Going to Bend

by Diane Hammond

Book Overview

In the small coastal town of Hubbard, Oregon, your man may let you down, your boss may let you down, life may let you down . . . but your best friend never will. Welcome to Hubbard, where Petie... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0345460987
• ISBN13: 9780345460981
• Release Date: March 2005
• Publisher: Ballantine Books
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.2" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

Great book for women searching for meaning

This was one of my favorite books since reading Adriana Trigiani's "Big Stone Gap" trilogy. Very similar-small town setting, characters struggling with finding meaning in their lives. Hammond does an excellent job interlacing the past into the present which gives insight into each of the characters. My heart ached as I began to understand Petie and her struggles. The story starts off a little slow, but by the middle of the book, I just couldn't put it down! I realized that the "simple" life can be just as complicated as the hustle and bustle of life in the big city-same challenges trying to find happiness, but it's all in your willingness to find it. I can't wait to read another of Hammond's novels!

Going Places

What a wonderful debut novel. I could just eat it up with a spoon. Encore, please! From the delightful coastal underbelly setting to the juxtaposition of characters, gritty and soothing, rebellious and sensitive, flirty and horrified, I was hooked from beginning to end.

A Story That Captures Life And All Its Sadness And Joy

"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

A rare treat from a talented new author!

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!

A Spectacular Entry in the Fiction Genre

If you have ever lived in a small town, be prepared to run into some of your neighbors in Hubbard, Oregon, the setting for this fresh first novel. If you haven't, GOING TO BEND will give you a marvelous peek into life in a community of fewer than 5,000 souls.Rich in lush details, this great big slice-of-life story has characters who may surprise you, especially in how much you care about them. But there's more than just a likable --- and spunky --- cast. Diane Hammond's prose sparkles with wonderful sentences like, "Rose's life was gliding by in a lovely blur of good soup and purposeful days and warm uncomplicated nights with Christie. A good life."Nadine and Gordon, a brother and sister team, move up from L.A. to this tiny Pacific village. They want to escape the feverish rat race that is the city. While planning to open Souperior's, a restaurant focusing on --- you guessed it --- soups, they hold a contest for recipes. The grand-prize winner will be offered a job. For Rose Bundy and Petie Coolbaugh, making soup has always been a way to survive. Perpetually short on money, for them it meant the difference between eating and going hungry. It is their recipe that comes out on top and that lands them a job they split between them, a job they sorely need. Now they find themselves humming along, creating chowders, minestrones, purees and anything that involves broths, veggies, meats and fish.This may not sound like the makings of a great novel, but the characters take over and live on these pages. Petie has a husband, two kids about as opposite as salt and pepper, and childhood baggage even her best friend knows nothing about. Rose lives alone with her daughter, except for when the fishing boats dock for a while and her fellow comes to stay for a few months.Hubbard is a small town; everyone knows everyone --- and everyone's business. But the new business in town struggles. Small towns don't like newcomers. They carry a grudge against outsiders. It will take Rose and Petie's greatest effort to keep themselves employed, which means keeping Souperior's running. Meanwhile, other star players, like Petie's deadbeat husband, are hanging out doing what townsfolk do: dropping by the tavern, haggling for items automotive, and helping neighbors. And there's the inveterate ladies' man, flashing his impish grin and showing a side of himself even his insanely jealous wife never knew existed.The people are so real, I wondered how the author had come to know some of the same people I did. She gave them heart. She gave them flaws. They come with an attitude, and a lot of love. If this is indeed a first novel, Diane Hammond is going to blow the socks off the fiction world. This is a spectacular entry into the genre. The glimpse into the lives of Rose Bundy and Petie Coolbaugh is so authentic (right down to the "gargantuan pink wooden butterflies with three-foot wingspans nailed to the siding"), I could smell the soup. --- Reviewed by Kate Ayers