I am counting this book
as part of my Canadian Book Challenge even though it has not yet been
published. It was written by a Canadian friend
of mine who asked me to read it to help her figure out if it flowed or not. I certainly hope it will be available for the
rest of the world soon, because it is a fun and enjoyable read!
In To The Bend has several stories interwoven
through the book, but it begins and ends with Holly Bender, a passionate,
accident-prone, soft-hearted woman with a mysterious past. Throughout the book, she avoids thinking
about her past, but can’t help keeping the picture of her former lover clipped
to her car’s sun visor so that she can still talk to him.
In a strange form of penance, she agrees to knit 250
scarfs for a church charity, although she has no idea how to knit. (At the time, she thought she was
volunteering to make bars not scarves.) In true Holly fashion, she would rather find
a way to fulfill her promise than confess her mistake to the pastor. She starts to spread her story among friends
and eventually gathers a rag-tag group of outrageous and enterprising women of
all ages. Each of these women come with
their own story, which are unraveled as they meet.
The book is filled with amusing and down-to-earth
dialogue. The WAKS (Women Always
Knitting Society), is the kind of club most women would love to find. There is wine, music, stories, laughter and,
well, knitting of course. While the
women love to tease one another, they exist to help one another and their
community.
Stone herself is an avid fan of Maeve Binchy and Stephen
King and I think this shows in her work as she writes both wonderful characters
and dialogue while being able to create the odd creepy and unnerving scene. Stone also has a great gift for reading her
work aloud. I hope she will one day be
able to present this as an audio book, but it would need to come with a strong
warning “Caution, listening while driving will cause serious laughter which may
lead to hazardous driving!”
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