Thursday, January 27, 2011

The Sweater Curse reviewed

Laurie Buchanan reviewed The Sweater Curse

Stitch by colorful stitch, Leanne Dyck knits a tale of intrigue with The Sweater Curse. Set against the backdrop of Canada and told in the first-person voice, the reader steps into the life--or rather, afterlife--Gwen Bjarnson.
With a physician mother who has her sights set on career advancement, and a father who's left emasculated in the wake of his wife's ambitions, Gwen is placed in the care and keeping of her Aunt Oli's loving and capable hands--gentle hands that teach her how to knit.
Her love of knitting stays with Gwen as she finds herself estranged from her family and squeezed into the lives of the upper echelon of society where trophy wives dangle from the arms of fragile, old millionaires. Drifting from house to house, she always has her knitting needles--the one constant in her life.
Like a revolving door, men come and go, drawn like moths to a flame, enjoying erotic pleasures with Gwen. Until the fateful night when she meets Jaron Cardew, a self-published novelist who sees her for what she is--an artist--and believes in her.
Drawing her into his circle of artistic friends, Jaron and Gwen become emotionally entwined. While purchasing skeins of yarn--a decadent blend of wool and alpaca--to knit a sweater for Jaron, the shopkeeper warns Gwen, "Knit your boyfriend a hat, scarf, socks--anything but a sweater." But she doesn't heed the sage advice. Knit with love, the sweater turns out beautifully--quite literally to die for!