The Deep End of the Ocean

Rating:
Summary: disappeared or escaped?
Review: Okay, take Ordinary People, but have the perfect son disappear, make the surviving black sheep son a little younger, then follow his life for 9 years, but also shift the emphasis of the novel to the horrid mother. Throw in a major lesbian character, just to lock up the Oprah endorsement, and since it is the 1990's, tack on a few media feeding frenzy elements. Then bring the dead kid back in a totally contrived plot twist and you've pretty much got this novel.

Ms Mitchard is a good writer and the story is somewhat compelling--in particular, you sort of want to know what happened to the missing son (the solution proves pretty perfunctory) and you mildly root for the surviving son. But, especially when the missing boy comes back, you have to ask yourself: "Wasn't he better off away from this repellent mother?" And this is a real weakness in the book. If you want us to feel some empathy for Beth, you can't have our first impression of her be her telling her husband, unconcerned that the boys might hear her, that she only loves her baby daughter. And then, when we're supposed to be feeling her pain later, you might want to drop the scene where she boinks her high school boyfriend, with its pretty clear implication that she was so set on getting into his pants at the reunion that she didn't care where Ben went.

In the end, I just disliked Beth so much that I did not care what happened to her and hoped that the whole family would escape her malignant clutches.

GRADE: C-

Rating:
Summary: Swim to the deep end of the ocean before you read this
Review: I took this book out of the library thinking it was going to be a good, gripping, emotional read, my favorite kind. While the beginning started off well, it went STRAIGHT downhill from there. This author may have a lot of talent, but she sure could have fooled me with this book. Outright, it was horrible. Beth, the mother, had to be the most disgusting character recently written. You just wanted to slap her. She completely - and knowingly! - ignored her two kids when Ben disappeared, and until he returned. The book was full of twisted metaphors (about two per line - can you say OVERDOSE?)which made it difficult to concentrate on. It starts out with good, interesting supporting characters, who disappear halfway through the novel. No Grandma Rosie or Grandpa Angelo, even "best friend in the world" Ellen is barely mentioned after Ben is lost. That, to me, was completely ridiculous. With such a weak main character, a strong supporting cast is a must, and they just disappeared. Which centered the book on Beth, a major mistake. And what was up with Candy? Can you say cliche? Just thinking about the book now honestly makes my skin crawl. I'm not trying to be overcritical, but it really was a bad book poorly written. I don't know what Oprah could have been thinking!

Rating:
Summary: Gripping!
Review: Mitchard turns every mother's nightmare into a gripping tale that runs the gammett of emotions. I could not put the book down, I was waiting to see what range of feelings the author would take me through next. Don't take the shortcut and watch the movie, it didn't do the original novel justice. Pick up The Deep End of the Ocean ASAP, you won't be sorry.

Rating:
Summary: A deeper novel than what it appears
Review: As any mother or father fear, what if something happens to their baby...what if their baby gets lost? What if the possibility exists that the baby was kidnapped? What if the baby is killed? Never seen again? What if you never find out WHAT HAPPENED to your missing baby?

Well, then how do you cope? How do you go on? Go to work? Be a spouse, a partner, a parent, a friend? How could you move on when you don't know what happened to your baby?

Will you survive the experience? Will your marriage survive? How about the other children? They need to live their lives. They have to have your support. Can you be there for them without always thinking about the missing baby? Can you celebrate birthdays with joy? How about Christmas?

Then, as months turn into years, you watch how other family members seem to be moving on. They now laugh and smile and look forward to tomorrow. Do you hate them? Do you choke down your anger that they have moved on? Have they, god forbid, forgotten your lost child?

Will you ever get over this? Or, the question really is, will you ever not keep reliving THAT day, when everything went so wrong? If only you did this, did that.. ....will you ever stop the replay that goes over and over in your mind? Will you hate your spouse because he has coped better than you?

Will you hold the older child (so very young himself at the time) responsible forever for not watching his brother better?

Will you ever forgive yourself? And then forgive the compounded sins you assume as every day passes?

And so the author presents the truth behind the inconceivable. In a novel brave enough to follow the aftermath of a toddler kidnapping, she explores the turmoil a family goes through as the tragedy unfolds before them all. Ironically, they are called "the survivors " of the kidnapping. What could be furthur from the truth?

The reality of trying to deal with these unresolved questions ultimately takes it's toll. This novel explores the psychological turmoil of a family experiencing an event that is judged as one of the most heinous crimes possible. You can not help but hope and pray that they all get out of the deep end of the ocean.

Rating:
Summary: Please don't waste your time reading this book!
Review: Wow, what a bad book. The writing was mediocre, and character development truly missing. Here are just a few of my frustrations with this book: Why were some chapters named (Beth, Reese, etc.) and some not? What was the point of that anyway? Why does the author think 7 year old children like opera? Why is she so interested in the way everybody smells? Why was Ben really kidnapped? Why didn't Pat leave Beth? Why, Why, Why was this book a best seller??

Rating:
Summary: I'd rather drown.
Review: I saw the movie, Deep End of the Ocean. I thought, hey, the book might be good. It's not. Beth's thoughts are muddled, and confusing. It's hard to understand why she acts the way she does as no explanation was given other than she's sad. It's terrible and I wouldn't reccomend it to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: nothing to jump up and down about
Review: I am an avid reader of the Oprah Book Club selections, and I have thoroughly enjoyed most of the ones I've read. But this particular book was hard for me to become absorbed in, and even though normally I get through a book in two or three days, this novel seemed so slow-moving and arduous that it took me closer to a month to read. I definitely think it had some value, and even though Beth was not the most sympathetic character, I did feel for her and her family (although mostly for her family for having to put up with her!). It's not the worst book you could read, and it definitely is better than the movie, but I can think of 20 or 30 other books right offhand that are probably more worth your time.

Rating:
Summary: The Deep End of the Ocean
Review: Set in Chicago during the 1980's, Jacuelyn Mitchard's novel "The Deep End of the Ocean" is the Story of a normanl American family whose youngest son disappears. The Family doesn't know if he was kidnapped or what. The Cappadora family goes form being organized and happy to disoriented and hectic. Because Beth Cappadora, the mother, can't stand the thought of her son never coming back she looses her mind to the point whe she doesn't interact anymore. She learns to take care of her essential needs most of teh time but lets her family fend for them sleves for the most part. This book takes you through the family's struggles as they try to stay together and work things out. This story of what a family does to get through a family crisis was so real. From the moment that I began to read "The Deep End of the Ocean" I couldn't put the book down. It captures your attention and holds tight until it's finished. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes could-be-real stories.

Rating:
Summary: DOESN'T GET DEEPER THAN THIS
Review: I bought this book when Oprah picked it as her first book of the month but held off reading it because of the subject matter -- a kidnapping of a child. When I finally got around to reading it, I couldn't put it down. I felt that Mitchard captured the mother's feelings beautifully. Every character in the book had their own baggage to deal with after Ben's disappearance especially his brother Vincent who was responsible for watching Ben as his mother checked into the hotel. Fortunately when I read this book, the movie wasn't out yet so I didn't have the movie trailers ruining the ending for me. I, for one, was unbelievably surprised and cried and cried and cried. What a story!

Rating:
Summary: Heartbreaking But Still Disturbing....
Review: This book broke my heart and I'm not even a mother yet. I can't imagine what it would be like if I were. The most horrifying thing happens. A child is kidnapped right from under your nose. What could be more scary? I can't think of a thing. This book successfully reveals those emotions. However, I do have a major problem with it. I felt very little sympathy for main character Beth. She was so cold and had no clue in regards to what her family needed. She was so selfish and ended up letting her whole family down. Older son Vincent was left to care for himself and baby sister Carrie. That poor child not only lost his brother but, he lost his mother too. The real story is Vincent and how he deals with the losses in his life.

"Deep End of the Ocean" has it's redeeming qualities and is a good read. The sympathy is just focused on a different character. At least for me.