KNITTING (Ann Bartlett)

Knitting was not what I expected.  It was darker, sadder, and more complex than the usual novels I've read on the subject.  Knitting is about 2 very different women, both widowed, middle-aged, and childless, one who knits and one who studies textiles.

Martha, the knitter, lost her young husband years ago, a few months after their marriage.  She is soft and caring, an immensely talented knitter who occasionally relapses toward the mental and emotional breakdown she suffered after her husband's death.  She obsessively carries 3 bags of knitting with her wherever she goes.  Sandra is an efficient college professor who has recently lost her husband to cancer.  She is focused and efficient, but bereft at the loss of her spouse and best friend.  Sandra is an intellectual, not a crafter, and she has a hard edge and ambition (to help her forget her loneliness) that often results in a lack of empathy and inability to connect emotionally.  The two women meet when Cliff, a homeless man, suffers a seizure on the street and they rush to his aid.  Martha and Cliff form a close bond (but not as close as Cliff would like) while Sandra prefers to distance herself from any further contact.  When Sandra discovers that Martha is a creative and expert knitter, she enlists her help in reproducing historical knitted garments for an exhibition designed to showcase the progression of knitting as a utility and an art during the 20th century.  Martha agrees to help and their friendship develops, but Sandra fails to realize that she has piled so much responsibility on to Martha's shoulders that the joy of knitting that has defined Martha's life is now in danger of being destroyed.

Knitting is an interesting study of two women whose broken lives begin to heal through knitting.  What makes this novel unique is the way that knitting is approached, not as a traditional healing and bonding activity, but more as an untangling and ordering of two lives connected with knitting in very different ways.  This is not your typical novel about  a group of  women finding friendship, happiness, and a measure of contentment through knitting.  It's more about 2 women together learning how to be alone and to forgive themselves for not always being perfect.  It's definitely worth reading.