 | |
List Price: $25.00 | | Publisher: Random House Audio
Salesrank: 1376298
Released: April 9, 2002 |
|
| Used Price: $3.03 |
|
| Media: Audio Cassette |
|
Editorial Review:
A suspenseful, richly layered first novel that asks: How much do we owe the people we love?
THE DIVE FROM CLAUSEN'S PIER will speak to all those who have ever thought about leaving when they knew they should stay, anyone who has ever felt trapped, not only by circumstance, but by the strength of their own love, Carrie Bell has lived in Wisconsin all her life. She's had the same best friend, the same good relationship with her mother, the same boyfriend, for as long as anyone can remember. But when her fiance, Mike is paralyzed by a tragic accident, Carrie has to question everything she thought she knew about herself and about the meaning of home.
Ann Packer has written a morally complex, deeply satisfying novel about the desire to live fully and the conflict between who we want to be to others and who we must be for ourselves. A magnificent debut from a remarkable new talent.
Description of The Dive From Clausen's Pier:
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
The Dive From Clausen's Pier Reviews:
Don't Let the Negative Reviews Sway You! 
2008-09-03 - 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 
2008-09-03 - 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!
2008-08-14 - 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.
The unlikeable Carrie Bell 
2008-07-08 - I did not care for this book at all. I thought the first half of the book was very believable and thought-provoking. You might not like her character, but at least Carrie was facing truly deep moral issues...but then the second half of the book just proves that your first impression of Carrie was actually right. She is a shallow, young, clueless girl that is pretty much a loser. Not the "deep-angst, I feel sorry for your inner turmoil" loser, just a loser. She could not make a commitment to anything or anyone and therefore, left the end of the story to be flat. I like flawed characters, but Carrie was just see-through without any connection to the reader.
Hmmm 
2008-07-05 - Positives:
I enjoyed the character development of Mike. He was such a focus of the novel that I felt he was the only one I really got to know.
Negatives: (sorry if you liked it, I really didn't...)
I found this to be very predictable.. in a bad way. Is there even a good way to be predictable?
A lot of it was also completely unbelievable.. Hello? Free rent in NYC? Reality check please.
So much of the plot developed her relationship with Kilroy, and then it ends up burning out and I was just like- what? That was such a waste of time.
Not to mention the central characters relationship to her fiancee... They were supposedly together for 8 years and they just stop talking? Trying? They both just give up- and practically IN SILENCE? It seemed so unrealistic. It was such a relief the few times in the book when the central character cried. I was practically begging her to cry. Even when she did, though, it felt contrived.
