Unraveled Wednesday: 12/4/24

I'm joining Kat and the Unravelers today, with the Sparkly Hitchhiker still in progress. You've seen it quite a few times before and it looks pretty much the same except for more rows of garter and yarnovers. 

Sorry for the poor photo, but I'm taking pictures on Tuesday night and this is the best i could do. Never fear, you will probably see this Hitchhiker another time (or two). 

I was also looking through my Christmas pile and decided that I felt like weaving another potholder for Ryan. He has told me numerous times and quite emphatically that he has enough knitted items (hats, fingerless gloves, and scarves) and doesn't need any more. So I have made him more potholders than he probably needs or wants, but he can always put the extras in a drawer. He likes turtles and I had this idea for a pattern that would produce rows of turtles. I spent several afternoons this week trying to draft the pattern on paper, but finally gave up and just started weaving. 

I wove about 10 rows starting from the bottom and was feeling frustrated that it wasn't looking like I had pictured it. Then I turned the loom over, and there they were!

 If you look at the green rows, you can (hopefully) see four turtles in a row. They're kind of stylized, with just one green square for the head, five for the front legs and body, three squares for the main part of the body, five squares again for the back legs and body, and one square for the tail. I'm letting it sit on the loom for a night and it will bind it off after a day or so. Maybe I'll circle a turtle in a photo next week after it's bound off. It's not really a spectacular design accomplishment, but I was glad that I could weave a piece that looked something like I had imagined. 

I read a couple of books last week, one that wasn't really my cup of tea and an ARC that I enjoyed. I don't usually mind unlikable characters in fiction, in fact, sometimes they can add interest and reality to a tale. But that was not the case for me with Jane Gibson, protagonist of Colored Television. Jane is a biracial untenured college professor, struggling to finish her second novel that she's been working on for a decade, that her husband Lenny calls a "mullato War and Peace". Early on in the book there is a flashback to a party Jane has attended after she has consulted an “intuitive psychodynamic counselor with a specialty in racial alchemy,” (a psychic). He told her that she’s about to meet her future husband, a funny, tall, handsome Black man who would be wearing “West Coast shoes.” This is Lenny, a painter and the moral compass in the relationship. Jane lies to the people around her and to herself in order to portray herself as a better person than she really is when she tries to break into television writing. Appearances are important to Jane; her life revolves around race, parenting, money, and art, with never enough money or responsibility on Jane's part for any of these things. Her husband asks, "Ever think that instead of trying to be rich you should try not to be homeless?," when they need to leave their fancy house-sitting gig. Maybe it's because I'm not a big television watcher, but many of Jane's ideas for tv just sounded inane to me. Maybe that's just TV? Jane seemed far too malleable, taking on the personality and ideas of those around her and saying what she thought they wanted to hear. I wish that Lenny and their children had been developed more because they were far more interesting characters to me. I gave this one three stars.

I've enjoyed the four books by Curtis Sittenfeld that I've read, so I looked forward to reading this collection of short stories when it was offered to me. Show Don't Tell is a witty and insightful collection of short stories that delve into the intricacies of human relationships, self-perception, and the complexities of everyday life. Known for her sharp observations and emotionally resonant writing, Sittenfeld brings her signature style to this collection, exploring themes of love, loss, identity, and the human condition.

The title itself is a nod to one of the key principles of writing, and throughout these stories, the author masterfully shows rather than tells, allowing readers to experience the characters' emotions and struggles in a deeply visceral way. Her prose is clear yet nuanced, often leaving room for interpretation and reflection long after the stories have ended.

One of the collection's strengths is its diversity in both character and setting. From the perspective of a teacher navigating a complicated relationship with a student to a woman reckoning with her past during a reunion, Sittenfeld explores the complexities of individual experiences with remarkable empathy. Each story feels like a small window into a larger world, showing the quiet moments that shape people’s lives in subtle but profound ways.

While some stories are more reflective and contemplative, others are charged with a certain tension or urgency that keeps the reader engaged. The characters are flawed and relatable, and their journeys feel honest, poignant, and relatable.

Like most short story collections, several of these stories left me wanting more depth or a clearer resolution. There were one or two stories that ended so abruptly I wondered if I had missed the last page. But the last story, "Lost But Not Forgotten" was so good that I could overlook the few with sudden endings. In this story, we get to revisit Lee Fiora when she attends a reunion decades later at the boarding school Sittenfeld wrote about in Prep. I remembered that I liked Prep but didn't recall any details about why so I'm re-reading it now, decades later.

Overall, Show Don’t Tell is a four-star, beautifully crafted collection that will resonate with fans of literary fiction. The author's sharp eye for detail and her ability to weave complex emotional truths into every story makes this a highly recommended read for those who appreciate thoughtful, character-driven narratives.

Thank you to Random House publishing Group and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book. It will be published on February 25, 2025.

What are you making and reading this week?