Rating: 
Summary: The Dive From Clausen's Pier
Review: I read what I consider literature vs. fiction and I loved this book--I thought Carrie, the narrator was brave to make such a huge change in her stagnant life--I ,however ,did not agree with her choice (you must read this book to find out THAT). However, if the last chapter is read very carefully one can see that there are other definite possibilities in her future -watch for references to a postcard--This book will always be an all time favorite with me!
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I have to agree with the dissenters--this book had a lot of potential but never delivered. The main character, Carrie, never analyzes her actions, her desires, her emotions, her assumptions about herself and others--something a 23-year old mature person would start to do if she didn't want to make the same mistakes over and over for the rest of her life. She sort of floats through the plot and things just fall into place for her, which wouldn't be distracting if it was done realistically, but how many New Yorkers do you know who are paying $125 a month in rent? And she doesn't spend any money on food because her new boyfriend conveniently thinks her paying her share is an affront to his masculinity.
The other premise that became more irritating as the plot went on was the wide-eyed-and-innocent-Midwesterner thing--instead of portraying Madison, WI as the big city it is (it is the capital, after all), it comes across as Mayberry with zero to offer culture-wise. Her depiction of NYC is just as stereotypical, with people wandering up to her and uttering existential comments and then disappearing, everyone acting as though they're on display, and most people she encounters are rich and pretentious.
The only interesting character is her boyfriend Kilroy, who can be cynical, but is independent enough to seek out interesting restaurants, books, artwork, and has a great bit about the difference between "hard" and "soft" art. Nothing he says opens Carrie's mind to different ways of thinking, seeing the world, judging people less harshly/strictly....I'm glad one reviewer told me she moves back to Madison, because it saved my drywall--I definitely would have thrown the book across the room at that point.
The author obviously has talent--visual descriptions are detailed and interesting, and the plot is good as an idea--but she needs to work on making her main character more compelling. Not even nicer, or more appealing, just more complex with a rich inner life.
Rating:
Summary: Take a dive...
Review: Every once in awhile a book comes along that touches something deep within you, something from your past, or in your present...or even in your deepest hopes for the future. The Dive from Clausen's Pier by Ann Packer was a little bit of all of this wrapped up into an astounding work of literature.Carrie Bell, 23 and fresh out of college, has the life everyone wants. Or, so you would think. She has a job she loves, a fiancé who clearly adores her, friends and family who love her. To Carrie however, her life has become stifling and dull. She's lost and lonely, with no one to talk to about her feelings and really nowhere to turn for support. Finally, ironically, when her fiancé plunges into a shallow lake and becomes paralyzed...Carrie impelled into action. Under the cover of darkness she slips away, without a word to anyone and flees to New York City and into the arms of a man she has only met once but had felt a brief instant of understanding with. Carrie spends almost a year away from home attempting to find her true self in the great city of New York. She lives, rent free, with a friend from high school. She falls in love. She begins a new life. Yet all the while, something is calling her back home, something unfinished, something needing closure. The Dive from Clausen's Pier is an amazing read. Carrie's story will bring back memories of first loves, that first heartbreaking loss of that first love, and the painful decisions one makes when growing up. Powerful and wonderfully written, The Dive from Clausen's Pier will stay with you for ages.
Rating: 
Summary: Good writing, irritating characters
Review: I really liked Ann Packer's prose - it really drew me in and I had a hard time putting down the book. Her writing is so good that I became very irritated with the characters. The Kilroy character is a pseudo-intellectual who likes making other people think that he's deep and complex (like a person who considers themselves a liberal free thinker but is offended by people who don't make the same decisions as they do.) Jamie needs to get past the junior high mentality that if your friends don't call you in a week it isn't because they hate you. Unlike other people, I don't think that Carrie "came to an epiphany" in her decision to stay in Madison - she was guilted into it. I was disappointed in her decision to leave Parsons, which she loved, so that she could do alterations. She threw away something that made her happy so that she could live up to the expectations of Rooster, Jamie and Mike's mom. Packer's writing is so good that I wanted to give Carrie a good shake and ask her what she was doing throwing her life away
Rating:
Summary: why?
Review: why does everyone give ole' carrie a break? i couldn't find any reason that her boyfriend, her best friend, even her mom thought she could do no wrong. they were sure understanding. that's unconditional love all right. then there are these people who walk into her life and are instant "soul mates", Simon, Kilroy, Lane. What is the attraction? i couldn't find anything in her personality that would make her so instantly appealing. she sure didn't have much of a sense of loyalty. she "loves" Mike, she "loves" Kilroy, what a way to show your love. i finished this book thinking, "what in the heck was the point?" did the author have a purpose here, what is she trying to say? i, too, was looking for some connection between the nightgown and the story. was there one i missed?
Rating:
Summary: Very Well Done
Review: The Dive from Clausen's Pier is a very well done, well written story of 23 year old Carrie Bell, a young woman from Madison, Wisconsin. At the beginning of the novel, she is spending a Memorial Day picnic with friends she has had since high school, including her fiance, Mike. Carrie has pretty much had it with the relationship with Mike, and he suspects it too. She is also beginning to get a bit bored with her friends too, including Jamie, her best friend for many years. Things suddenly change for everyone at the picnic when Mike dives off the pier, and breaks his neck, and is permanently paralyzed. Carrie, who can be a bit of an ice queen, as far as narrators go, can't really decide what to do now. She is still a bit bored with her life, and although she doesn't say it, suspects she has outgrown many of her relationships in Madison. None of her friends ever left Madison. They simply went to the University there and stayed on after graduation. Ultimately, she and Mike break up and to escape the ignominy and shame she fears will no doubt follow, she drives to New York City. Her choice may alienate some readers, while others may be angered when she finally decides what to do at the end of the novel, but I think most will appreciated her story and understand how as a person she was able to grow. I found Carrie's story compelling and completely readable. I literally could not put the book down for the last 100 pages or so because I had to see what she decides to do. As I said, as a narrator, she can be a bit chilly, which makes sense given her fear that the story she is relating may seem selfish (which I believe it ultimately is not). I highly recommend this novel and believe that most readers will fully enjoy it.
Rating: 
Summary: A Little too crowded
Review: I just finished reading this book and came to Amazon to check out opinions... Packer has talent, but I kept wishing she had more focus, or a better editor, or something. The book felt about 100 pages too long. I liked the story and the characters, particularly Carrie's mother and Mike, but it seemed there were too many irrelevancies (such as Rooster getting married and the whole deal with Jamie's family). Some books feel rich with detail, this one just felt a bit crowded. Still worth reading, though.
Rating:
Summary: Quintin's review of The Dive
Review: This book reminded me of why I used to love reading so much when I was younger. I loved the way the author adds in all the small details that you don't get from watching the movie. The author tells how the seats smelled in her car, how she saw the lakes, and all the feelings she felt and the things she thought as she moved through the story. I felt I was able to "live" the story with the main character through her own thoughts and emotions. This was mostly because I didn't have to guess the characters feelings by deciphering a look on her face.
I also felt that the story itself was dealing with something I beleive a number of people either deal with or wonder about dealing with. It is a hard thing to deal with when you want to end a long term relationship, especially when the reasons aren't easily justified and the person or thing you want to move away from is badly hurt or in a place of extreme need.
This book, with it's relaying of the subjects feelings, is not just entertaining. I think it is theraputic for anyone going through the same type of situation as the woman in the story. Just as The Book of Job in the Bible is for people who are going through tough times in their lives such as the type of trouble Job was going through.
The reader can read the story and know that they are not alone in their situation. Readers are given hope that, if they keep faith, their situation may work out for them the same way Job's situation did. They may also learn to appreciate the way their own lives are as compared to what Job or the character of this book is going through.
I once met a girl while staying in Norway. Her boyfriend had been hurt in a fight. He was not paralized, but he had to wear one of those large head braces. She felt sad for him, but I could tell that she did not want to be with him anymore. Not because of the head brace, but for other reasons that had just happened to work themselves out when this horrible thing happened. When she cried with me, I knew she was crying for herself and not for him. She was crying because she felt trapped in something she no longer wanted to be a part of for whatever reasons.
Rating: 
Summary: characters are aimless bores...distract from beautiful prose
Review: Ann Packer is obviously a gifted writer. She has an original voice which resonates a poetic style with vivid descriptions. This being said, however, this novel falls flat with undeveloped characters and a lack of any apparent motivation.The premise is interesting, but leaves the reader wondering "Why?" Why is Carrie freeloading off virtual strangers for months on end with no plan or commitment? Why do they allow her to encroach on their lives with her loser, offensive new boyfriend?
This novel is enjoyable for the sheer brilliance of Packer's use of language and description. Unfortunately due to a lack in character development, it receives 3 stars.
Rating:
Summary: A look at my own past
Review: As I read this book, I couldn't help but re-visit my past and remember the growing pains that I went through,just like Carrie. I knew the feeling of having outgrown your relationships. Feeling completely detached from them and tired of them. Knowing you can't go back, but not sure how to go forward. When Mike has is accident, Packer chronicles her passage through the shock and grief with such accuracy. It's not that Carrie is cold and self-centered, she just can't deal with the emotions. And, the Mike she knew no longer existed after the accident. I must say I was dissapointed in the way the book ended. But it was well-written right up to the last period.
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