Rating: 
Summary: A Disappointment
Review: Mike becomes a quadraplegic.His fiancee, Carrie, leaves town for the big city in search of herself. She sews, takes a lover and spends several months feeling gulty only to return home the same person she was when she left. The book is easily read, but incredibly boring and shallow. The characters remain undeveloped through 400+ pages. I kept reading, although I must admit I frequently read only every other page, and I'm fairly certain nothing substantial was missed. If you still want to give it a try, buy it used. Better yet, visit your local library.
Rating: 
Summary: It Had Potential
Review: The premise of the story was a good one, but it never lived up to it's potential (or hype). There were no real surprises in the book, the style or the writing. I know a book cannot be all things to all people, but the unexplored avenues that this book didn't take kept surprising me. Characters that were never fleshed out and some introduced and disposed of immediately (most of the brownstone roommates, Carrie's library co-workers). I'm not sure why there was even a mention of Lane's employer, Mrs. Wolf and how she wrote a book about a companion who became paralyzed. No follow through on that, only the one sentence to even mention it. That could have been an interesting story arc or at least provided Carrie some insight to her struggle. Kilroy's relationship (or lack thereof) with his parents presented no real mystery, even when Packer barely ekes that out - eventually. I figured (guessed?) 1/3 of the way though how the book would end and the choices Carrie would make. Again - no surprises.
Rating: 
Summary: AMAZING
Review: I LOVED THIS BOOK..I read it for independent reading in English class it was amazing..my school librarian recommended it and im glad i listened to her...its a great book..i will probably read it over again.. i also highly recommend this book
Rating: 
Summary: A grueling test of patience
Review: I didn't really like this novel very much. It moved ever so slowly, and almost every character completely annoyed me, until the very end, but that didn't make up for it as far as I was concerned. Carrie was like a dead spirit who floated through life without questioning or doing anything. She just let things happen to her. The fact that Carrie already knew she fell out of love for her fiance 6 months preceding the accident gave me little sympathy for her situation. I also got the impression that she started in on a relationship with Kilroy a bit too soon, in keeping with her do-nothing/say-nothing policy. Plus I can't help but think that no matter what the situation was, she was utterly cold; cold to Mike, cold to Jamie, her supposed best friend, cold to the new acquaintances who so quickly took to her in NY. I realize that the Carrie was young--only 23, and abandoned by her father when she was a child, but after a while that's just not enough of an excuse anymore! It seemed like the book would take a turn for the better once Carrie escaped to NY, but that became a source of even more exasperation. For example, Carrie reflected upon those "classic New York moments," where obnoxious, pretentious people recite their thoughts on art and/or literature, or anything, with the sole purpose of sounding impressive through the use of multi-syllabic words. Sure those moments are unforgettable--unforgettably ridiculous--which brings to mind Woody Allen's truly unforgettable tirade while standing in line for the movies in "Annie Hall." (Although the character Kilroy was well aware of these psuedo-intellectual idiosyncrasies). That brings me to another important phase of the book: Kilroy. Kilroy was a giant creep (and that name...ugh!), who was supposed to be mysterious, but basically was just insufferable. Kilroy was obviously a childish, immature brat who refused to deal with his ghosts, and any of Carrie's attempts to build on anything but a sexual relationship was an infuriating failure. I still don't understand what Carrie's big attraction to this [person] was, except that maybe he was a safe haven of denial that she needed for the time being. One of the biggest problems I had with this book was not only was almost every character was unlikeable, but 80% of the narrative occurred in Carrie's head. Already the story was depressing, coupled with very little dialogue, and very little action. However, things became interesting when Carrie decided to take classes at Parsons, putting to use her obvious talent for sewing, or at least giving her talent some real dimension, some future. She finally started to move in some sort of direction. Yet even this section moved at a snail's pace. The story finally (and definitely) picked up in part III ("Kilroy Was Here"--cute). Once Carrie left New York and went back to Madison to actually face her problems, everything suddenly seemed a whole lot more interesting. There was a lot more dialogue with Mike and his family and friends, and of course her attempts to mend her relationship with Jamie was a key growing factor for Carrie. Strangely enough, I think that Mike was the most interesting character, because he truly was the victim, and the outcome forced him to change so much. It was clear that he eventually brought out the best in Carrie, perhaps the best in everyone around him. Unfortunately, as much as I liked how the last section was written, it felt as if the author might have hastily attempted to wrap up the story. It didn't make up for the first 300 pages.
Rating:
Summary: Inconsistent
Review: This was a frustrating read. Carrie at times acted like she was 30 -- in Madison she lived on her own, had a job, bought groceries and cooked meals, paid rent. Not many kids right out of college are that "mature." But most of the time she was portrayed as stuck in high school, with the same small circle of friends, no career goals of her own, limited communication skills. Abandoning Mike fit the profile, and taking off to NYC made sense. But living there in a fog, oblivious to her boyfriend's age, background, and life; incapable of getting any sort of paying job; blind to her own interests (except for getting laid all the time). All that was pretty hard to believe, as was her inability to make decisions. How she never gave any thought to a career in fashion and fabrics is pretty lame, since every reader certainly had that figured out after the first few references to her near-religious encounters with silk. Her experience at Parsons was wonderful -- but short-lived. The only really interesting characters were Simon and Lane -- they had goals, personalities, and feelings. Kilroy was too much of a caricature: a grown man with a big trust fund and no self-esteem, holding hostage his own feelings to ancient history, and unwilling to open up and admit anything important to Carrie. The basics in the story had merit: how to deal with guilt, friendship, family ties, medical tragedy. Good discussion topics. Mediocre book.
Rating:
Summary: details and more details and...a perplexing question
Review: liked the book. sometimes we wonder about the difficult situations in life; i wanted to know what carrie bell woud do. There was a little too much detail though describing every thought bite to eat and stitch...
all and all i would recommend the book
Rating:
Summary: Jung at Heart
Review: Ann Packer's THE DIVE FROM CLAUSEN'S PIER is a fascinating exercise in philosophical meanderings. While reading the novel, after finishing its last page, even when typing a review on-line, one can't help but wonder "What would I do? How would I react to my finace's paralysis?" Heavy ponderings, deep moral discussions, and unfortunately, a rather shallow literary style and character development. This was an odd reading experience for me. Mirroring the heroine's crisis of ethics and morality--Should she stay with her crippled boyfriend or forge a new life?--it was almost as if the author, too, was trying to flesh out a novel while typing it. Every page seemed to cry out, "What if I wrote a book about a girl who had to decide whether to stay or go?" According to the book flap, the author is an award winner and an accomplished short story writer. Perhaps that's the problem she encountered here. The conceit of this book is terrific--challenging the heroine and reader to examine what is right vs. what is doable. However, it doesn't survive a nearly 400-page treatment. The characters are all one-dimensional. Even heroine Carrie Bell, who literally appears on every page, never grows beyond a fetching Midwestern girl who dated too young and too exclusively, and who sure loves to sew. I imagine her need to mend and to alter, to measure and to seam together, is a metaphor for her desire to reshape and re-examine her past and future decisions. Perhaps in a 40-page short story, that would be a strong, though somewhat corny, device. Here, in a novel format, the constant excursions to the fabric store and her sit-downs behind the sewing machine are clunky and embarrassing. It's especially hokey because so many times the outifits that Carrie is supposedly creating sound positively horrid and outdated, yet her old and new crowd of friends christen her the next Betsey Johnson cum Stella McCartney. Not very likely from the really stodgy descriptions of her ensembles. I don't know how to position a book like this. It's not really serious literature, and it's not tempestuous enough to be a romance novel. It's sort of a "chick flick" meets Freud or Hume (or name any other philosopher/shrink of your choice). I suppose that's the genius of this book. I can't say it was well written, but at least it was written. For all those armchair authors out there, take inspiration from this novel. You don't have to create realistic characters, clever dialogue; you don't have to have memorable scenes or appealing supporting players. As long as you throw in some recognizable brand names, a few "hip" slang words, and some nontraditional traditional characters (a gay best friend, a gay roommate, a gay black fashionista), you can get published. The true key to this book's success is the philosophical quagmire it dares to wade into: Are we all put on this earth to be kind to others or kind to ourselves? Are we supposed to sacrifice our happiness for others or do we learn how to share a little while losing a lot? This is a great book for a philosophy curriculum or a local book club. It will definitely get you thinking. Or, if you've just dived into analysis, this could be a conduit for self-examination and a pleasant way to fill your 50 minutes on the couch. In terms of being a well-written, entertaining book, it floats somewhere between being a YA novel about growing up and cutting ties with home and a Ladies' Home Journal bit of fiction. The people who populate the pages are all types and never go beyond that. The ultimate decision between Carrie's injured boyfriend, who was growing tiresome to her even before the diving accident, and her new New York City lover, Kilroy, an older man who loves to play mind games, practices head trips, and seems to be a bit of a control freak, is a ghastly Hobson's Choice. The heroine has to contend with whether she should spend her life as a nursemaid/martyr or a protege/emotional punching bag. Great dilemma. Pick up this book if you want to think about your own role in this tortured melodrama. Perhaps it will inspire you to start your own manuscript or your own game of "What If?" Just think--maybe if you come up with a brain-teasing moral quandry and keep at if for 300 pages, you too can get a literary agent, and what if . . .
Rating: 
Summary: Insightful and profound novel
Review: I first heard about this novel from "Entertainment Weekly" and its annual list of the best books in fiction and nonfiction which "The Dive From Clausen's Pier" held a prominent spot (I can't remember exactly what it got). The main character, Carrie, has been dating the same guy for several years, all through high school and college. Though engaged to him, Carrie decides she wants to break of their engagement because she no longer loves him. Just as she reaches this conclusion, her fiancee takes a dive off a pier and breaks his neck. The novel follows Carrie focusing on the impacts of the accident on the victim's family and friend. Though the question of whether Carrie will stay or leave is compelling, I was more moved by the realistic and heartfelt portrayal of Carrie as a person. I truly felt like she was someone I had known my entire life by the end of the novel. One may not like Carrie's actions, but the author fleshes out her character so well that you understand Carrie's thought processes as if they were your own. On a personal note, my mother's brother injured himself the same way at twenty and my mom chose to come home early from college to help take care from him. Because of this book I feel I understand what contradicting feelings of love and hate my mom must have experienced over the situation. I recommend this book to all. It is one of the few books I have compulsively read and been unable to out down.
Rating:
Summary: Really, really good.
Review: A spinal cord injury that has left your fiancée, your high school sweetheart, paralysed for life. Shortly before the injury, both of you were having serious doubts about your relationship. You now must decide what to do with the rest of your life, such as it is, in a small Midwestern town. The right thing to do--what would that be? Stick by your fiancé? Leave town? Such is the dilemma of Carrie Bell. Her fiancé, Mike, is the accident victim. Carrie must face many around her who will judge her in some way. Her own, fatherless family. Mike's family. Mike's friends. Their friends as a couple. Her own best friend. And everyone else in town who knows them. Ann Packer writes a compelling, fascinating tale of the difficult choices a young woman faces as she faces personal loss and the painful process of personal growth that follows. Rich in subtle, powerful images of love, loss, betrayal, duty and honour, this book is a provoking, haunting, yet joyful story.
Rating:
Summary: Like a sleeping pill.
Review: This book was a terrible dissapointment. The concept for this story was a good one and I looked forward to the internal conflict the main character would suffer and the ultimate resolution, but this book drags on and on and on until you just fall asleep waiting for something, anything, to happen. Carrie suffers from an internal paralysis that does come across in the story, but who would want to read about it? Mike, who is truly paralyzed, would have probably made for a much more interesting story. I have been using this book for a sleeping pill for two months and it is so effective it will probably last for at least another two.
|
