The Lacemakers of Glenmara

by Heather Barbieri

An enchanting, romantic tale of friendship and love set in Ireland, in which a young American woman helps a group of local lace makers change their lives—and, ultimately, her own.

Genres: Fiction, Ireland, Chick Lit, Book Club, Romance, Contemporary, Irish Literature

350 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

The author of three novels, The Cottage at Glass Beach (Harper, 2012), The Lace Makers of Glenmara (Harper, 2009) and Snow in July (Soho, 2004), Heather Barbieri has been awarded fellowships and international prizes for her short stories. Before turning to fiction full time, she was a magazine editor, journalist, and film critic.

Heather is half Irish. Her paternal ancestors left counties Donegal and Tipperary after surviving The Great Famine; they worked in the coal mines of Eastern Pennsylvania before settling in Butte, Montana, a rugged town in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, which, though having nary a hint of green in its landscape, once boasted the largest gaelic-speaking population outside of Ireland.

Heather was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest. She lives in Seattle with her family.

Reviews

[Erin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow. This book was not good. Barbieri takes pretty much every stereotype about Ireland and the Irish and populates her story with them. There's the little village that time forgot, filled with quirky but adorable locals and an overbearing priest. There's the American with a tragic past who stumbles into their midst and is immediately treated like family (because the Irish are the friendliest people in the world, dontcha know?). There's the hunky but brooding love interest who can't open his heart due to a dark secret in his past. It is RIDICULOUS. All of it.

First of all, the heroine, Kate, is one of the worst-written protagonists I've ever encountered. She talks like she just stepped out of 1890, not contemporary Seattle. There's nothing modern or fashionable about her, and yet we're expected to believe she's this cutting edge fashion designer back home. Uh... sure. She has no ambition, no direction, absolutely nothing in her life that makes her interesting. She's perfectly happy to sit around Glenmara all day sewing lace with women twice her age and not thinking at all about what she's going to do with her future. Why would the reader care about her? Answer: they don't.

The love story is ridiculous and forced. I can't figure out why anyone would be attracted to Kate to begin with, but the "Quiet Man" rip off proceeds anyway. Some of the Glenmara ladies are likable enough and it is their cares and concerns that really propel the story, but the eventual conclusion to the book is so thoroughly preposterous that it just made me groan. Really? The lace underwear is SO spectacular that international news stations pick up the story and suddenly the product is in incredible demand all over the globe? Tourists pour into town dying to get a look at some freaking lace underwear? Are they aware that lace underwear is available at pretty much every mall in every city in the world? It's all so insulting to a reader's intelligence. This book was a huge disappointment.

[joyce g · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely, sadness coupled with joy and hope.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

I so enjoyed reading this book. I did not want to put it down, but I did not want it to end. The friendships, the joys, the sorrows, the love, it was all there. I hope to read more by Heather Barbieri!

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Once upon a time not so long ago, an American guy left an American girl. The girl took off to Ireland seeking solace. She hitchhiked (like that happens a lot in the 21st century) and camped around the country and one day wandered into the tiny town of Glenmara. She immediately was taken in by a widow and accepted as a member of the local lacemaking group and by the townspeople, with 2 exceptions. She also immediately met a very handsome man. So besides the girl, the guy, and the widow, you have the woman with breast cancer, the woman who is abused by her husband, and the woman whose teenage daughter hates her. Sound like something you've read before? Probably so, only this is the Irish version. Sorry, but I think I'd rather have a Guinness. It would be less disappointing.

[Courtney · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this book through a GoodReads giveaway.

I had a lot of trouble actually getting through this book. While there are some good ideas here, the writing just didn't do it for me. I didn't feel very in touch with the characters; they seemed rather flat to me and prone to strange emotions (Kate losing her mother's necklace and not seeming to care much; Aileen is jealous of Kate after only a few days, despite Kate not interacting much with Bernie).

I was also frustrated by all of the telling that went on--when there was finally some action, it wasn't very active. I wanted to see it put together better, so that while reading I got some hints and pieces, instead of big chunks of stories dumped in my lap.

I didn't hate the book but I think it could have worked much better. REad it for yourself and decide.

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't say enough about this novel. It enchanted me right from the start through the finish. Funny, heartbreaking, relate-able, transportive. A glimpse of my heritage in the present. Wonderful.

[Caroline Niziol · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was drawn to The Lace Makers of Glenmara because I hoped to find details of lace-making; it's one of the crafts I've explored the least. However, this book focuses more on relationships, romantic and friendly, than on the handiwork itself.

In this contemporary "finding oneself"-themed novel, the jilted Kate backpacks around Ireland and stumbles up on a postcard-perfect Irish town, complete with cheery older women, convivial old men, a suspicious and legalistic priest, rolling hills, a village pub, and a handsomely rugged and heartbroken artist. This last character re-awoke my inherent bias and suspicion against romance novels. It's not that Kate's love interest is impossible to imagine: rather, he's easy to conjure up because the tortured soul archetype has been overplayed in too many novels. Kate is likable enough, though she lacks the depth and character development devoted to the other women in the lace group.

Overall, I think this novel will really appeal to the romantics in the world, but it wasn't my cup of tea.

[extraordinary ordinary whimsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most books arrive to my home after I have sought them out. But some books find me. They arrive quite by accident. Looking for a home or someone to share their story with. Labor Day and now The Lace Makers of Glenmara both came to me this way.

What it is not: It's a not a neat little love story about finding "Mr. Perfect" in the Emerald Isle. Even though there is one ruggedly handsome fellow.

What it is: A really honestly beautiful thoughtful story about loss, pain, joy, and finding friendship and the place you belong.

This story marvelously and quietly weaves mourning, friendship, and just a touch of magic.

[Blodeuedd Finland · Rating 4 out of 5]

My thoughts:

First I must say that my review is not going to give this wonderful book justice. It's just one of those books that is so wonderfully written that I just not have enough words to express why I loved it so.

Kate designs clothes and loves to sew gets dumped by her fiancé, so she leaves for Ireland and just wanders around. She is both sad over her relationship and her mother's death. She is a bit broken and she finds solace in Glenmara. A broken town with no tourists and people are fleeing because there is nothing to do there, but she finds wonderful friends there, Bernie who rents out a room to her and who is lonely too. And the rest of the Lace makers who all have different problems, if it's husbands, themselves or children. With each other they find a new goal in the lingerie they start to make, and they each find that they lost too. They might be older than her, but they are all women and the friendship they form is strong.

The prose is beautiful, and something as simple as them sitting there and talking still brings out everything the book has to offer. It is well written and with it's story about friendship, loss and new-found strength it makes it a story for everyone. There is also a bit of romance hidden in the background, but even though I love romance it is the life of these women that is more important (still yay romance).

It also made me tear up, because it's not all fun and friendship. There is also jealousy and a priest that is just an ass.

Now look, I just can't bring it justice. It's just impossible. The book was lovely, and it also has these pieces of magical realism in it. It's a book you read slowly to savour all the words.

Conclusion:

Of course I recommend this book to all. I loved it, it was wonderful and it when I finished it I was happy. This is how I want my fiction to be like. It was perfect.


Rating:

Read it!

[Agatha · Rating 1 out of 5]

Novel. Aspiring seamstress Kate from Seattle flees to mother Ireland after her mother dies from cancer and her fiancé Ethan leaves her. She travels around the romantic wilds of the West until she is taken under the wings of a local ladies' lace-making guild in the tiny town of Glenmara. The ladies (Bernie, Aileen, Moira, Oona, and Colleen) teach Kate the old ways of making Irish lace and she in turn shows them how to incorporate them into more modern designs. Will she or won't she fall for local bachelor about town, Sullivan Dean? And will the little village of Glenmara itself find a place for itself in the modern world, while still retaining its Irish-ness, Catholicism, and character? You may like this book if you like Maeve Binchy. However, in the end, this one wasn't really to my tastes. I did enjoy the author's rich language and lush descriptiveness, but I did not care for the (in my opinion) predictability and stale storyline.

[Brandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the fellowship of all these different women coming together to build a new friendship, help someone learn a new skill, and take new chances. Parts of it were sad, but there was joy too.

[Bridget · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an Advance Reader’s Edition of this title, which will be published in July 2009. It tells the story of Kate, a young woman from Seattle who has recently lost her mother to cancer, and her live-in boyfriend of five years to a young model. To add insult to injury, she is a clothing designer whose latest collection went nowhere.

She decides to visit Ireland, for a change of scenery, and because it was a trip she and her mother had originally planned to make together. After spending time in Dublin, she ventures out into the countryside, and eventually finds herself in the west. She ends up walking along the country roads in the rain, with her backpack and no immediate plan, when she is given a ride by a traveler (gypsy) and dropped off in the town of Glenmara, during the beginning of the St. Brendan’s Festival.

Glenmara is a town that is shrinking in population, due to the demise of factory work and the fishing industry. The festival is not much of a success at first, and Kate meets two women – Bernie and Aileen – who are packing up a display of handmade lace that no one bought. Bernie (who is recently widowed) in particular takes to Kate, and invites her to stay with her until she decides where to go or what else to do.

As the days pass, Kate gets to know Bernie better, and causes Aileen to become jealous, as Bernie had been her best friend. She also becomes involved in the Lace Maker’s Club, and learns the basics of creating lace from the members. Each of the women in the club has a backstory, and to some degree, none of them are surprising stories. There are times when the conversations and the story itself become predictable. Kate shows the women ways in which their lace can be added to lingerie pieces, not just table runners and curtains, and they decide that there may be a market for lingerie in the modern world more so than household items. As the uses for their lace changes, so do the lives of the women, including Kate, who meets a young man in the village. It is a case of mutual attraction, though he has a loss of his own that he is trying to overcome.

This book was enjoyable, if sometimes predictable. There was really not a lot of melodrama, like there tends to be in stories like this that I’ve previously read. It was interesting reading about the different types of lace, and how the threads are manipulated for differing effects. I liked the descriptions of the town and the surrounding countryside, as it sounded very familiar and true of the places in the west of Ireland that I have visited. It was also interesting how Barbieri used the example of the village priest and his strict, old-fashioned ways as an example of a stationary Ireland, and the stories of the women, their lace, and the support of their families and neighbors to show that embracing new ideas and modernizing in some ways does not have to ruin the character of a place or its people.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written elsewhere...
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Have you ever felt like escaping from your life for awhile? Jumping in a car, and just driving somewhere far away? Away from problems or the negative things that weigh you down?

I know that I have. And, I think many women feel that way during times of stress or hardship. I think that’s one reason I was hooked instantly by The Lacemakers of Glenmara, by Heather Barbieri, a book I’m reviewing for MotherTalk. This story follows Kate Robinson, a struggling fashion designer, as she travels to Ireland to forget a troubled past and reinvent herself.

Aside from the lovely landscape, author Barbieri stitches together an amazing and interesting tale about searching, sewing, and the strength in womens’ friendships. I was instantly drawn to the various characters and lost myself in their world quite effortlessly, as if I’d stumbled upon the quaint Irish town myself.

The Lace Makers of Glenmara is a great summer escape without the cost of airfare. While it is not completely light and fun in its subject matter, it is a fabulous jaunt to Ireland and a glimpse into the lives of the people who live in Glenmara, as well as the main character’s life coming back together after it has unraveled.

The story reminds me of why our friendships as women are very important and how true frienships can withstand whatever life throws at them. It is also a story of survival in the face of great loss and finding oneself again–of realizing you are stronger than you think you are.

[Spinneretta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heather Barbieri has written a novel about loss, and finding yourself- about moving on and moving up.
It is the story of Kate, a young American, steeped in heartbreak. She takes the trip of a lifetime to Ireland, and makes friends with the lace makers of Glenmara- a small Irish town. It is the story of Kate's interaction with the lace makers, the story of the interactions between the lace makers and villagers and the story of how to move on with your life when you are laid out flat.
It is a beautiful story, one might even consider it a coming of age story. It was beautifully written, the characters of the people in the book were sketches of people so vivid, you feel as if they really exist and as if you really know them.
A book set in such a beautiful setting would be hard NOT to enjoy, but as well written as this one was, you know for certain that you WILL enjoy it!
If you are a fan of Sarah Addison Allen, you will more than likely enjoy this book as well!

[Carol Rogers · Rating 1 out of 5]

In all honesty I can't think of anything positive about this book.

Has the author actually been to Ireland, does she know anything other than what the Irish tourist board write about the country?

This book has fake written all over it. I read it because I needed a book to read and a friend lent it to me, someone who knows that I know a lot about Ireland, and thought I would enjoy it. But it is a book written for American tourists to take with them to Ireland and give them something to pass away the time while sitting on a plane or waiting for a bus.

The people and the culture do not resonate with the real world Irish. The town and its residents are as real as leprechauns or the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. The plot is just as unlikely as the people in it. As for the leading character, the grieving American fashion designer, she is just as much a figment of the author's imagination as the town of Glenmara.

This book is just an embarrassment.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

For recently widowed Bernie Cullen, the arrival of Kate Robinson into her life comes as a blessing. Kate is touring Ireland on her own, trying to soothe her depression over recent losses of her own. Kate is not planning to stay, but the next bus out isn't due for a week. Bernie introduces her to her lace making group, and Kate, much to her surprise, finds her interest stimulated and engaged for the first time in months. Lacemakers is a novel of transformation, in which Kate, Bernie, and company assist each other in coming to terms with the difficulties in their lives. Its plot relies heavily upon coincidence (Kate hasn't done step dancing in years, yet wins the local competition hands down). Quaint and charming, Barbieri's competent writing skills lift it a few levels above the typical romance novel. Note: Those looking for lace crafting details or Irish folklore will be disappointed.

[Marilyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book.

While the reviews weren't that flattering, and I can understand why, don't allow it to stop you from reading this book.

The unflattering reviews simply don't understand it. Not all book can be light, airy, fluff, with nothing negative happening in them.

The Lace Makers of Glenmara takes many of the bad things that happen in life, and spins them into a dail of home, survival, and courage. As well as becoming stronger, moving on, and not letting our past keep us trapped there forever.

[Valerie Campbell Ackroyd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining, charming, full of Ireland

I enjoyed this story of an Irish American girl who stumbles across an Irish village, makes friends with a group of women there, learns to make lace, falls in love. It could be classified as a romance but it is a little more than that. Parts of it reminded me of the novel “Chocolat,” with the storyline of the village priest’s antipathy toward the American interloper. But instead of the “sin” being chocolate, in this case it is lace underwear. And speaking of the underwear, I wish the novel had had illustrations of the lace!

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. I just didn't care about the characters; and also, there was something so fake-Irish about it. The Irish folks are either faithfilled and optimistic, or full of deep Celtic wisdom, or drunk and scarred. *snore* Here's a crazy thought: How about trying "interesting"? If you want to read about Irish, I'd go for the Crazyleadies of Pearl Street. So they're Irish-American, not Irish - at least they are interesting.

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this one a lot more than I did. Too much drama and too little character development. There really was a great seed planted there with the setting and the idea of this traditional art bringing modern people together... but it was disappointing in the end. I skimmed over large sections, not really interested or invested enough to care what was happening...

A 1.5 star would be closer to how I felt about it -

[mrsg_6708 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this book from a GR's giveaway. I am sad to report I thought this book rather boring. The characters were dull and flat. There was so much telling and hardly any action. Kate and Sullivans storyline was abrupt. This book also wins worlds weakest sex scene. There was way too much description of the land, the sky, the lace blah, blah. I feel like nothing happened. It took me 8 days to read this and that is a LONG time for me.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a brain candy book that I picked up at the Library to read over the holidays. It has every Irish cliché that exists: the lost forlorn girl, the childless but loving widow, the stern and overbearing priest, the wanderer, the fests, the bitter angry woman, the fishermen, the abused-by-the-drunken husband, etc.

It was fine for what I needed at the moment but suffice it to say I'm quite glad it was a library book.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the story of Kate and her visit to Ireland where she meets the Lace Makers of Glenmara. This meeting changes her life and theirs in incredible ways. This is a book of heartache, tragedy, change, and new beginnings. It is a story of loss and mostly one of hope. This is a story I will treasure for years to come.

"Take up the thread and start again. You can always start again." --from The Lace Makers of Glenmara

[Lee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another book I was of two minds about. Beautiful descriptions of the Irish landscape and a beautiful representation of the Irish people in general. However, I didn't find the individual characters as well drawn out. The story was very predictable. A comfort read - if it was a mystery, it would have been a cozy.

[Michelle Ule · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the idea--how interesting to read about how Irish women made lace--but the execution spent more time on the Seattle woman struggling with guilt and meeting an Irish community.

I learned almost nothing about lace.

[Ann Meighan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a sweet story if you are of Irish heritage. However, it over uses stereotypical clichés. The story itself leaves a lot to be desired.

[Lauren Mayet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it

I didn’t think I would love this as much as I did. I can’t believe I hesitated to started this one. It wasn’t what I thought I was going to be.

[Marilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still behind in logging "books read" here on Goodreads, catching up with 1 review just completed, then this one, plus 5 more to rate & write-up yet! I just would "rather than reading than rating" during this pandemic. And, of course, a few other things have to get done around the house along with grocery shoping. However, it is important, I believe, to let people know about what we've read and what we've thought about it. I was also hedging about this review of THE LACE MAKERS OF GLENMARA by Heather Barbieri, primarily because I was debating whether to give it a 4 or 5, rating-wise. And here's why the in-head debate:

For me, it started slowly and didn't pick up as quickly as I would've liked. It sounded like a potentially excellent story when I read about it before buying the novel, taking place in a setting I like to imagine getting to someday but probably never will (Ireland), with an American woman whose mom has passed away before they could make a visit to her homeland together. The other factor was a broken heart. And I'd just re-read Brunonia Barry's THE LACE READER and had found this other book involving lace makers, so I had high expectations. Well, maybe the latter was the issue: THE LACE READER is an excellent, amazing, compelling book that grabbed my attention from its first page - a witchy mystery that, even the second time around (read it a very long time ago!), I hated to put it down to get basic chores done around the house! Hard to follow for any book...

I did however "get into the story" of THE LACE MAKERS OF GLENMARA, and I'm glad that I kept reading. I cared about the characters, loved that the theme centered around an Irish village that was in the doldrums of economic collapse with its lace makers planning a last-ditch effort to better their incomes and keep their the village alive, found the issues that turned up because these strong women - in conjunction with their unexpected "visitor" from America - were exactly that: strong, determined, creative women determined to make a difference. Well written and a fairly quick book to read as well.

Perhaps it's just this whole Covid thing that makes me occasionally find it difficult to quickly get hooked on a story. A mystery, especially one that has mystical aspects like THE LACE READER, is different since the who-done-it aspect usually pulls the reader in quickly. There are always distractions in our house anyway, which have caused me to put aside many books of late. I'll stick with the 4-star rating, but know that it was a close call - for any or all of my rambling, suggested reasons above. I recommend it as a fine read for anyone who likes what I've mentioned about its plot, or investigate other opinions of it if you like!

[Hubert · Rating 2 out of 5]

This somewhat unconvincing story of a group of women in rural Ireland (Glenmara) features Kate Robinson, an American struggling fashion designer whose boyfriend leaves her for a model and travels abroad in search of a new life, a new self, and ends up in the company of a new set of friends who participate in a long-standing tradition of making lace. There she learns the art from this group (though we don't actually learn much about lace as a reader) and proceeds to convince them to apply their crafts to the making of (gasp!) lingerie.

The whole tale comes off as rather improbable, from Kate ending up as a boarder at Bernie's, to Kate finding a new love interest in dashing Sullivan, who sadly lost a partner in a terrorist bombing a year prior, to the priest "clutching his pearls" at finding out about this newfound passion of these women to the point that he calls them out at church during sermon. And because there are a significant number of characters in the lace circle, including a woman (Aileen) who is suspicious of Kate's motives (and somewhat jealous of her dancing capabilities), it's hard for the reader to start investing in them when so little has been established about them.

While we can show appreciation for the members' ordinary and difficult lives (and later we do learn of tragedy of one of its members) key events seem to happen too quickly, and we don't get enough flavor and sense of the characters to truly care.

[Summer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book. It was a nice little detour to a small village in Ireland. I enjoyed the characters. Niall and were great old Irish men. The women of the village were also lovable.

Seeing Ireland in a modern light was a nice change and the struggles every village and person has with maintaining their heritage and history were very real. Through the newspaper in Gaelic and the continuing of old crafts such as the lace making, they were able to hold on to Old Ireland. Which I liked. While reading the book I was sorry I could not actually see the lace they were making. And wanted to commission my own Sheer Delight.

I thought the book was good but seemed a bit choppy in some areas. After reading a bit from the author and realized she started out in journalism and short stories is made more sense. I just wish there would have been a little more detail and development of Sullivan and Kate and their relationship together. Now knowing the author's background helps me understand her style better, so that helped understand her sometimes concise style to the story.