Review: A satisfying little treasure
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 6, 2012
Looking Through Lace, which is 86 pages on my Kindle, is appealing, intriguing and could easily be the basis for a full-fledged novel.This well-written little gem is the story of a female linguist, Toni Donato, assigned to a quiet, nonviolent planet that lacks a written language. Women have a good deal of influence within the family here and they share a secret tongue spoken only among themselves.Toni's up against three main hurdles: Her new boss, Dr. Hartmut Repnik, is overbearing, authoritarian and dismissive of females. The second is that the women of the planet won't allow her to study "the language of the house" unless she promises not to publish about it or teach it to any men. The third is that it's far too easy to evaluate a different culture through the lens of your own.In a novella, almost any clue can give away the plot, so just know that in a matter of days -- a couple of hours for you -- Toni unravels the remarkable mystery and, in the process, bests Dr. Repnik. In addition, take special care to read the legend of the little lace-maker carefully so you can compare it to the story of the young poet.This novella is satisfying, enjoyable and a quick read, easily deserving of 4 stars.