Ledger of the Open Hand

By Leslie Vryenhoek

“Ledger of the Open Hand looks at the intimate power of money and emotional debt through the eyes of a woman trying to grab hold of her own life. Beholden to a shrewd friend and burdened by family obligations and guilt, Meriel-Claire (MC) finally stumbles into what she’s been missing. She falls in love and finds her calling as a debt counsellor in the midst of a national financial crisis. But balancing the books for strangers is easier than reconciling her own complicated relationships. Regrets and deficits accumulate until MC must decide what she owes to those she loves. With humour and insight, Ledger explores giving, taking, and our tendency to treat love as a balance sheet.” ~ Google Books

Here’s What Happened at Book Club …

“When a group of readers from diverse backgrounds sit round a table discussing a book, be prepared to hear differing opinions. Yes, every one of us finished the book Ledger of the Open Hand by Leslie Vryenhoek. Some liked it and some didn’t. A few were ambivalent.

Discussion questions ranged from why the author inserted certain characters where she did to whether the protagonists life “resolved” in the end near the water, throwing stones, her hand opened. Can a writer “steal” someone’s story? Can life stories be revealed without injury? Can relationships be balanced in the end much like spreadsheets and formulae. We disagreed.

But man o man did we laugh! We laughed at our own stories. At our communities, families, and our lives. At a few choice sentences.

One thing was sure – every one of us was inserted perfectly at the right time and place round a table for a night.” ~ Lisa, Book Club Member