The Dive From Clausen's Pier: A Novel

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Author(s):

Ann Packer

Label: Vintage
Publisher(s):

Vintage

Studio: Vintage
Manufacturer: Vintage
Binding: Paperback
List Price: $14.95
Our Price: $10.17
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

How much do we owe the people we love? Is it a sign of strength or weakness to walk away from someone in need? These questions lie at the heart of Ann Packer?s intimate and emotionally thrilling new novel, which has won its author comparisons with Jane Hamilton and Sue Miller.

At the age of twenty-three Carrie Bell has spent her entire life in Wisconsin, with the same best friend and the same dependable, easygoing, high school sweetheart. Now to her dismay she has begun to find this life suffocating and is considering leaving it?and Mike?behind. But when Mike is paralyzed in a diving accident, leaving seems unforgivable and yet more necessary than ever. The Dive from Clausen?s Pier animates this dilemma?and Carrie?s startling response to it?with the narrative assurance, exacting realism, and moral complexity we expect from the very best fiction.

Amazon.com Review

Carrie Bell is the worst person in the world. Or so she would have you think. In the gripping, carefully paced debut novel of personal epiphany, The Dive from Clausen's Pier, by O. Henry Award winner Ann Packer, Carrie's very survival is dependent upon her leaving her fiancé, even after he dives into shallow water at a Memorial Day picnic and becomes paralyzed. Things hadn't been going so well for the Madison, Wisconsin, high school and college sweethearts. Carrie knew, deep down, that she wasn't going to become Mrs. Michael Mayer. But expectations and pressure from all sides--his family, her mother, her best friend Jamie, Mike's best friend Rooster--force Carrie to shut herself up in her room and sew outfits of her own design as if in a trance. Then one night she slips out of the only universe she's ever known. Many hours later she finds herself on the doorstep of a high school classmate living in Manhattan. Carrie's adventures in the city--quirky roommates and a new romance with an older, emotionally impenetrable man--confuse her in her quest both to forgive herself and to embark on a career in fashion design. Packer writes in a convincing voice and packs a lot into this novel; she infuses Carrie with enough humanity and smarts to choose her own version of "happily ever after." --Emily Russin

Customer Reviews

Marytrdom?

I was only mildly interested in reading this book as I felt the writer was going to toy with us and she did. Ann Packer seemed to be determined to take us down a long and winding road, one that did not engage, only left the reader cold and frustrated. I feared what Carrie would choose to do and she didn't surprise. To give up the dream of going to fashion design school in NYC, and to leave a man she admits she still loves, smacks of guilt. Once I saw the predictable outcome, I stopped reading and skipped to the end, hoping I was wrong in my assessment. Unfortunately, it was predictably unimaginative. If you're looking for something philosophical, there are more appropriate choices.

No One Would Believe this Ending

Such a well written book, such great characters that lead you along so believably right up to the end with a ridiculous unlikely and infuriating ending. Do that many people choose to deny their talent and turn down a chance at happiness in order to avoid guilt pangs they don't need to take onto themselves?? Oh please.

Don't Let the Negative Reviews Sway You!

This was a really good read. Greatest book I've ever read? Nooooo, but well worth the read! I was discouraged by all the negative reviews on here, and was going to pass on reading it, but I was glad I tried it, finished it over a weekend. Really good.

Book Club Bound

While I found this to be a quick read I can't say it's a great book. I do think it's a fantastic book club choice though. As you can see from all of the previous reviews, the paralizing dive takes place in the first chapter. As the book unfolds we see how each of the characters deals with the result of the dive from Claussen's pier. There is enough tension between the characters and the main character is unlikable enough to make this a great discussion piece. While I didn't love the book, I did like it and have passed it on to several friends.

Spectacular!

I loved the opening chapter--it was shocking, jarring, and beautifully written. The book doesn't let up--I was hooked from the start and read it almost straight through. Carrie is a complicated character--likable and flawed as we all are. A truly compelling read.

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