No Loose Ends

I came across this book in one of my weekly emails from the Dear Reader book club.

Set in small town Tennessee, The Sweetgum Knit Lit Society follows a group of women whose lives intersect at their monthly knit-lit meeting. Assigned to read “girlhood classics,” each character works on a knitting project (i.e. a scarf for Mr. March) in addition to finishing the month’s reading selection (i.e. Little Women).

Between her account of each meeting, Beth Patillo spins the tale of each member. There’s Eugenie, the town librarian ergo spinster, who leads the group. Sisters Ruth and Esther share the same taste in men, but one is a former Peace Corps volunteer while the other spends her days at the country club. Merry, a stay-at-home mom, tries to conceal her fourth pregnacy from her husband and reconnect with her teenage daughter. Camille looks after her mother when she’s not running her dress shop or trying to have an affair. Teenage Hannah, avoiding a shady home life, soon finds herself reading Heidi and shopping for yarn.

As they tackle these tasks, all the women seem to come unraveled by one of life’s little snags at some point. But Patillo manages to rework each dropped stitch and ties up every last loose end. Perhaps it’s worked a little too perfectly. We’re left with the feel of factory manufactured rather than homespun - wearable but predictable.

You delighted in The Mitford series. You devoured The Jane Austen Book Club. And you dashed off The Friday Night Knitting Club in one sitting. You'll be delving into The Sweetgum Knit Lit Society next.