Knitting

Thought the characters were poorly written and unengaging. The narrator made these women sound even older and whinier than they ought to have been. Not a good novel about grief, mental illness, friendship, or even knitting. Sorry I wasted time and money on this one

The description of the story used to entice the reader.

Erase it and start over.

I didn't have a favorite.

no.

The story was ok. A bit sad. It would be nice if the description of the story (any story) indicated the tone. I didn't agree with the description. It lead you to believe that even though the main character's husband died, she found a new life. There was not a happier ending. The sadness/sense of loss was from start to finish.

We are knitted together with a yarn called life. I enjoyed this story very much. There was lots of detail about yarn and knitting that connected to my life. I too want to knit perfectly, and have a host of unfinished projects. Knitting joined five people together, who because of their social status, were not likely to have met. I also liked the pairing and juxtaposition of the characters. The slightly odd, Martha and Cliff contrasted with the socially polished Kate/her husband and Sandra.
The death of Sandra's husband also resonated for me -in that my husband died 2 years ago, January 2015. It helped to hear the character's struggle with death, and it gave me one more outlet to process my grief. This story unwound my life, and knitted me (continentally) in to the next row. Knitting was such a great story, that I stopped listening a quarter of the way through, to search for additional titles from the author.

Melancholy, tender, redeeming

Not the most exciting book and sometimes even felt a bit slow but wrapped up very nicely and left the listener with things to ponder. Narrator was excellent and used different voices for each character.

This is an enjoyable listen, with a meaningful, layered story I enjoyed listening to, while knitting :) The character development is okay, but I'd have preferred more insight into the women early in the story line. The two main characters, Sandra and Martha, begin with one seemingly strong and sympathetic and the other talented but seemingly flawed. By the final scene, the descriptions have switched between the characters, but still with too little real insight into Sandra as a person.

My primary hesitation comes as a knitter. The knitting details do not always ring true, despite the acknowledgments section at the end where the author professes to be a knitter. I'd also love to know if the "feather" stitch is in fact "feather and fan" and more definitive information about the other stitches mentioned - none of which are referred to with an American name - and not even one that comes up when googled. Why the tease?

The book and narrator seemed a bit quirky at first, but I found it refreshing and enjoyable.