I'm happy to join Kat and the Unravelers today, with some stripes on a sock.
Initially, I was a little disappointed with the way the sock was turning out because the stripes in the Denali yarn aren't quite as crisply defined as I hoped. The brown and some of the green and blue stripes look "heathery" to me. But it looks a little better if I look at it from farther away and it is beginning to grow on me. Maybe I'm just being too fussy! The pale lavender heel works well, so I'm just going to keep knitting. I'm a little embarrassed to say that I was afraid that I might like this colorway so much that I would have a hard time gifting them to Jess, but that's no longer a worry. They look like Denali colors; I hope to have a Christmas gift done early, and I may make myself a pair of short socks with the leftover pale lavender color.
I only finished one book this week, but it was great. Goodreads tells me that I've read 41 short story collections, and only one was worthy of five stars. Now that I've read Table for Two there will be two. I was a little wary about reading this volume. I enjoyed The Lincoln Highway and Rules of Civility but had trouble with A Gentleman in Moscow despite multiple attempts. But no worries, this is simply one of the best books I've read this year.
Short stories almost always suffer from the problems of not being long enough, not providing enough detail, or ending just as the reader begins to enjoy them. Far too often I'm simply left wanting more. That was not the case for any of the stories included here. Towles is a master of language, so each story feels precise and specific. I found details I loved and things that I had thought before myself, expressed far better by the author."... what you're probably heading home to are the compromises of marriage. These will govern when, what, and how you eat. They'll govern when, what, and how you watch. So, the canceled flight can create something of a temporal oasis—a twenty-four hour period in which no concessions need to be made to anyone."
I can't pick a favorite story from this book. If anything, "Eve in Hollywood" is the weakest part of the collection. It's the novella continuing the story of Eve from Rules of Civility. All of the short stories are complete, perfect little glowing jewels, and I very much hope that Towles publishes more short stories.
What are you making and reading this week?
Like you, I loved, loved, loved Table for Two. It was so, so good! I thought each story was better than the last... and I really enjoyed Evelyn's story!
ReplyDeleteI think that sock yarn is amazing... to my eye, it has hints of spring... you know, when the trees are a multitude of greens! And I really like that pale purple heel!
This is a glowing review of the new Amor Towles! I'm curious -- what was your other 5-star collection? I often have problems with short story collections because I find that the stories end before I'm ready and I'm left wanting more, so I'm glad to hear this one is so good!
ReplyDeleteI see what you mean about the colors in the sock, but I think that's just a case of some stripes being tonal/semisolid rather than fully saturated. I think it's part of the beauty of hand-dyed yarn!
That sock is so pretty Bonny. I bet Jess will love them! I've decided to cast on a pair of shorties for a friend - something easy to knit when I meet up with Dee. I'm anxious to read "Table for Two." Like others, I have not been a huge fan of short stories, but this sounds too good to pass up! The quote you shared is great!
ReplyDeleteWhoa....I wasn't expecting that riot of color! What beautiful projects.
ReplyDeleteMust Stash yarns are often quite colorful!
DeleteTable for Two just came across my radar recently. A Gentleman in Moscow has been suggested to me (by Audible, etc.) but I could never quite get into it... so we've been watching it! Enjoyable enough, though I get Charlie Chaplin vibes from Ewan McGregor. haha. I suppose it was just the era/style.
ReplyDeleteI love your colors in both projects!! Like you, I am not a fan of my current knit color way and it makes for some very slow going knitting, and I'm the one who picked out the yarn!! Ack!
ReplyDeleteJess's socks will be a real treat. I wonder if your disappointment was more a result of what you were expecting or anticipating (a definitive, bold stripe)--not so much disliking this yarn, per se. (That happened with a yarn I bought for my daughter's sweater. There wasn't anything wrong with the yarn -- at all. Just wasn't what we were expecting.)
ReplyDeleteAll so well said about Towles! I'm very excited to read the story collection, based on all the reviews. I'm in line. (Also in line for Rules of Civility, which I hope comes in first.) I SLOGGED THROUGH Gentleman in Moscow on audio (kept wondering what I was missing!? So many loved that book. But not this reader.); LOVED Lincoln Highway in hard copy. Readers seem to come in at one end of the spectrum over the other G. in Moscow. (What's most interesting to me is the author's outrageous range of storytelling.)
I think you recently wrote about expectations, and I'm sure my expectations were a big part of my initial reaction to the sock yarn. If I just look at it as a lovely sock that I'm enjoying knitting, then it really is very nice. I need to work on lowering/eliminating expectations!
DeleteI don't know why Gentleman in Moscow never seemed to work for me, but I would happily read many more of his short stories! Table for Two was just great.
I like the striped socks, Bonny, althouogh I see what you mean about the more heather-y bits -- and especially if you were hoping for another Riot of Color! I like the thought of shortie socks, but have never tried knitting a pair! I loved Table for Two, also. I'm generally a fan of short stories . . . WHEN they're "perfect little glowing jewels" like the ones in T for T. Amor Towles is a really wonderful storyteller, that's for sure. (I wonder what it was for you about A Gentleman in Moscow???)
ReplyDeleteI have a love/hate relationship with short stories but I'm hoping to love Table for Two!
ReplyDeleteTable For Two is my favorite collection of short stories! I re-read Rules of Civility and I think that added to how much I enjoyed Eve In Hollywood.
ReplyDeleteI have the same little cedar chest, a local furniture company gave them to all of the girls in my high school graduating class!
I think I'll have to buy Table for Two so I can reread the stories. It was truly a wonderful book!
DeleteThat little cedar chest was my mother's. Ryan always liked to play with it when he was little, so I finally gave it to him (with some fingerless mitts inside).
I enjoyed the short stories part. Did not particularly like the novella. I've passed it on to Vera so we will soon see what she thinks about it. Don't buy it. You can have my copy when Vera is done. (But, that means you have to meet up with us again. LOL)
ReplyDeleteLove your thoughts about Table for Two - I read the first story last month and enjoyed it so much I'm now saving the rest for when I need "something" reliably delightful. Sorry to hear that Eve might not be that ... especially since it's half the book!
ReplyDeleteThe socks are pretty but I can see what you mean about less than crisp stripes. I might have to give Table for Two a try. Although I didn't read The Lincoln Highway, I enjoyed the other two books by Towle. Sometimes when I don't like the audio version, I try the hard copy. For me, The Seed Keeper is an example of this. I did not like the audio version at all but thoroughly enjoyed reading it in book form. However, I firmly believe that if a book isn't working for a reader, abandoning it is the best thing to do.
ReplyDeleteLovely sock!
ReplyDeleteWhat are Denali colours? I’ve done a bit of googling but unsure… whatever they are I think they’re very me!
Denali is a self-striping colorway from Must Stash Yarn, great dyers in San Antonio, TX. Here's the listing if you're interested: https://muststashshop.com/products/denali-camp-kal-winter-2019-perfect-must-match-set?_pos=1&_sid=71c890ccf&_ss=r&variant=45884391948600#
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