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Title: Going to Bend : A Novel by DIANE HAMMOND ISBN: 0-385-50943-X Publisher: Doubleday Pub. Date: 20 January, 2004 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $23.95

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Average Customer Rating: 4.88 (8 reviews)

Rating: 5
Summary: This Book Is One You Will Read More Than Once
Comment: I have read many books in my lifetime and I cannot remember reading a novel whose characters were so alive! It was as if I was right there observing them as they struggled to survive. I knew them, they were real to me, as real as people I have known all of my life. I have never read a book that moved me as much as this one. I wanted to jump right into the story and help those poor suffering people.

Diane Hammond has written a masterpiece about the human condition from the purest to the darkest evil of souls. How the main character was able to overcome her terrible childhood and discover she could love has to be one of the most inspirational stories I have ever read.

Never having written a book, I have often wondered where an author gets the inspiration and knowledge to develop the characters in a novel. It is hard to believe that a person could have such intimate knowledge of how such a disparate group of people think and act. Every character is so believeable. This is a book that you will treasure. My hope is that the story of Petie and Rose continues. As great as the ending was, there must be happier days ahead for those two brave and courageous women.

Rating: 5
Summary: A Story That Captures Life And All Its Sadness And Joy
Comment: "I know these people." That was the thought that stayed at the forefront of my mind as I read Diane Hammond's remarkable first novel, "Going To Bend." Sure, it's a work of fiction, set in two Oregon coast towns that don't exist, Sawyer and Hubbard. The characters are not based on real people. But I know them, nevertheless, and I'm sure you do, too.

The central characters are two natives of the area, Petie Coolbaugh and Rose Bundy. These women, so different in personality and temperament, are united by a bond of friendship going back to their grade school days, and by the fact that they, like so many others, are struggling to build meaningful lives in the face of poverty, illness and the thousand other challenges that make daily life a struggle for so many.

At the beginning of the story, Petie and Rose are brought together by a new job they will share, preparing soup on a daily basis for a new restaurant that's built its menu around soup and is called--what else? Souperior's. The cafe has been opened by Nadine and Gordon, a brother and sister who, like so many, have fled the craziness of Southern California for the peace and beauty of the Oregon coast. But like so many of the refugees, they find that it's not always possible to escape life's slings, arrows and outrageous fortune. As their stories unfold, we learn that bad--sometimes terrible--things have happened to Rosie, Petie and the other good people that inhabit these pages. But perservering, sometimes just having the courage to get out of bed and face each new day, is a key element to how they live their lives with sometimes surprising grace.

Along the way, we get to know the spouses (current and ex), children, and townspeople who inhabit Rose and Petie's world. My one fear is that this book may get pigeonholed as "chick lit," because the central characters are two wonderful, complex women who will quickly win your heart. This isn't just a book about women, though; it's a book about (and for) all of us who make up the human race.

Hammond has done a wonderful job of capturing the beauty, joy, misery, humor and pain that all comes together to make up this puzzle we call life. This book is going to stay with me for a long time. I think it will do the same thing for you.--William C. Hall

Rating: 5
Summary: A rare treat from a talented new author!
Comment: This first novel by Diane Hammond is a wonderful book full of characters that end up feeling like they are close personal friends. The story is about two women who share a rare and true friendship, understanding and accepting each other in spite of the fact that they are as different as two individuals can be. The author exhibits sensitivity and understanding when dealing with the difficulties that life throws at these two friends. The writing style is charmingly unique, fun, and heartfelt and her descriptions of events, people, and places easily draw you into the life of a small Oregon Coastal town. I will be anxious to read her next book!