The Knitting Circle by Ann Hood

I loved this book. I loved this book. I loved this book. I loved this book.

I now know why I can't possibly ever be a book critic. I wrote the line above and then froze. It's difficult to tell you why I loved the book. It is a book by a woman for women. But it is not sappy. It is sad in the most horrifying way, the way every mother fears. However, the women never descend into self pity.

The book tells the personal tragedies of the members of a knitting circle. Each woman's life bears scars of sadness, disappointment, grief, fear. Using the language of knitting, the story shows how grand gestures aren't required for the heart to mend. Sometimes just knitting with a group of wonderfully strong, witty, and flawed women is enough to eventually get you through just about anything. Even your worst nightmare.