Knitting: A Novel [Paperback]

Anne Bartlett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 9, 2006

In Anne Bartlett’s engaging novel, a chance meeting sparks a friendship between two very different women who share a fascination with knitting. Sandra, a rigid academic, struggles to navigate the world without her husband, whom she has recently lost to cancer. Martha—a self-taught textile artist with her own secret store of grief—spends her days knitting elaborate projects charged with personal meaning. As the two women collaborate on a new project, surprising events will help heal them both.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A moving story about true love and haunting grief." --Adriana Trigiani, author of Big Stone Gap

"A love of the handicraft in question is not a prerequisite for appreciating [Knitting] . . . The finished product has a subtle beauty." The Washington Post

"Compelling . . . There is a lot in this book for anyone who ponders the big questions of life: the nature of friendship, the need for meaningful work, the comfort of sharing grief." Bookpage

"A quiet, literary book exploring grace, loss, suffering, community, and forgiveness." --Christianity Today

"What could be better than a good story about knitting? Anne Bartlett's Knitting fits the bill." --Creative Knitting

"Well-crafted . . . thoughtful and genuine." --Australian Book Review

"A beautiful novel that is, at its heart, about forgiveness." --Book Sense Notables

"The believable, well-constructed dialogue captures the tension and tenderness of friendship. And the words the characters don't share with each other electrify the scenes." -Sydney Morning Herald

"A sweetly winning tale." --Kirkus Reviews Kirkus Reviews

"An enthralling story about the healing power of friendship." Library Journal

"I loved Knitting. It's simply magnificent. The relationships are beautifully, delicately offered and the story is as reaffirming as anything I've read in years." --Terry Kay, author of To Dance with the White Dog

"Reading Knitting is an experience as sensual and mystical as plunging your hands into skeins of wool and color . . . A joyful narrative of creating and connecting." --Sena Jeter Naslund, author of Ahab's Wife

"A wonderful tale . . . both beautiful and deeply satisfying." --Connie May Fowler, author of Before Women Had Wings

"In the tradition of Anita Brookner and Barbara Pym, Anne Bartlett has written a sly, stirring look at women's lives." --Meg Wolitzer, author of The Wife

About the Author

Anne Bartlett spent her childhood in the Adelaide Hills of South Australia.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books (August 9, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618710477
• ISBN-13: 978-0618710478
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #962,731 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully written story of two very different, emotionally-scarred widows who become friends, July 14, 2005

By 

Carolyn Rowe Hill "author of 'The Dead Angel" (Ann Arbor, Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Knitting: A Novel (Hardcover)

To say Anne Bartlett is an excellent weaver of words is not only hyperbole, but totally pertinent to the subject of this story. This is a woman's book, particularly one for those who knit, and who love working with yarn. There are many references to the process of knitting and the historical importance of knitting in the life of mankind.

The character of Sandra Fildes is self-involved, seriously uptight, emotionally needy, and unable to relate well to people on a personal level. She is also a wordsmith, a writer, and a woman interested in the study of language and its nuances, along with that of textiles. When the story opens, Sandra's beloved husband, Jack, through whom she's lived vicariously for many years, has been dead of cancer for about nine months and she struggles each day to keep going. She visits an art gallery where she is struck by a glass dress. To demonstrate Bartlett's ability to meaningfully and effectively weave words together, following is the description (page 44) of the dress as seen through Sandra's eyes: "But this glass dress, this was a dress for a woman with a cutting voice and a snapping handbag, someone who ordered people around so they wouldn't see who she was. A dress for a woman who was always holding in a shriek but would let out only bits at a time, slivers of misery from behind those tight glass beads." Wow! I thought as I read the paragraph that the description could be of Sandra herself.

At any rate, Sandra and polar opposite Martha McKenzie, knitter extraordinaire, friendly and giving, but also dealing with her own deep-seated pain over losses in her life, meet under unusual circumstances. Over time, through a shared interest in things knitted, they develop an unlikely bond that in the end is healing to both. There are some very dramatic episodes through which these two women must travel, and while other characters come and go, it is the interplay between these two women that snags the heart strings and takes the reader along on a rocky journey to friendship. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. One question each reader will want to attempt to answer: Who is "the man?"

Carolyn Rowe Hill

41 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Knitting is a mystical and miraculous book., July 27, 2005

By 

J. Dawson (Wisconsin) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Knitting: A Novel (Hardcover)

I just finished reading Anne Bartlett's novel, Knitting, and I feel that I have been a witness to holy things. The book touched my heart. As a knitter, I enjoyed the description of the yarns and the delight that Martha took in her creations. As a spiritual person, I relished the depths of discovery that occurred in both Martha and Sandra. The characters and plot of this novel are quietly enchanting. The story grows on you as gently as a ball of yarn becomes a garment. I highly recommend this novel for women, especially knitters and meditators.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A story with wonderful characters!, January 3, 2006

By 

Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Knitting: A Novel (Hardcover)

Anne Bartlett's Knitting is a superb novel for women who love to knit and enjoy a great story. The descriptions of the knitting process, its historical importance in the world and the sheer love of the craft makes it worth the read.

But it is also the beautiful, poignant story of love, healing and understanding that makes it complete.

Sandra Fildes is newly widowed and at loose ends. The loss of her beloved husband Jack to cancer has left a deep, dark hole in her life--and she seriously wonders how she can go on. She's self-centered, driven and uptight. She also loves words and textiles. She'd love to be able to knit, but doesn't believe she has the talent to be good at it.

Martha McKenzie has been widowed for many years and is a highly skilled knitter who struggles with her own demons, demons that she carries around in several suitcases wherever she goes.

Martha and her polar opposite, Sandra meet when they stop to help a man who has fallen ill. Sandra persuades Martha to help her with a retro and contemporary knitting exhibition, which is to be held in the local church hall. Each woman's personal needs collide with the others and threaten a growing friendship.

Armchair Interviews says: Bartlett weaves a story with rich characters and prose that is simply delicious. It is a marvelous first novel.