The Friday Night Knitting Club

The Friday Night Knitting Club
By Kate Jacobs
G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2007. 345 pgs. Fiction

Georgia Walker runs her own knitting store, Walker and Daughter, in New York City. A single mother who doesn’t have much interaction with her parents, Georgia is not lonely in terms of friendship. Anita, the older woman who first inspires Georgia to open her store, works every day with Georgia and is her surrogate mother. Peri, a law student who wants to go into fashion, works part-time and K.C., Georgia’s friend from her publishing days, comes in often as well. Dakota, Georgia’s daughter, makes goodies for all the women and Lucie, a film producer, is a frequent customer. All these women make up the Friday Night Knitting Club and the book follows these women through a year where changes happen to all of them.

The action focuses mostly on Georgia who must deal with the arrival of her long-ago boyfriend James, who is also Dakota’s father and wants to be a part of their lives now. Georgia’s best friend, Cat, from high school also reappears and wants to make amends for her betrayal of Georgia before college. Cat challenges each woman to do something beyond their comfort zone, yielding interesting results for all. I really enjoyed this tale of friendship and was glad when I could pick it up again. I particularly liked the words of wisdom imparted by the older women which the younger women actually thought about. All-in-all, a good, quick read.

MN