The Friday Night Knitting Club

Author: Kate Jacobs
Published: January 18, 2007 (Putnam)
Category: Fiction
Quote of Choice: We don't all love our jobs every day. And doing something you have a passion for doesn't make the work part of it any easier... it just makes you less likely to quit.
Rating: 8/10

Georgia Walker is a single mom to a twelve-year-old daughter, aptly named Dakota, and supports their tiny family by running the Walker and Daughter knitting shop. While knitting pieces on commission, Georgia opened the knitting store and it has become a well-frequented shop on New York's Upper West Side.

The Friday Night Knitting Club is the remarkable story of Georgia and the other women connected to her through her store. Slowly, a group of repeat customers made a habit of sticking around after hours on Fridays, partaking in Dakota's baked goods (she aspires to have her own show on Food Network) and give each other knitting advice and working out their life problems with each knot they work into their projects.

This is one of those books that is so multifaceted in terms of characters that it's hard to describe because so many stories are being told at the same time. If you asked me about any of the characters, I'd be able to tell you about her storyline, but it's hard for me to write about each of them. I got sucked into the book over two days, and it was one of those books. You know, the kind you read on the subway and don't realize that you're about to arrive at the end of your commute. You hurry to stuff the book back into your bag, but almost reluctantly do so, even though you know you have to get off at this subway stop or else you'll be late for work.

The women, of different levels of knitting skills, are also in different stages of life, and realizing that life doesn't always work out the way you expect. Georgia's boyfriend got her pregnant twelve years ago, and is suddenly back in her life, trying to become the awesome father to her daughter, and she's resentful. Is she resentful because of what happend in the past or the way James is practically buying his daughter's affection?

There's also Peri, the brilliant almost-law school student who chooses to leave her perfect GPA and LSAT scores behind to design pocketbooks. Then there's Lucie, who decides to have a baby by herself at the age of forty because she wants one, man in her life or no man in her life. There's also Anita, widowed after a loving marriage to a wonderful man. She was Georgia's first client and sponsored her knitting store with a loan. Anita now finds that she might want to start dating again at the age of 72 while her sons are trying to get her to move in with them, thus taking away her independence. How about KC, who loses her job in publishing and decides to go to law school in her middle age (doing a reverse of what I did). And last, there's Darwin, working on her dissertation for a Ph.D. in feminism; she's studying the knitting club, trying to understand why these women cling to an old fashioned skill that does nothing for their advancement in the modern world. She's trying so hard not to be the stereotypical "good Asian girl" that it's actually hurting her because her husband is so good and kind to her, despite the bumps in their young marriage.

Chances are, with so many different characters, you're bound to relate to at least one of them in some way. I enjoy knitting and baking, which are mentioned quite frequently, as they are always present in the club meetings, so I felt so cozy while reading this book. I actually curled up in bed on Friday night to finish reading it. The only reason this book didn't get a higher rating is because of the last 80 pages of the book. I'm not a fan of killing off a character just for the sake of drama and a life lesson, because it's not like there wasn't death present earlier in the book (Anita's husband passing away).

Still, even with that unnecessary death, I would highly recommend this book, especially to those who enjoy knitting!