middle-aged women selling tea towels and other items decorated in handmade lace, and Bernie — a lonely widow — immediately takes a liking to Kate, recognizing that she is lost and troubled. Much to the chagrin of her best friend, Aileen, Bernie takes Kate into her home. It’s not long before Kate feels connected to Glenmara and its people, and soon Bernie and the other Lace Makers are teaching her how to make lace.
Glenmara is a struggling village where people fight to make ends meet, and Kate, a seamstress, has an idea to sell lingerie decorated with the lace made by these women. A plan is hatched to deviate from the traditional lace designs and turn bras and underwear into works of art — and help these women uncover their inner beauty at the same time. However, Glenmara’s ultra-conservative priest is none too happy about the lingerie business and hopes to run Kate out of the village.
Heather Barbieri’s writing beautifully captures the romance of small Irish villages, and I couldn’t help but fall in love with the people of Glenmara — especially the old men Denny and Niall and their bantering.
“Oh, the times we had. The dancing. The singing.” He broke into a tune, a deafening baritone version of “Irish Rose.”
Denny winced. “Jaysus, man, what do you want to do, take what little hearing I have left?”
“You’re jealous, because I should have been on the stage. The girls have always gone mad for my voice.”
“Mad, yes, but not in the way you suppose. Your serenade won’t win the ladies; it will frighten them away.”
“You have no appreciation for the arts,” Niall sniffed.
“The arts? You sound like a foghorn. You could plant yourself on the pier and bring the boats in on misty nights.”
“If I weren’t so old and drunk, I’d pop you one for that.” Niall waved a shaky fist. (pages 39-40)
But the focus is on Kate and the Lace Makers, each of them lost in some way and hoping to find themselves. Kate is in need of a fresh start, and Bernie needs some companionship. Aileen feels helpless when it comes to her rebel daughter and her stagnant marriage, and her sister, Moira, needs to escape an abusive husband. Oona is grieving the loss of her breasts due to cancer, and Colleen is worried that her fisherman husband will be lost at sea. Despite their troubles, each of these women are strong and brave in their own way, and new and old friendships and their confidence-boosting, lacy undergarments help them heal and evolve.
Although a tad predictable, I couldn’t get enough of these characters. Barbieri perfectly details their sorrows and triumphs, and I couldn’t help but like them all — even the bitter, cranky Aileen. As a crafter, I loved reading about the ways needlework creates a community and fosters teamwork. I loved Barbieri’s descriptions of Irish mythology and folklore. The Lace Makers of Glenmara is the perfect blend of romance, friendship, and humor, and I was sad to say goodbye to these characters at the end. I also realized that I must visit Ireland one day.
Courtesy of the publisher, I have one copy of The Lace Makers of Glenmara up for grabs. Just leave a comment letting me know why you want to read the book, along with your e-mail address, by Sunday, July 25, 2010, at 11:59 p.m. EST. Because the publisher is shipping the books, the giveaway is open to U.S. and Canada addresses only.
**Please note that this giveaway is now closed**
Thanks to TLC Book Tours for allowing me to participate in The Lace Makers of Glenmara blog tour. Check out the other tour stops here
Disclosure: I received a copy of The Lace Makers of Glenmara from HarperColllins for review purposes. I am an Amazon associate.
© 2010 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.
It sure sounds lovely, and now I got very curious about Irish mythology and folklore in it
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Well, you’ll be reading it soon enough. 😉 I can’t wait to hear what you think about it!
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For some strange reason I got a heap of books all with an Irish background, or characters about two weeks ago. Now you mention this, I must see whether I could get it.
Stories set in Ireland were fascinating for me – the characters seemed different, the language seemed poetic and the description of the country seemed idyllic!
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I love stories about Ireland. I’m part Irish, and I’ve long been curious about the country. I have this whole romantic vision of Irish villages, and while I know that the entire country isn’t like that, I’d love to visit one.
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I enjoyed this book as well. I really loved Kate. What did you think of her romance?
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It didn’t bother me. It was obvious and predictable from the start, and it seemed like it took a back seat to the story of the women and the lace, which I guess is why I didn’t even mention it in the review.
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Oh, I so want to read this one especially after your wonderful review. Glad you enjoyed it so much, Anna. Have a great week!
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Thanks! I hope you get a chance to read it soon!
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I want to read this one; it does sound like I might enjoy it! Great review Anna.
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Thanks! I bet you would like this one.
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I read this last year and loved it. I highly recommend it. I don’t think I posted a review on this one. Thanks for your excellent review.
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My pleasure! Glad you enjoyed it, too.
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The storyline sounds so good and I must admit I really like the cover it is beautiful and peaceful. I would like to win and read this novel.
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The cover is gorgeous. I’m a sucker for a lovely cover.
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Please enter me in the drawing as I love books set in Ireland. This one sounds wonderful.
florida982002[at]yahoo.com
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Thanks for revisiting the post, Kaye! I’d added the giveaway after your first comment, and I didn’t want you to miss out.
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I read an arc of this book last year and loved it. Made it on to my 2009 Favorite Books list. Don’t enter me in the giveaway. Just wanted to say “nice review”.
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It’ll likely make my 2010 favorites list. 🙂 Glad you loved it, too.
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Haven’t read a negative review yet on this book. I think the combination of entertaining characters and the Irish setting makes for a wonderful read. I think I’m going to have to try to get my hands on it.
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I think you’d like this one. I’m glad it was more literary than chick lit. That helped land it on my favorites list.
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This book has been on my shelves forever now. Sometimes a tad predictable can be comforting – especially if you’re not reading the book for other reasons.
Thanks for the great review! I figure if a fellow crafter enjoys it, so will I. 🙂
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I’ve never made lace and never seen it made, but this book made me want to learn. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
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This sounds like such a great story; please consider me for the giveaway; thanks Anna
bibliophilebythesea AT gmail DOT com
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Thanks for revisiting the post, Diane! Since I added the giveaway late, I just wanted to make sure you didn’t miss out. 😉
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I absolutely loved this book! Made me want to jump on the next plane to Ireland! Great review!
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Oh, if I could, I’d be there in a heartbeat!
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I’m a sucker for cute old men (I tell my husband, a few years my senior, that’s why I chose him). I’d love to read this one!
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If you like cute old men, you’ll love Denny and Niall. Hope you give this one a try!
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I love reading books set in Ireland. One day I’ll visit!
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Me, too…I hope!
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Crap, Anna! Seriously. I’ve found eleventy billion books that I want today, and I’m broke til next paycheck. lol
I have yet to actually read a blurb about this one because the title made me think of The Lace Reader, which I couldn’t get into at all, but this one sounds great! Somehow I think I’ll like the characters the way I liked the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society characters. A warm, fuzzy character love. Does that make sense?
Hmm…
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I can see how someone might want to compare The Lace Makers to Guernsey with regard to the characters. I think you’d like this book…and I hear ya about being broke. 😉
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[…] That’s good news for you guys, because Anna’s giving away one copy to a friend in the US…. (Us PO Box holders are allowed to enter this time, it seems.) […]
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No need to enter me, although this is going to wind up on my wishlist, I’m sure.
I’m dropping in to say thanks for the e-mail. I’ve got this posted at Win a Book for you, babe.
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Thanks, Susan. As always, much appreciated.
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I’ve read so many good things about this book. I wasn’t interested before, but I sure am now. =)
tiredwkids at live dot com
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I’m glad to hear that. Hope you give it a try.
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Please enter me & thx for the contest…
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I enjoy reading books about women finding themselves and women in supportive friendships. There are many times when you could feel alone in life, but being part of a circle of friends can help you through it. Books that are set in Ireland and Scotland somehow take you away to another place while you’re reading it. Sounds like a great read!
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You’ve done a great job describing the book without having read it! 😉
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No need to enter me, I just stopped by to read your review. I enjoyed this one too – it was a fun read.
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It was a fun read, despite some of the heavy themes.
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I read the review of “Lacemakers of Glenmara” in goodreads few weeks ago and since then have been wanting to read this book badly and infact, I had also requested it twice from my library.. but unfortunately since I have a huge backlog of books to read, both times, I had to return this book back to the library without reading it!!! 😦
The chance to get to know about the irish culture and the art of lace making makes this book doubly tempting for me… I would love to win this book…
Thanks for the giveaway…
– arch
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I hate when I take things out of the library and don’t have time to finish them! Hopefully you’ll finally get a chance to read this book soon.
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Now I REALLY want to read this book! I love stuff about or set in Ireland, and this sounds like a lovely book.
Thanks for being a part of the tour. 🙂
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It was my pleasure! I hope you give this one a try.
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I’m so glad to see this is good, since it’s in my TBR pile. I just love reading about Ireland and hope to visit there some day. No need to enter me.
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I’m determined to go to Ireland some day. It might take me many years, but I will kiss the Blarney stone. Or maybe just visit it. LOL
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I think I would enjoy this one, great review
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Thanks, bookmagic!
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This sounds wonderful, I love books about discovering yourself or trying to change your life.
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I think you’d like this one then.
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I had completely written this one off after reading The Lace Reader–figuring one book with lace as a component was enough. But it sounds like I really shouldn’t have shortchanged this one because I wasn’t wild about The Lace Reader.
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I hope you don’t write this one off because you didn’t love The Lace Reader (which I have but haven’t yet read). There’s a lot about the lace, but there are times when it seems to take a backseat to the relationships.
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I’d love to read this book because I enjoy reading books set in Ireland. I love the Irish culture & would really like to visit Ireland some day. Thanks for the giveaway!
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I think an Ireland trip would be grand!
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I’d like to read this book because I’ve read a few positive reviews now, and because I like reading about crafting.
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I’ve seen nothing but good reviews of this book!
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[…] Cochard 59. Fool by Christopher Moore 60. The 9th Judgment by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro 61. The Lace Makers of Glenmara by Heather Barbieri 62. Paco’s Story by Larry Heinemann 63. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper […]
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[…] Thursday, July 15th: Diary of an Eccentric […]
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