There's always something broken that needs to be fixed

I actually finished reading my latest book yesterday, but instead of posting about it, I braved the 24 degrees to go to the library and get MORE books (and what an exciting collection I got, Faithful Reader!). I then spent all evening cozied up to the fire watching "Ninja Warrior" and "Cops." Forgive me?


10. The Lace Makers of Glenmara by Heather Barbieri

This was a nice little slice-of-life story about Kate Robinson, a Seattle trying-to-be fashion designer who goes on an extended vacation after her mother dies from cancer and her long-time boyfriend dumps her at their friends' wedding. She heads for Ireland to see some of the places where her ancestors lived. The story begins with her walking in the rain near the west coast of Ireland. She's done the obligatory tour of Dublin and had gotten on a bus for the west coast, but said bus broke down, and after waiting four hours and still no one had shown up to look at it let alone fix it, she decides to hoof it. After a few days, she's picked up by William the Traveller, a sweet old man who travels the countryside in his wagon "fixing whatever is broken." Well, he does a good job with Kate by dropping her near Glenmara, a dying fishing village. There, she's taken in by Bernie, a sweet middle-aged woman still mourning the loss of her beloved husband. Bernie senses Kate has troubles and is pretty much unanchored, so she sets about subtly "conniving" ways to get Kate to settle in Glenmara. First, she introduces her to the members of her lace making society, and we get introduced to all their hurts and triumphs. The ladies begin to tutor Kate in making lace, first via crochet, then via the pillow with pins and bobbins. After seeing Bernie hanging out her "granny panties" to dry and hearing ladies don't have a lot of choices in intimate wear in the area, Kate's inner designer comes alive and devises a way to dress up the ladies' boring underwear with the lace in intricate designs specific to each woman. The society begins to scheme a business for this idea, and they decide on an email blast to their friends and family to get it started.

I found this book to be a quick read (I read all but about 40 pages in less than half a day), and I found all the ladies endearing -- except Aileen, who is not meant to be endearing, but I did find sympathy for her in the end, understanding why she's so crabby. I had a problem with Kate's romance with Sullivan Deane, not that she had one per se, but more the way it was written. I adored Denny and Niall (especially Denny, da to one of the lace makers), two old men who sit on a bench outside one of the pubs in the evenings, drinking Guiness and gossiping. This book was just a nice treat -- not something you had to think deeply about, but full of characters who elicit an emotional response from laughter to tears to anger to happiness. Not everything/one broken gets fixed by the end, but at least the mending's started.