Saturday Samplers Book Group to Discuss "The Red Thread" by Ann Hood

Bernardsville Library’s book discussion group, Saturday Samplers, will meet on Saturday, March 4 at 3:30 pm to talk about "The Red Thread" (2011), a novel by award-winning writer Ann Hood. “In China there is a belief that people who are destined to be together are connected by an invisible red thread. Who is at the end of your red thread?”

The book tells the story of Maya Lange, who, after losing her infant daughter in a freak accident, opens The Red Thread, an adoption agency that specializes in placing baby girls from China with American families and with her work her learns to confront the lost daughter of her past. Brilliantly braiding together the stories of Chinese birth mothers who give up their daughters, Ann Hood writes a moving and beautifully told novel of fate and the red thread that binds these characters’ lives.

Hood is the best-selling author of ten novels, including most recently, "The Book That Matters Most." She is also the acclaimed writer of "The Obituary Writer," in which she explores the theme of grief and "the remedies that can ease, if never entirely banish" it, and in which she explores gender roles and complications of romantic love. A previous novel, "The Knitting Circle," also explored the theme of grief.

Hood's best-selling memoir "Comfort: A Journey Through Grief" (2008), chronicling the death of her five-year-old daughter Grace and her subsequent search for healing, was named one of the top ten non-fiction books of 2008 by Entertainment Weekly and was a New York Times Editor's Choice. "Do Not Go Gentle: My Search For Miracles in a Cynical Time" (1999) follows Hood's travels to Chimayo, New Mexico in search of a miracle cure for her father's lung cancer.

Hood is the editor of the anthology "Knitting Yarns: Writers on Knitting" (2013), in which her essay "Ten Things I Learned From Knitting" appears. She is a faculty member in the MFA in Creative Writing program at The New School in New York City. She also teaches at New York University.

Led by Program/PR Assistant Evelyn Fischel, Saturday Samplers is a book discussion group dedicated to sampling various kinds of literature, including short stories, nonfiction, new and old novels, and teen fiction. Its goal is to search out interesting, noteworthy, and sometimes overlooked literary and narrative works. Readers can find information about the group and about the books and authors on the reading list at http://saturdaysamplers.blogspot.com. No sign-up is needed to join the discussion. Call the library at 766-0118 for more information.