Barry, B. (2006). The lace reader. New York: Harper Collins.

The unreliable narrator, Towner Whitney, is a member of a family of women who can divine the future by reading patterns in lace.  I had not heard of this form of divination before so as a tarot and dream reader, I was intrigued. Towner has returned home due to the disappearance of her beloved Aunt Eva. This trip home and the events that follow trigger a long‑awaited breakthrough in Towner’s therapy which her Jungian therapist says has reached an impasse. This is a tale of mystery, secrets, myths, and magic entangled with the history of Salem, Massachusetts and the islands off its coast.

It’s not often I find a novel that impresses me with rich language, evocative description, and historical detail.  This was a magical, surreal journey into the life of a woman and her family. It explored the complexities of mother-daughter relationships, first love, second chances, fanaticism, class, power and religious tolerance.

Importantly, we are given a glimpse of the ways in which people are judged mentally ill by the dominant culture and their symptoms treated without acknowledgment of underlying transpersonal causes. I recommend this book to anyone interested in transpersonal psychology, mystery, history and divination.