BookBrowse Reviews Going To Bend by Diane Hammond

A tale of two friends compared to Fried Green Tomatoes..... Debut Novel

From the book jacket: Petie Coolbaugh and Rose Bundy have been best friends since childhood. Now in their early thirties, they're grappling with coming-of-age and station; meanwhile, they work together in Petie's kitchen preparing gallons of soup each day for Souperior's, a new upscale café in town. Both of them need the extra money to support their families; Petie, who has gotten used to keeping her family on track as her loving but unreliable husband slips in and out of work, needs to feed her two young boys, while Rose, a warm, affectionate single mother, is her teenage daughter's sole support..... The strains of daily life are never far, however, and the success of the café is far from certain. As the story draws lovers, employers, friends, and family into a mesh of interwoven events and revelations, each woman finds possibilities for love and even grace that she had never imagined.

Comment: Described as an 'exceptional debut' (Kirkus Reviews),  'a testimonial to the regenerative power of female friendship' (Library Journal) and compared to Fried Green Tomatoes; Going To Bend's portrayals of issues such as childrearing, friendship and self-determination, clearly position it as a book targeted at women and, if the publishers have their wish, book clubs.

This review first ran in the March 2, 2005 issue of BookBrowse Recommends.