Personal Challenge
This is a well-written book that mixes psychological and interpersonal issues with enough suspense to keep the reader interested in the unfolding of the story. The changes that the heroine of the story goes through also challenge the reader to examine his or her own life story.
Rated of 5
by Carol S. (Pawleys Island, SC)
Good read!
Having read and enjoyed "The Lace Reader" I was looking forward to reading "The Map of True Places" and hoping for twists, turns and surprises once again and was not disappointed. Though I felt the story moved a bit slow in the beginning, I couldn't read fast enough for the suspenseful conclusion.
The characters are well developed and I feel like I want to know what's next for them. Well done.
Rated of 5
by Zonetta G. (Winter Springs, FL)
The Map of True Places
Brunonia Barry's character development draws one immediately into the lives of the characters themselves. Her ability to navigate from present to past and back again seemss to flow neatly; fiction and fact and fantasy blend sometimes without the reader even realizing it. I loved all the allusions to Hawthorne and Melville and Old Salem. For all these reasons, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and am recommending it to my book club for this coming year.
Rated of 5
by Kathrin C. (Corona, CA)
The Map of True Places
This is a very hard book to put down once you start reading and I liked it far better than Barry’s first book, The Lace Reader. Perhaps because for me the magical realism within The Map of True Places carried a bit more realism than fantasy. Zee Finch, with her funny name and motherless childhood kept my interest at speed as she searched to find her own way through her past, the present and finally centering on what she wanted to aim for in the future.
The complex characters, the atmospheric foray into Salem’s historical past and Zee's father's developing struggle with the onslaught of Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s all added to the complexities of life that kept shining throughout this novel.
Rated of 5
by Pam W. (Montpelier, VT)
Secrets told and Untold
This is a complex tale of self-discovery that really resonated deeply with me. It's not the kind of story that wraps up neatly and then evaporates. It sticks with you and demands answers and self exploration.
Rated of 5
by Maryanne K. (Spanaway, WA)
Map of True Places
I enjoyed this book. It's a fast, fairly light read with interesting characters. The literary connections, the setting of Salem, MA, and the details related to caring for an ailing parent add to the appeal of the book. I had no expectations (not having The Lace Reader) when starting this book, but was pleasantly surprised.
Rated of 5
by Helen M. (Petaluma, CA)
Amazing Journey
I read The Map of True Places in only a few days. It is an easy read with great descriptions of modern day Salem and a masterfully created sense of wonder and power concerning the sea. The story is maybe a little too complicated so the weaving of it does not always hold together. There are many players in Zee, the heroine's, life who all seem to have a piece of the puzzle for her. The ending was as I expected, but the journey was good. It is indeed a novel about courage. I thought I would learn more about Salem's witches but did not find that to be so. I will recommend it to my book club but will also relate that it is not a great book .... just a good read and what's not to like about a good read!
Stranger than fiction, blending tragedy and farce, How to Create the Perfect Wife is an engrossing tale of the radicalism, and deep contradictions, at the heart of the Enlightenment.
Z, the novel about the life of Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald is at points charming and; like another reviewer, I kept thinking of the movie, "Midnight...
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Although heavy on the scientific details, which slowed down the story for me (OK, I admit, I was one of those liberal arts majors who skipped out on...
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Loved this book. Magical, quirky, enchanting I could go on. All books do not have to be literary fiction, sometimes it is just so comforting to read...
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U.S. ebook sales up in 2012, but rate of growth is slowing(May 16 2013) In 2012, trade book sales (i.e. non academic book sales) rose 6.9%, to $15.049 billion, and e-book sales continued to grow, although the rate of growth...
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by Neil W. (Tavares, FL)
of 5
by Helen M. (Petaluma, CA)
