The Friday Night Knitting Club

By: Kate Jacobs

Narrated by: Carrington Macduffie

Length: 12 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

The New York Times bestselling sensation that’s “Steel Magnolias set in Manhattan” (USA Today)

Once a week, an eclectic group of women comes together at a New York City yarn shop to work on their latest projects—and share the stories of their lives…

Walker & Daughter is Georgia Walker’s little yarn shop, tucked into a quiet storefront on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Its Friday night knitting club is improvised by some of Georgia’s regulars, who stroll into the shop looking for tips on knitting and end up finding much, much more. So now, once a week, they gather to work on their latest projects and to chat—and occasionally clash—over their stories of love, life, and everything in between.

However, unexpected changes soon throw these women’s lives into disarray, and the shop’s comfortable world gets shaken up like a snow globe. When the unthinkable happens, they realize that what they’ve created is not just a knitting club—it’s a sisterhood.

©2007 Kathleen Jacobs (P)2007 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Critic reviews

• Nominee, 2008 Audie Award, Fiction

"Kate Jacobs' breezy first novel reads like Steel Magnolias set in Manhattan." (USA Today)
"[P]oignant twists propel the plot and help the pacing find a pleasant rhythm." (Publishers Weekly)

Wonderful

Wonderful book, very easy to listen to. The ladies were very relatable, and I look forward to listening to the next book in this series.

Good story.

I wasn’t crazy about some of the voices of the characters, I found it distracting. I also disliked the F word being flung about, it was totally unnecessary to the story.
I enjoyed the story though, it was detailed and interwoven with other characters, like yarn in a project. I am also a member of a knitting club, and I love how the lives of these women were made more poignant by interacting with members of the club. It is the same with our group, which drew me to read this book.

Endearing

A truly endearing story weaving the lives of a unique set of individuals and their ups and downs together to create completion.

Truly enjoyed the authors detail around the craft of knitting, disposing that it’s something just for “old times” - but that it’s something that brings people together, builds confidence and mirrors moments in life (struggles, accomplishments, mistakes and completion).

Because of this book we’ve started out on knit club 😍

This book had a huge negative distraction!

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I am a fan of reading and listening to good books. Books with great storylines and plots that keep you on the edge of your seat. I listen to books mainly because I like to listen to them during my commute or when I am traveling. I choose books that are interesting to listen to and have an interesting plot. So to answer the question I chose this book because of the storyline. After clicking the accepted purchase button, I continued to read other reviews. One review pointed out the accents used by the narrator in the book and how they were sometimes strange, to say the least. But to stay focused the book took a long time go get through. It was rather long and I actually stopped towards the middle and started another book, finished that book and then continued.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Dakota was my favorite character. She was spunky. Dakota and Anita's accents were the only ones that truly fit the character. Georgia seemed like a white girl trying to sound black at times. James although he was an educated architect somehow the narrator made him sound uneducated and ignorant. Black men and especially educated black men do not sound like that... research please....!!! During the dialogue for James I kept thinking with this voice he should be saying "Ho de do, ho de do"(Hold the door)

K.C. was over the top and not in a good way.

Darwin was strange and her accent was edgy and nervous. It just didn't ring true.

Peri the assistant in Georgia's knitting store sounded like a cross between Puerto Rican and Jamaican. But then when it is mentioned that she comes from Chicago I am left scratching my head.

Cat her voice isn't as annoying as most and she does reconnect with Georgia.

Marty did sound Jewish if that's even possible.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The voices were really not good at all. I tried to focus on the plot and put the voices out of my head but especially when James and Peri spoke it was difficult. Bad scene man, bad scene.

Was The Friday Night Knitting Club worth the listening time?

This was a book I would prefer to read on my own.

Any additional comments?

The plot was generally good. Some of the story was unrealistic and some was just too sappy and attempted to pull at the heart strings way too much. And the attempt to make Georgia into a Saint was annoying. The fact that they had to make the dead beat father a black man was unnecessary. I know it fit with the storyline as far as Dakota being different and wanting to know her roots. But they played James as a deadbeat dad and then gave him the voice that sounded ignorant. So that was a double scoop of unacceptable.

Loved it!

I really loved this book, by the end I was completely endeared to the cast of characters. Great read (especially if you are a knitter!)`

A Must for Knitters

Knitting- based novels have captured the hearts of die-hard knitters across the nation. The Friday Night Knitting Club ranks among the best. It touches the heart without being saccharine, and has enough action to keep up interest. If one has a knitting group, it is easy to relate to the companionship among the knitters. Count me in.

Friday Night Knitting Club

This was an outstanding book, with an ending I was not prepared for. Great book.

Just couldn't care enough

I tried to like this, but just couldn't care enough about any of the characters to - - well, care. Just not well paced or interesting.

narration issues

The book is OK. The narration is not so great. In particular, the voices of the two black characters are bizarre and, to me, grating. The voices don't fit what we know about the characters.

Interesting twists, but a BIG downer

I enjoyed and even recommended this book to friends... until I hit the last quarter of the book. Big downer and completely unnecessary to the plot of the book. I enjoyed how the author wove in knitting references. But I totally didn't get why every character seemed to use the "F" word... it would have fit one specific character's vocabulary and attitude, but most of the characters didn't have that edge. Not a best seller. Decent listening.