Knitting Under the Influence
Claire LaZebnik
0-446-69795-8
As knitting became 'popular' recently, so did the genre of 'knitting novels.' I have been a knitter most of my life and find most of these books as shallow as the finished items being produced by the new knitters. I have tried to be generous to them, but this book had no purpose for the knitting ties whatsoever, and was very strained when it was attempted.
This is the story of three young women friends who share indiscrimanate sex and alcohol intake as the tie that binds them together. Knitting attempts to be the vehicle, but fails miserably. This is nothing more than a modern romance novel that delves into sexual pleasure and drunkeness - at the end all three are 'in love.'
The interesting part of this book was the story line that followed a therapist who works with autistic children. I appreciated the attention to detail in the specifics of autism - a disease that the author is personally associated with.
However, for the most part, the end pages sum up the knitting - a listing of the knitted projects turn out to be drink recipes.
Not a bad romance novel, but this is not a knitting book.
(Book received as a free preview copy)
