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The Dive From Clausen's Pier: A Novel (Paperback)

by Ann Packer (Author) "MIKE ALWAYS TEASED me about my memory, about how I could go back years and years to what people were wearing on a given occasion,..." (more)

3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (313 customer reviews)

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Product Details

Paperback: 432 pages
Publisher: Vintage; Reprint edition (April 8 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0375727132
ISBN-13: 978-0375727139
Product Dimensions: 20.1 x 13.2 x 2.5 cm
Shipping Weight: 341 g

Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (313 customer reviews)

Amazon.ca Sales Rank: #98,348 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

From Amazon.com

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 --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Packer's engrossing debut novel begins without ostentation. On Memorial Day, Carrie Bell and her fiance, Mike Mayer, drive out to Clausen's Pier for their annual ritual, a picnic with their friends, a trip they make the way a middle-aged couple might, in grudging silence. Before their resentments can be aired, Mike dives into too shallow water, suffering injuries that change their lives. If Mike survives, he will survive as a quadriplegic, and Carrie faces unexpected responsibilities. Ultimately, Carrie does what is both understandable and unthinkable. She leaves her hometown of Madison, Wis., and shows up on the doorstep of a friend in New York City. There she discovers a different world, different friends and a different self. The hovering question--what will Carrie do? Abandon Mike or return to him?--generates genuine suspense. Packer portrays her characters--both New Yorkers and Madisonites--deftly, and her scenes unfold with uncommon clarity. But if Packer has a keen eye, she has an even keener ear. The dialogue is usually witty; more important, it is always surprising, as if the characters were actually thinking--one of the reasons they become as familiar to the reader as childhood friends. The recipient of several awards, Packer is also the author of Mendocino and Other Stories. Clearly, she has honed her skills writing short fiction. What is unexpected is the assurance she brings to a larger canvas. In quiet but beautiful prose, Packer tells a complex and subtly constructed story of friendship, love and the hold the past has on the present. This is the sort of book one reads dying to know what happens to the characters, but loves for its wisdom: it sees the world with more clarity than you do.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Inside This Book (Learn More)

First Sentence
MIKE ALWAYS TEASED me about my memory, about how I could go back years and years to what people were wearing on a given occasion, right down to their jewelry or shoes. Read the first page

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Customer Reviews

313 Reviews

5 star:		(89)
4 star:		(67)
3 star:		(70)
2 star:		(52)
1 star:		(35)

Average Customer Review

3.4 out of 5 stars (313 customer reviews)

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4.0 out of 5 stars Dive right in . . ., Jul 18 2004

By A Customer

This is by far one of the best books I have read. The only other two that I recently came across which were as good were "The Bark of the Dogwood" and "The Lovely Bones." As someone who has little time for pleasure reading, I found this book to be nowhere near a waste of time and definitely not boring. The characters are complicated and dramatic enough to be novel material, yet realistic enough to relate to.Carrie Bell was faced with a choice - she can stay with the quadrapalegic fiancee that she had been thinking about breaking up with before his accident, or she can leave. She chooses to leave and for that she has to face the consequences of emotional guilt from her friends and from herself. I liked this book because it made me think about Carrie's situation and what I would have done. Also recommended: The Bark of the Dogwood.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Flawless book, Jul 17 2004

By	Ms Ennui (Philadelphia, PA, United States) - See all my reviews

I just finished this book today. I have nothing bad to say about it. This book is so interesting and tackles such an interesting subject, Packer writes beautifully, and I absolutely could not put it down until I was finished. I think that the reader who said it was so boring they couldn't keep reading... lacks literary maturity...perhaps that reader was too young to appreciate it. I rarely recommend books to my friends but I will definitely recommend this. I think a good book (or a good movie) is one that you will think back to one day, long after you have read it, and I am sure I will think back to this one. Another criteria I have is that a bad book, I could put down in the middle and forget about it and not even care what happens at the end. But with this book, I was genuinely interested in what was going to happen to all the characters. The book made me think. I am also eagerly awaiting the author's next book. I can't believe this is her FIRST novel! It was impressive in every sense- plot, dialogue, everything. A++++++++

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5.0 out of 5 stars Not a Book...It's A Journey you need to go on..., Jul 12 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Dive From Clausen's Pier (Hardcover)

It's been 14 years since I last picked up a book, just to read for enjoyment. So why am I writing this review? I want to share a book that made me read. That made me ENJOY reading again. But this time with great passion for the written word.
Why did I choose this book? As my three old would say, "Just because." No rhyme or reason, no great prodding from friends as "you must read this book!" I remember Charles Gibson & Diane Sawyer announce this last yr. on Good Morning America, for their "READ THIS" Book Club. The title always stayed in the back of my mind. All I wanted was a book I just didn't want to put down. I wanted to get lost for awhile...

It's a story that will take you on a journey you never thought you would end up taking. Carrie Bell, a woman knowing that there is something out there calling her. What that something is, only she will know. It will hit her with a force that is numbing, stinging, painful, soothing, and uplifting. Mike Mayer, her fiance of eight years, knows that their love is the real deal. But he senses the long casting shadows of change. Just as the Autumn season brings to Madison, WI. There are a cast of characters that we all know in our own lives, that fill Carrie's life. The impact, the footsteps that are left behind when they walk in and out of Carrie's world. But Carrie's mother, a woman who has her own sense of balance, shows her that sometimes you must listen to the quietness that life brings. It's that quietness that brings strength to Carrie.

This book gripped me like nothing before. I've been longing for a book that would quietly call me. In the darkness of the early morning hours, I found myself yearning to grasp this book and devoring it like a fine meal with all it's richness. It pulled me in so quickly, with a force that held you tightly in it's throws. It made me think of what I gave up 14 yrs. ago, when I moved from my childhood home in British Columbia to my new life in Ft. Lauderdale, with my own family now. As I turned each page, I would stop & think of all the people, the pain and tragedies, the joys and laughter that have come into my own life. Amazing how an author can do that to you.

Simply put, haven't read for a LONG WHILE...GET THIS BOOK! You will not be disappointed. If you're looking for that great summertime read, GET THIS BOOK! Young or old, you will not be disappointed.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful story and characters
This is the tale of small-town girl Carrie Bell, who has had the same friends and boyfriend since she was in high school. Read more

Published on Jun 29 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars painfully addictive
This book is extremely compelling, even with oveflowing, and sometimes seemingly useless, detail. While I found it heart-breaking in more ways then one, it's not only a good... Read more

Published on Jun 28 2004 by sweetcitrus17

2.0 out of 5 stars The first half is so boring I don't know if I can go on
This book is so over-filled with so many details and descriptions that are actually distracting from what could be a good story. Read more

Published on Jun 23 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars Can't stop thinking about this one
There are not many books that I bother to write reviews on but this one is worth my time (there were only two others in all). Carrie is a wonderful character. Read more

Published on Jun 11 2004