The Lace Makers of Glenmara

By Heather Barbieri

($24.00, HarperCollins)



In this charming story of a young American who travels to her ancestral homeland of Ireland, Kate wants to see as much of the island as she can, perhaps reawakening the creativity and spirit she has lost.

Until she ventures into the village of Glenmara, she has no plans to stay in one place. This changes when she meets two women who are at the market selling the lace they've been making. When Kate rents a room from one of them, she is invited into a circle of lace makers who are trying to make ends meet as the village industry of fishing is becoming less profitable and their men are aging. Glenmara is not a tourist destination so the making of the lace is more a bonding of these women than a boon to their economy.

Heather Barbieri has penned a splendid tale of consequences bred by the desire to make changes or the inability to accept them. As one of the lace makers tells Kate as she teaches her to make lace, "...mistakes aren't necessarily a problem...sometimes they lead you in a different direction."
 

Mary Burns is the owner of The BookWORKS, located at 1510 Third Street, downtown Marysville, 360.659.4997, or online at www.marysvillebookworks.com. Comments or requests are welcome at [email protected].