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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Crocheted Gestures, July 24, 2009
This review is from: Crocheted Gestures (Paperback)
"CROCHETED GESTURES" is a beautifully written series of short stories. The author has her own style that draws a reader in making the verse personal. One can only relate to all the characters as somewhere in one's life they have existed.
Heartwarming, funny, tinges of sadness of moments a reader can relate to. Nancy has a unique softness in her delivery that feels like a warm blanket on a very cold night. Simple truths.. the smallest of incidents are driven home with gentle strength making the heart sigh perhaps in humor or self recognition or familiar events in ones own life.
This small book is packed with life! Stories one will not tire of but will want to revisit as I have. To perhaps pass on to someone else who may need a smile or a reminder that life is full of tiny events that crocheted together makes a very interesting quilt.
Simple beauty...two words that says it all.
Patti Yaeger
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Weaving a Story, September 24, 2009
This review is from: Crocheted Gestures (Paperback)
What a lovely book of memorable characters. Aldersmith weaves them into each story in such a way that you can't wait to see what the finished creation will be. I enjoyed them all, but I did have some favorites.
Grandma, who is beyond an octogenarian, loves crocheting skull caps for preemies. Each covering is unique, woven with kindhearted intention and tender skill. She tells us how "some babies are so small that they fit in the palm of your hand." And the wonder to Grandma is that even though her hands shake when she writes letters and cooks, they never shake when she is crocheting.
Olivia, who just wanted to dance, is delightful. She had never danced a step in her life because her church had a rule against dancing. As she approached her eightieth birthday, she decides to put taps on her loafers. She practiced day and night because she tells her husband, "there is still life in me." On the big day, she puts on a tap dancing show. Even her sons, the two ministers, remark, "she's pretty good."
There are the special needs children who come to The Studio to work with clay and are helped to create art with love.
And then there's the seven-year-old big black dog that is out of time and due to be put down. But eight different good Samaritans transport him 730 miles to a family waiting with expectant faces. The little girl wraps her arms around his neck and tells him, "You're home now boy; it's all right." The dog's face looks like someone who has taken off tight shoes after a long day of being on his feet.
There are also mothers, aunts, uncles, mentors, nurses, patients, bowlers, fishermen, college kids, war survivors, a know-it-all bus driver, and a frustrated vulture chasing a determined doe. Each and every one of them made me care--about them and those that they interacted with.
Another nice thing about Aldersmith's book is that you can read an entire story in just a few minutes and then take time to digest what the author is trying to tell you. This is a good gift for you or a friend that might need something uplifting to read.
by Doris Anne Roop-Benner
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Crocheted Gestures: Good Stroies Well Told, July 27, 2009
This review is from: Crocheted Gestures (Paperback)
The short story is something of a neglected Art form but this book of little jewels should not be neglected. Nancy Aldersmith has created fifteen poignant, humorous pieces that always contain an important kernel of truth. She writes with a grace and ease that seems to paint mental pictures full of well drawn characters, interesting plots and a few surprising twists. Each story is strong, even when describing a gentle person. The title story is a simple conversation between a young woman and her grandmother who is crocheting blankets for premature infants. Almost immediately the reader is drawn into the story, mentally providing detailed images which are not written but "must" be there. That the author can so capably cram so much character, plot and action into so few words is a testament to her formidable talent. And the abilty to pull the reader so deeply into the story that his imagination helps to fill out details is an artistic ability that Ms. Aldersmith exercises in all these fine pieces. In these pages the reader will meet, among many others, mentally challenged art students, plucky senior citizens and a group of dog rescue folks seen through the eyes of the dog. This book is fun to read and to share. It's a book that can be discussed with a close friend over a cup of coffee and I guarantee the converstation will take some surprising turns. I highly recommend "Crocheted Gestures" by Nancy Aldersmith
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