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A Slender Thread
A gripping novel of two sisters who must reimagine the future-before they're ready to let go of the past.
As a girl, Margot Winkler knew her big sister Lacey would keep her safe. Decades later, Lacey's home is often Margot's refuge. Lacey's life has seemed close to perfect-a loving husband, twin daughters on the brink of womanhood, and a home filled with her beautiful hand-woven textiles. But everything changes when Lacey reveals some devastating news. A rare disease is slowly stealing her ability to use language. Now Margot must imagine the future and find the courage to help her sister discover a new voice, keenly aware of the slender threads that bind them to this life, and to each other.
As a girl, Margot Winkler knew her big sister Lacey would keep her safe. Decades later, Lacey's home is often Margot's refuge. Lacey's life has seemed close to perfect-a loving husband, twin daughters on the brink of womanhood, and a home filled with her beautiful hand-woven textiles. But everything changes when Lacey reveals some devastating news. A rare disease is slowly stealing her ability to use language. Now Margot must imagine the future and find the courage to help her sister discover a new voice, keenly aware of the slender threads that bind them to this life, and to each other.
- GenresFictionContemporaryArt
352 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2010
6 people are currently reading
115 people want to read
About the author
Katharine Davis
4 books21 followersKATHARINE DAVIS
Katharine Davis began writing fiction in 1999. Capturing Paris (St. Martin’s Press, 2006) was her first novel. Recommended in Real Simple Spring Travel 2007, the novel was also included in the New York Times suggestions for fiction set in Paris. Her second novel, East Hope, published by New American Library in 2009, won the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance 2010 Award for Fiction. A Slender Thread, her third novel, will be published by New American Library in August, 2010. She is an Associate Editor at The Potomac Review. Her website is www.katharinedavis.com. and she can be reached at Katharine@katharinedavis.com
Katharine Davis began writing fiction in 1999. Capturing Paris (St. Martin’s Press, 2006) was her first novel. Recommended in Real Simple Spring Travel 2007, the novel was also included in the New York Times suggestions for fiction set in Paris. Her second novel, East Hope, published by New American Library in 2009, won the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance 2010 Award for Fiction. A Slender Thread, her third novel, will be published by New American Library in August, 2010. She is an Associate Editor at The Potomac Review. Her website is www.katharinedavis.com. and she can be reached at Katharine@katharinedavis.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
August 6, 2014
An outstanding story of family-sisterly love--a devistating illness--hopes and dreams--- I enjoyed reading ever page. it made me laugh and cry and was filled with so much raw emotionalism. Now I want to read the other books written by Katharine Davis
January 6, 2011
Why isn't there a 3 1/2 rating? I seem to be caught, often, between liking and REALLY liking.
This is Katharine Davis's third book, and in terms of the writing, I don't think it was as lyrical as her first two. (I wonder if her editor was rushing her a bit?) However, in some ways, I think this novel is trying to tackle a lot more in terms of characters and plot. Maybe that was the problem?
There are quite a few complicated relationship dynamics, but the center of the book is the relationship between two middle-aged sisters. (One of the things that I really like about this author is that she focuses on middle-aged characters who are undergoing big upheavals in their lives.)
The major "problem" of the book is that the oldest sister (the "perfect," highly competent type) has been diagnosed with a form of early-onset dementia called primary progressive aphasia. Basically, the frontal lobe of her brain -- which controls speech -- is rapidly deteriorating. (I have a vested interest in this subject because my father has a very similar sort of dementia.) It's not a fun, light-hearted book, not in any way, but the characters are interesting and well-drawn. Because of the nature of the "problem," though, there isn't going to be any sort of happy conclusion. The novel is more about how all of the people around the afflicted sister (sister, husband, daughters) deal with the diagnosis. The younger sister is a bit emotionally immature, and she is shown as being dependent on her big sister -- and a sort of adjunct to her big sister's life. Really, the book is much more about her; as readers, we are never privy to the older sister's internal thoughts -- and I had mixed feelings about that. Perhaps that is another book, but I couldn't help but think that it might be a slightly more interesting one.
This is Katharine Davis's third book, and in terms of the writing, I don't think it was as lyrical as her first two. (I wonder if her editor was rushing her a bit?) However, in some ways, I think this novel is trying to tackle a lot more in terms of characters and plot. Maybe that was the problem?
There are quite a few complicated relationship dynamics, but the center of the book is the relationship between two middle-aged sisters. (One of the things that I really like about this author is that she focuses on middle-aged characters who are undergoing big upheavals in their lives.)
The major "problem" of the book is that the oldest sister (the "perfect," highly competent type) has been diagnosed with a form of early-onset dementia called primary progressive aphasia. Basically, the frontal lobe of her brain -- which controls speech -- is rapidly deteriorating. (I have a vested interest in this subject because my father has a very similar sort of dementia.) It's not a fun, light-hearted book, not in any way, but the characters are interesting and well-drawn. Because of the nature of the "problem," though, there isn't going to be any sort of happy conclusion. The novel is more about how all of the people around the afflicted sister (sister, husband, daughters) deal with the diagnosis. The younger sister is a bit emotionally immature, and she is shown as being dependent on her big sister -- and a sort of adjunct to her big sister's life. Really, the book is much more about her; as readers, we are never privy to the older sister's internal thoughts -- and I had mixed feelings about that. Perhaps that is another book, but I couldn't help but think that it might be a slightly more interesting one.
April 9, 2016
The cover of this book is definitely pretty and eye catchy. However, I'm up in the air in regards to this story.
I got a sense that we can be connected by a thread to others. It is also true how our past (good and bad) can shape what kind of adults we can turn into. There can be baggage one lugs about on her/his person.
I understand the dynamics of the sisters' relationship. The whole semi-confused, love triangle past was disappointing. Like why have that? I understand the whole, younger sister crush thing but with what happened before? That was so not cool and for Lacey to be okay with all that? Really? Too weird for my tastes.
I don't know how it is to be diagnosed with such a serious, debilitating disease and have an unknown future. I thought the author covered what a person must be going through well. I also thought how others close to the person are affected was portrayed authentically.
I didn't quite get though how Margot enabled Lacey to get her voice back. Yeah each sister was able to unload and pack away her baggage but it seemed more because of what was happening. I felt Lacey's journey throughout the book was just part of the process one goes through with a serious medical diagnosis.
So therefore I found the summary on the back of the book misleading. I thought Lacey would have some kind of mechanism or whatever to help her when she can't speak anymore, etc. I thought the book would progress that far down the road of Lacey's journey.
I got a sense that we can be connected by a thread to others. It is also true how our past (good and bad) can shape what kind of adults we can turn into. There can be baggage one lugs about on her/his person.
I understand the dynamics of the sisters' relationship. The whole semi-confused, love triangle past was disappointing. Like why have that? I understand the whole, younger sister crush thing but with what happened before? That was so not cool and for Lacey to be okay with all that? Really? Too weird for my tastes.
I don't know how it is to be diagnosed with such a serious, debilitating disease and have an unknown future. I thought the author covered what a person must be going through well. I also thought how others close to the person are affected was portrayed authentically.
I didn't quite get though how Margot enabled Lacey to get her voice back. Yeah each sister was able to unload and pack away her baggage but it seemed more because of what was happening. I felt Lacey's journey throughout the book was just part of the process one goes through with a serious medical diagnosis.
So therefore I found the summary on the back of the book misleading. I thought Lacey would have some kind of mechanism or whatever to help her when she can't speak anymore, etc. I thought the book would progress that far down the road of Lacey's journey.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 4, 2019
I really tried to like this book. I stuck it out to the end, hoping for something that moved me. But no. I was bored, bored, bored. I thought the writing was trite, and felt there were so many words and sentences that served no purpose. I found the characters unlikeable, and could not relate to any of them. The storyline had promise, and having a personal involvement with dementia, I had high hopes for this book. Alas, I was disappointed. I only gave it two stars instead of one only because it didn’t allow me to abandon it, as I frequently wanted to do.
April 8, 2025
I had a really hard time staying with it. I was interested in the details of the sister who was losing her ability to communicate and wondering how it would end up with her. And in the end, they never even ended the story with her. They left it kind of in the middle. The author wove in various stories about the Sisters’ lives that I don’t feel like had anything to do with the story. I skimmed most of it.
July 9, 2017
I really like this book. Both sisters are so creative, supportive and jealous of each other. They want and need each other in their lives. How they come together and how they work and stumble through their issues of family helps you to endear them.
September 18, 2010
I stayed up all night to finish Katharine Davis's newest novel A Slender Thread. Literally, it was almost five o'clock in the morning, and I was blown away by her ability to put pen to page and illustrate relationships in such a beautiful way.
The novel tells the story of two sisters, closely bonded as a result of their often difficult childhood, whose lives are balanced on the cusp of change. When Margot leaves her glamorous New York City life and visits her sister Lacey in New Hampshire one Thanksgiving, Lacey surprises her by sharing that she's just been diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia, a disease which affects language and speech. The degeneration of Lacey's communication skills may take several years or only months to show; because of the relatively small amount of research on the topic and its close connection to dementia, even experts are unable to predict the disease's progression from one patient to another.
Although Lacey is the one faced with the loss of her ability to communicate, Davis focuses her attention on other family members and their responses to this pending crisis. Margot withdraws from her life in New York with artist Oliver and tries to keep her sister's family together by flying in at the smallest request from her brother-in-law Alex or one of her sister's twin daughters. Alex distances himself from his wife and turns to Margot and a week they once shared together as teenagers. The twins react differently to this news of their mother's illness; Wink, the more introverted twin, tries to abandon her life to stay close to her mother, while Toni rebels -- sneaking out with her older boyfriend and fighting constantly with Lacey. While the news of Lacey's illness affects her family members in different ways, the devastation that comes with the sudden possibility of losing her is evident in each.
Davis turns what could have been a highly sentimental, overly sappy storyline into a novel full of grace as she examines the human spirit. She employs art as a second form of communication, rather than simply relying on written words to do the storytelling. Each character tells not only his or her story in words, but also through the art forms each chooses. Lacey has always been a weaver, and continues to weave her feelings out of cloth and yarn; Margot returns to the long-abandoned paintings she once loved; Oliver, affected only from outside the family, through his loss of Margot, finds new life his art, as well; and Alex, not truly an artist, finds relief in the physical outlet of cycling.
Davis also includes pertinent flashbacks within the novel's pages. Inserted smoothly, at random times throughout the novel, these glimpses of the past offer deeper meaning to the characters' current reactions. Davis shows that family ties are not surface ones, but deep threads that weave us tightly together.
I loved the inclusion of weaving terms and definitions in A Slender Thread. Each chapter begins with one of these, so that the theme of family being woven together over time resonates in the reading. A few of my favorites:
* Shed (Chapter 10): Open space between upper and lower warp threads.
* Tenterhooks (Chapter 6): The hooks on a tenter, the framework for stretching wool to prevent shrinkage after it has been washed. When one is under tension, one is "on tenterhooks."
* Texere (Chapter 16): Latin for "to weave," from which the English word "text" is derived.
Sense of place is also an important element in the novel. Davis connects location to emotion, a very real connection in my mind. There is the vacation spot, Bow Lake, where Alex, Margot, and Lacey all spent summers as children; New York City, where all bustles and creativity abounds; San Francisco and Sonoma, where Oliver finds peace; and New Hampshire, where Lacey's family and Margot feel a strong sense of home. In an interview at the novel's end, Davis states that:
we all have a 'Bow Lake' in our lives -- whether it's a far-off vacation place or your grandmother's back porch where you went to escape now and then as a child. Bow Lake is one of those nostalgic places from our childhood when everything seemed simple and perfect. . . . [It] represents the longing one might have for an idealized time or place. . . . [W]hen the future seems threatening, one has the tendency to look back and seek solace in what seemed like easier times.
I believe we all have those places in our lives; Davis hits the nail on the head when she also says that "[o]ften when we do return to a place we loved long ago, we find that it is no longer the same at all." Not to say it is worse; only that it is different, and that places that affected us deeply long ago may not affect us later -- or may simply have a different effect on us at a different time.
Davis is also the author of Capturing Paris (2006) and East Hope (2009), winner of the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance 2010 Award for Fiction. She is currently at work on her next novel, set in Italy in 1969. Learn what she is currently reading and join the bookish conversation on her blog, Thursday Thoughts.
The novel tells the story of two sisters, closely bonded as a result of their often difficult childhood, whose lives are balanced on the cusp of change. When Margot leaves her glamorous New York City life and visits her sister Lacey in New Hampshire one Thanksgiving, Lacey surprises her by sharing that she's just been diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia, a disease which affects language and speech. The degeneration of Lacey's communication skills may take several years or only months to show; because of the relatively small amount of research on the topic and its close connection to dementia, even experts are unable to predict the disease's progression from one patient to another.
Although Lacey is the one faced with the loss of her ability to communicate, Davis focuses her attention on other family members and their responses to this pending crisis. Margot withdraws from her life in New York with artist Oliver and tries to keep her sister's family together by flying in at the smallest request from her brother-in-law Alex or one of her sister's twin daughters. Alex distances himself from his wife and turns to Margot and a week they once shared together as teenagers. The twins react differently to this news of their mother's illness; Wink, the more introverted twin, tries to abandon her life to stay close to her mother, while Toni rebels -- sneaking out with her older boyfriend and fighting constantly with Lacey. While the news of Lacey's illness affects her family members in different ways, the devastation that comes with the sudden possibility of losing her is evident in each.
Davis turns what could have been a highly sentimental, overly sappy storyline into a novel full of grace as she examines the human spirit. She employs art as a second form of communication, rather than simply relying on written words to do the storytelling. Each character tells not only his or her story in words, but also through the art forms each chooses. Lacey has always been a weaver, and continues to weave her feelings out of cloth and yarn; Margot returns to the long-abandoned paintings she once loved; Oliver, affected only from outside the family, through his loss of Margot, finds new life his art, as well; and Alex, not truly an artist, finds relief in the physical outlet of cycling.
Davis also includes pertinent flashbacks within the novel's pages. Inserted smoothly, at random times throughout the novel, these glimpses of the past offer deeper meaning to the characters' current reactions. Davis shows that family ties are not surface ones, but deep threads that weave us tightly together.
I loved the inclusion of weaving terms and definitions in A Slender Thread. Each chapter begins with one of these, so that the theme of family being woven together over time resonates in the reading. A few of my favorites:
* Shed (Chapter 10): Open space between upper and lower warp threads.
* Tenterhooks (Chapter 6): The hooks on a tenter, the framework for stretching wool to prevent shrinkage after it has been washed. When one is under tension, one is "on tenterhooks."
* Texere (Chapter 16): Latin for "to weave," from which the English word "text" is derived.
Sense of place is also an important element in the novel. Davis connects location to emotion, a very real connection in my mind. There is the vacation spot, Bow Lake, where Alex, Margot, and Lacey all spent summers as children; New York City, where all bustles and creativity abounds; San Francisco and Sonoma, where Oliver finds peace; and New Hampshire, where Lacey's family and Margot feel a strong sense of home. In an interview at the novel's end, Davis states that:
we all have a 'Bow Lake' in our lives -- whether it's a far-off vacation place or your grandmother's back porch where you went to escape now and then as a child. Bow Lake is one of those nostalgic places from our childhood when everything seemed simple and perfect. . . . [It] represents the longing one might have for an idealized time or place. . . . [W]hen the future seems threatening, one has the tendency to look back and seek solace in what seemed like easier times.
I believe we all have those places in our lives; Davis hits the nail on the head when she also says that "[o]ften when we do return to a place we loved long ago, we find that it is no longer the same at all." Not to say it is worse; only that it is different, and that places that affected us deeply long ago may not affect us later -- or may simply have a different effect on us at a different time.
Davis is also the author of Capturing Paris (2006) and East Hope (2009), winner of the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance 2010 Award for Fiction. She is currently at work on her next novel, set in Italy in 1969. Learn what she is currently reading and join the bookish conversation on her blog, Thursday Thoughts.
June 23, 2017
I liked this book. Good characters dealing with difficult family and interpersonal relationships. Clean, but good fiction and characters.
September 6, 2018
This was okay but disappointed that there was no real ending. I wanted to know what happened to Lacey. ☹️
January 14, 2021
This book was interesting because of the disease that I had not heard of. Other than that, I wasn't overly fond of the characters. They were all pretty weak except Lacey.
January 18, 2022
Skimmed through the second half of this book. Found in repetitive, annoying and just not very interesting.
July 9, 2022
3.5 stars
January 20, 2023
A 2.5. It seemed that for much of the book nothing happened. It just kept repeating the same things.
May 21, 2023
Sisters and summers and emotions !
July 24, 2024
Weaver and painter two sisters trying to find their footing when one get a debilitating disease.
June 12, 2012
A Slender Thread
This is not what I thought it was going to be. I expected a more crafty type of book, still, this one had some pretty powerful themes and messages going on. And it did pull you in.
Margot is an artist that works in a gallery, having given up her own art. Her older sister Lacey has settled down, had twin girls, and is a weaver and teacher. But when Lacey is diagnosed with a progressive illness their lives change. This illness will take away Lacey's speech, and her capacity for understanding language, and she's already showing numerous symptoms. Margot is torn between wanting to help her sister, who has always been there for her, and her relationship with Oliver, a man she's been seeing for awhile and who's a temperamental artist himself. Not to mention Lacey's husband Alex has become very needy, and he and Margot have some history. Add in the twin daughters Toni and Wink and their assorted issues with graduating high school and getting ready to go to college and the family has found themselves very out of sorts in a time where they just want everything to be normal.
I like Margot. I think she's got a mind of her own and she's learned not to let anybody push her around. That being said she does tend to be overly dramatic and gets sucked in by other peoples problems sometimes. It's like she never gets any rest. Lacey, because she is the sister losing her speech, I didn't feel as attached too. We only get a few glimpses into her personality really and it just makes it hard to relate. Sure I felt sorry for her, but it was a detached sort of sorrow. I did like the twins, Wink and Toni, they seemed to be the most realistic of all the characters. Alex and Oliver, the men of the novel put in a poor showing as they both seemed very ego-centric. Which I thought a little unfair since they were the main representation of the male characters in the book.
Since I thought this was going to be a more craft-centered book judging by the cover and title, I was a little disappointed at how little weaving actually played into the book. Each chapter had a little line about weaving, and occasionally it mentioned Lacey's projects. But that was it. The main focus of the book was rather the “slender thread” between the two sisters and their relationship growing up through the years. But there was a lot of drama in this book. I did think that some of the relationships seemed a little unrealistic, especially Margot's and Oliver's. They just didn't seem well suited to each other even though the book tried to convince you that they were. And the ending of the book was just a little too neatly tied up for my tastes.
A sad read but it does have a lot of emotion. Not a bad one if you're into a book that's mainly about characters and their relationships.
A Slender Thread
Copyright 2010
321 pages
Review by M. Reynard 2012
More of my reviews can be found at www.ifithaswords.blogspot.com
This is not what I thought it was going to be. I expected a more crafty type of book, still, this one had some pretty powerful themes and messages going on. And it did pull you in.
Margot is an artist that works in a gallery, having given up her own art. Her older sister Lacey has settled down, had twin girls, and is a weaver and teacher. But when Lacey is diagnosed with a progressive illness their lives change. This illness will take away Lacey's speech, and her capacity for understanding language, and she's already showing numerous symptoms. Margot is torn between wanting to help her sister, who has always been there for her, and her relationship with Oliver, a man she's been seeing for awhile and who's a temperamental artist himself. Not to mention Lacey's husband Alex has become very needy, and he and Margot have some history. Add in the twin daughters Toni and Wink and their assorted issues with graduating high school and getting ready to go to college and the family has found themselves very out of sorts in a time where they just want everything to be normal.
I like Margot. I think she's got a mind of her own and she's learned not to let anybody push her around. That being said she does tend to be overly dramatic and gets sucked in by other peoples problems sometimes. It's like she never gets any rest. Lacey, because she is the sister losing her speech, I didn't feel as attached too. We only get a few glimpses into her personality really and it just makes it hard to relate. Sure I felt sorry for her, but it was a detached sort of sorrow. I did like the twins, Wink and Toni, they seemed to be the most realistic of all the characters. Alex and Oliver, the men of the novel put in a poor showing as they both seemed very ego-centric. Which I thought a little unfair since they were the main representation of the male characters in the book.
Since I thought this was going to be a more craft-centered book judging by the cover and title, I was a little disappointed at how little weaving actually played into the book. Each chapter had a little line about weaving, and occasionally it mentioned Lacey's projects. But that was it. The main focus of the book was rather the “slender thread” between the two sisters and their relationship growing up through the years. But there was a lot of drama in this book. I did think that some of the relationships seemed a little unrealistic, especially Margot's and Oliver's. They just didn't seem well suited to each other even though the book tried to convince you that they were. And the ending of the book was just a little too neatly tied up for my tastes.
A sad read but it does have a lot of emotion. Not a bad one if you're into a book that's mainly about characters and their relationships.
A Slender Thread
Copyright 2010
321 pages
Review by M. Reynard 2012
More of my reviews can be found at www.ifithaswords.blogspot.com
April 16, 2017
A Slender Thread was a very emotional read. It is mostly the story of two sisters. Lacey, the older sister basically had to take on the role of being a mother to her younger sister, Margot. Their mother was absent a lot because she was an alcoholic and withdrew from the family. Lacey was perfect in everything, mothering, sewing, crafts, cooking and knowing what to do in emergencies.
When the two sisters had grown up Lacey had everything she ever wanted in life, a loving husband, two daughters, a beautiful house and a very creative lift. Then she started to notice that she was having trouble finding the right words. OK that happens to everyone but this started to get worse and worse She was diagnosed as having primary progressive aphasia, a form of frontotemporal dementia.
Katherine Davis gives us some basic information about this rare disease. I was very interested in that because I have Mild Cognitive Impairment. The author's intention is not to have this be the main part of the story but rather to focus on the effect that having this had on other family members.
The problem is that even though that author wanted the main focus of the other family members, how they dealt with it, I reluctantly accepted that but when it came to Margot's past with Lacey's husband. It seemed more realistic for Margot to deal with it earlier in this story.
The writing is very good, I felt invested in the story but later felt thrown off the track. I would definitely read more of the author's books.
When the two sisters had grown up Lacey had everything she ever wanted in life, a loving husband, two daughters, a beautiful house and a very creative lift. Then she started to notice that she was having trouble finding the right words. OK that happens to everyone but this started to get worse and worse She was diagnosed as having primary progressive aphasia, a form of frontotemporal dementia.
Katherine Davis gives us some basic information about this rare disease. I was very interested in that because I have Mild Cognitive Impairment. The author's intention is not to have this be the main part of the story but rather to focus on the effect that having this had on other family members.
The problem is that even though that author wanted the main focus of the other family members, how they dealt with it, I reluctantly accepted that but when it came to Margot's past with Lacey's husband. It seemed more realistic for Margot to deal with it earlier in this story.
The writing is very good, I felt invested in the story but later felt thrown off the track. I would definitely read more of the author's books.
July 28, 2011
First of all, it is good to read a fiction book that gets my craft right. The chapter headings were all definitions of weaving and spinning terms. Not only did they fit the chapters, but they were correct. What little weaving that actually took place in the book was referred to correctly. It is a pet peeve of mine that authors occasionally don't do their research. There are plenty of libraries and librarians who would be happy to help an author get their facts straight.
Now that I am stepping off my soapbox, I found Davis' book to be well written and absorbing. Although at first I was not sure I wanted to read a novel about illness, that was not the true theme of the book. Life changes, which we all go through, was more the subject.
I liked meeting Margot and Lacey - their relationship is portrayed well. I also think that Davis does a good job of showing us the present and the past. All in all, Katherine Davis has written a fine example of women's fiction, which for me is concerned with women's strength and their relationships. Women's fiction is not romance.
Now that I am stepping off my soapbox, I found Davis' book to be well written and absorbing. Although at first I was not sure I wanted to read a novel about illness, that was not the true theme of the book. Life changes, which we all go through, was more the subject.
I liked meeting Margot and Lacey - their relationship is portrayed well. I also think that Davis does a good job of showing us the present and the past. All in all, Katherine Davis has written a fine example of women's fiction, which for me is concerned with women's strength and their relationships. Women's fiction is not romance.
December 31, 2014
The plot (two sisters, one overly involved with the other to the detriment of her romantic relationship, one with a degenerative brain disease) is rather ordinary, with brief flashes of something different. What was confusing was that Margot (younger sister) and Oliver (her boyfriend) are both artists, even though Margot currently works in a gallery not as an artist. Yet the chapter headings are all about weaving - and the glimpses of Lacey (older sister) working as a weaver are few and far between. Bad editing? Perhaps. And then there was the Big Reveal about Margot's Indiscretion. Unnecessary.
August 27, 2015
I really liked the characters in this book and found myself identifying my sister and myself with the two main characters, as well as a couple of the secondary characters, which made the story's unfolding that much more interesting. I liked the combination of stories from both sisters being intertwined, and the comparisons drawn to the weaving process, and how each chapter began with the definition of a weaving term that was relevant to the storyline. I felt that the ending was abrupt, though. There were, so to speak, too many loose ends for me. I want to know what happens next! But the heart of the story remains, and inspires me to greater closeness with my own family.
August 22, 2010
I liked this book. It was a quiet little book that explores how family dynamics shift after the kingpin in the family is diagnosed with having a serious degenerate disease. It's not a lighthearted romp of a summer read, but more of a thoughtful exploration of what could happen in any family struck by a serious illness.
I enjoyed how the author cleverly subtitled each chapter with appropriate weaving definitions. Lacey (who has the grim prognosis) is a weaver, so it was interesting to see how the author wove the terms into her story.
I enjoyed how the author cleverly subtitled each chapter with appropriate weaving definitions. Lacey (who has the grim prognosis) is a weaver, so it was interesting to see how the author wove the terms into her story.
June 11, 2012
This is an easy read. The characters are interesting. The omnipotent point of view is used by the author. It is mainly a book about the strong bond of family between two sisters. I was somewhat let down by the non- ending though. There are suggestions here and there about possible plot turns, but none pan out. The illness of one of the sisters is addressed superficially, in my opinion. On the other hand, there is a nice peephole into artists' lives and some about New York living. A quick book to enjoy that drew me in to the end.
November 6, 2016
This is the first time I've read this author's work, and I have to say she held my interest. There were many times I underlined her words to think about later and keep on hand for reflection in a journal.
I liked the way this book wove the stories between the sisters, and also between their past and present. It, for me, really hit home with the description of Lacey's illness because I have a friend going through something similar. I see a lot of the same struggles in my friend.
The conclusion made total sense.
I liked the way this book wove the stories between the sisters, and also between their past and present. It, for me, really hit home with the description of Lacey's illness because I have a friend going through something similar. I see a lot of the same struggles in my friend.
The conclusion made total sense.
July 5, 2011
Read this book for our June book group and were fortunate to have the author, Katherine Davis join us, she is the sister of one of our members. Don't take this book lightly, there are interesting complex family dynamics focused around the illness of the "strong one" in the family and some fascinating information about the textile arts that are woven into the story, pun intended! For instance Texere: Latin for "to weave," from which the English word "text" is derived. Give it a good read!
April 27, 2015
I give this book 2.5 stars. At times I found it good but mostly slow pace and repetitive.Rather sad and depressing book but was very thought provoking. Two sisters that are very close find out one has a rare disease and the other sister steps up and wants to help and puts the sister and her family first above her own relationship. There is also a hidden secret about the sisters relationship with her brother in law. The book is worht reading though.
December 25, 2012
This was a good book and had a lot of different dynamics. This had the dynamic of a sister bond, also had a dynamic bond of love between husband and wife and a girlfriend and boyfriend. And everything being complicated by an eventually deadly illness. It was a complex book that brought out a lot of emotion from the heart. I really enjoyed this book, and I would recommend it to people who want an emotional book.
June 24, 2013
Didn't love it, didn't hate it. I didn't really like any of the characters but they did play off each other fairly well. I guess I was just hoping that Bow Lake would have a bigger part of the story. It was referred to over and over and over again and when it finally had it's time, the story felt stunted for me. I really wonder why the author wrapped it up so quickly as it seemed to me to be a pivotal point for the main characters. Oh well. Next book please...
February 17, 2012
I enjoyed this book and the exploration of family dynamics in dealing with the complicated disease and slow deterioration of communication avenues. I have friends who are dealing with a similar (or same) condition with their father, so perhaps some of what was happening I was feeling for them.
I liked the characters who were typical people with inherent flaws that occasionally made me crazy!
I liked the characters who were typical people with inherent flaws that occasionally made me crazy!
November 8, 2012
My review is here.
"One of the abilities with came with age, he thought, was getting used to unhappiness. You had to accept a backlog of disappointments, hurts that could never be healed, sadness for which there was no cure." Oliver on p.207
"One of the abilities with came with age, he thought, was getting used to unhappiness. You had to accept a backlog of disappointments, hurts that could never be healed, sadness for which there was no cure." Oliver on p.207
July 1, 2011
I enjoyed this book and the characters and how they communicated. Very interesting medical condition of one the sisters which reminded me of someone in my church family. Still wondering if that is what she has. Enjoyed the art exposure and the weaving.
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