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Loading... The Dive From Clausen's Pier: A Novelby Ann Packer
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. An engaging read about an awful situation that none of us would like to be put in. Carrie, the main character is the narrator and Ann Packer takes us inside her head. She does what she does and it is of course different from how any one of us would react to the same situation. Twice she runs away without telling the people she loves where she's off to and at other times she avoids situations, so its not necessarily a handbook on how to deal with such an accident. It is well written, well paced and not too long, although, as with many of these sort of books, maybe a little too cosily indulgent for my taste. (  ) Tifi | Dec 24, 2009 |  Laura  cmsteachers | Jul 10, 2009 | After her fiance breaks his neck, Carrie must come to terms with their relationship, what she sees as her future, and how she is going to relate to her friends and mother now that the accident has changed everything. There are no easy answers when something serious and permanent happens, but this novel follows Carries as she attempts to deal--and in many ways fails to deal--with her guilt, what she thinks are her responsibilities, and with the expectations of those around her. The characters are interesting, even though this bleak time, and while the reader is kept at a bit of a close distance to the narrator, the strength of the scenes tells you almost all you need to know. Everyone is hurting in some way or another, it is just that some people hurt more than others at different times and for different reasons. (  ) doxtator | Jun 10, 2009 | This is a book about love and friendship, and about honesty and living. Fresh out of college, Carrie is considering breaking up with her high school sweetheart when he suffers a serious diving accident that leaves him paralyzed. She is then faced with staying with him and doing the "right thing" in the eyes of her family and friends, or breaking up with him and finding a life of her own. The importance of geographically distancing oneself to make a life-altering decision is emphasized here, and Carrie moves to New York as she tries to find her way in life. Ultimately, her decision could be controversial or the natural thing for her to do, depending on your idea of happily ever after. This is a great book for discussion. (  ) sarahes | May 26, 2009 | It's quite a good book, and is all about how life is a combination of decisions (yours and others) and what we might call fate - the occurrence of life-altering events which happen with no apparent cause and at instants in time that cause the event to have an impact which it might not have if it happened only a moment later or earlier. How decisions are influenced by feelings of guilt and duty... and how geographical proximity to the people who might influence you affects the strength of their influence. It suggests to me the value of physical separation from familiar people & situations if you want to discover your 'true' self. Of course, there's the possibility that your 'true self' is the self which is influenced by people around you. I guess that's what the book is really all about - making decisions in a real world where all these factors are involved. I haven't finished yet (I'm up to page 340 out of 370 pages), but I'm feeling that it doesn't matter how it ends, I've had the value out of it already. There is no definitive answer to the questions it asks, it's the raised awareness of the questions which is the value of the book. (  ) oldblack | May 12, 2009 |  no reviews | add a review
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(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:24 -0400)
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