Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Homesick Creek: A Novel by Diane Hammond
Homesick Creek is set on the central Oregon coast. It is the story of two marriages. Anita, a former beauty queen with high hopes, is now middle-aged and overweight with very little expectations for her future. She fantasizes of a real home, a double-wide trailer she knows she'll never have. She is married to Bob, a weak, ineffectual alcoholic with a secret life who seems to take everything and give nothing to his marriage. The other story is that of their friends, Bunny and Hack. Hack is a Vietnam vet who has drifted into town with lots of secrets of his own. He is a car salesman with a roving eye married to Bunny, waitress at the local diner. Bunny and Anita have been best friends since childhood and lean on each other for support. Bunny seems to be marking time, waiting for the pain of Hack's leaving. Hack has other reasons for staying which become clear as the novel develops. The characters are very finely drawn and Hammond does a good job of describing how little they can settle for. There were the elements in the plot I expected, alcoholism, drug use, bitterness and despair. But also some I didn't expect which made it a much more satisfying story.
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I don't know about you ... but I found it REALLY annoying that the author named her town with a real town name from that state! I know this because I have relatives in the REAL Hubbard, which is no where near the coast. Oh well, not such a big deal .
ReplyDeleteI do like this book, the writing is good. (I haven't quite finished it yet.) But I think I would like it better if I hadn't been so surprised by the turn of events, especially with Bob's std illiness. Normally, an unexpected twist in the plot is good, and keeps you reading.
But with this book, I thought I was reading one type of book, and it turned into another. (really, I blame the publisher, the cover write-up made it sound like a lot of other down-home books I've read :) ) Once I got over that I am appreciating the writing style and the characters, it's an interesting story. Thanks for having it on your list!