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There are currently 31 member reviews
for The Map of True Places
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Daniel A. (Naugatuck, CT)
The Map of True Places
I really liked this story. The last 100 pages or so had me spellbound. From chapter 37 on, the chapters got shorter and the pace was quicker until the very last page when I was able to breathe again. I highly endorse this sensational book.
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Jim Gilliam, Author, Point Deception
Barry's "the map of true places" Soars With The Eagles
I have not read this type of book in years; I am tired of protagonists who are depicted as being somehow larger than life. I was looking for a different kind of protagonist; Zee a likable character with a tortured soul presents as a different kind of protagonist, she and the other characters are not larger than life but represent the very essence of life with all of its flaws. That is why I choose to read and review this book and I am extremely glad that I did. I was hooked from the first line. Born and raised on the Texas Gulf Coast I felt immediately drawn into this delightfully surprising story. The secret formula for good fiction is character plus conflict equals drama. Barry's characters are believable and conflicted; the drama leaps off the pages as the reader feverishly reads on to discover what happens next. The story moves like a freight train through a seamless plot that finally ends, leaving the reader with the sense that this is not really the ending for Zee but rather just the beginning.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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