Map of True Places - Brunonia Barry Joins The Discussion!

[Brunonia]

Rene wrote: "Hi Brunonia,
I just wanted to tell you that I bought The Lace Reader when it first came out in hardback. I regret to say that I just got around to reading it. It was fantastic! I loved all of th..."

Thanks so much, Rene!

[Bridgit]

Hi! I finished the book last night and I have to say that I really enjoyed it. More so, even, than the Lace Reader (which I also liked). I received Map of True Places at BEA and was able to get it autographed - thanks Ms. Barry!

I guess I have a few comments about the book for discussion and then a few questions directly for Brunonia.

My friend lives in Marblehead and my husband and I spent a few days up there for his wedding 3 years ago. I enjoyed reading about both Marblehead and Salem in this book - it really took me back.

**************SPOILERS*************************

I enjoyed following Zee through her journey to find herself. I thought as a character, she was very realistically written in terms of her inabilities to deal with the personal and professional problems she was having.

One of the things I particularly liked about this book was the way the relationship between Finch and Melville was portrayed. So many times in literature homosexual relationships are either caricaturized or are written as dysfunctional. I think Barry did an outstanding job of revealing the depth of emotion, the heartbreak, the respect and devotion that Melville felt for Finch. Obviously during the time period of the novel, it was not necessarily mutual, but when looking through Melville and Zee's eyes it is clear how much Finch truly loved Melville.

The other aspect of the story that really touched me was the caregiver role that Zee was forced into. That touched me deeply, reminding me of my mother and the role she had to play for both my grandfather and my father. It can be such a emotionally and mentally draining (not to mention physically exhausting) responsibility. Being torn between wanting the best for your loved one, wanting to 'fix them' and keep them around for you, and the idea of wanting them to not be in pain and misery is one of the hardest thing a human has to deal with. The choice between the "selfish" act of 'saving' someone becuase you love them too much to lose them and the 'unselfish' choice of letting them out of their misery is incomprehensibly difficult - and I think the book did a fabulous job handling that decision.

On a side note, having never been in therapy or seen a psychologist, this book reinforced my stereotypes of the profession. I doubt this was the intention, but I definitely didnt view either of the psychiatrists in the book as particularly helpful or effective. The 'i can't offer advice' or answer questions policy seems so asinine. The fact that Zee was considered in violation of protocal becuase she tried to actively help a woman being abused disturbed me greatly. Im sure there are many people who stand fully behind the value of psychiatrists, but I have never been one, and this only made me feel just a bit more vindicated.

Some criticism (hesitant to write any of this with Brunonia here...): The amount of coincidences and trajedy that happened to this one woman seemed just a bit far fetched. 1) her mother was bi-polar 2) her father had Parkinsons and developed Alzheimers 3) Her mother commited suicide 4) Her father considered suicide 5) Her patient that closely resembles her mother commits suicide AND she unknowingly develops a romantic relationship with her patient's 'crush', for lack of a better word 6) Her father's gay lover turns out to have met and impregnated her mother befoer ever meeting her father 7) Her attempted rape by the man who drove her patient to commit suicide and framed her boyfriend

Just seems like a lot for one character to deal with in only 400 pages! Other than that slight suspension of disbelief for the above, I really liked how the story unfolded.

Some questions for Brunonia:
1. Why include a 20+ page fairytale directly in the book - why not summarize? Did you go back and forth on this with your editor, or was it always something that you were set on? While I enjoyed the fairytale, it was a little distracting from the rest of the novel due to its length.

2. How much of an influence have the American Romantic authors like Hawthorne and Melville had on you as an author? Or did you really bone up on them as a result of this book?

3. You included lace reading in this book as well. Has that been a big influence on your life? Growing up in Salem, do you believe in the powers of occult/psychic/herbology/lace reading?

I will probably have more questions, but this post seems already impossibly long.

[Juniper]

Hello.

Thank you, Lori, for facilitating both the chance to win a book (which I did, yippee!!) and the conversation about The Map of True Places with Brunonia participating. Very cool!

I finished the book a couple of days ago and have been mulling my thoughts. I have not read The Lace Reader yet, but did purchase it and have added the novel to my TBR list.

Thoughts:
I have an appreciation for several facets of The Map of True Places. I thought the characters of Zee, Finch and Melville to be well written and the relationship between Zee and her father, Finch, believable, particularly through the worsening of his Parkinson’s disease. The inclusion of historical details about the shipyards of Salem and the boat Friendship, specifically, were very interesting too. The problems for me had mostly to do with the editing. On a few occasions, passages of writing are repeated, nearly word-for-word, only a couple of pages later giving the sense of being hit over the head with details so we don’t forget. Dabblings in the mystical arena along with the use of coincidence and the mountain of tragedy in Zee's life (as Bridgit also just wrote about above me) were a bit much for me. The book description offers readers a trifecta of intrigue, mystery and transformation. It was unfortunate, for me,the novel didn't deliver more resoundingly. While certainly quaint, this wasn't enough for me to feel rewarded or emotionally invested.

Question:
Now, if I haven't alienated you completely, Ms. Barry...I would be very interested in learning a bit about the editing process and how different it was this time, working with Harper Collins, compared to your own process when you, initially, self-published The Lace Reader?

[Lori, Super Mod]

Jennifer, you are very welcome. I couldnt think of a better way to thank you all for your interest!!!

[Juniper]

Umm...was it something I said??

[Lori, Super Mod]

Brunonia was only going to be with us for that week... It's possible your question came a little too late.

[Juniper]

Oh, I was just being (attempting to be) funny. Thanks, Lori!