Dive from Clausen's Pier
Dive from Clausen's Pier
Dive from Clausen's Pier
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Description
Description
"The Dive from Clausen's Pier is one of those small miracles that reinforce our faith in fiction. It does what the best novels so often do, making the largest things visible by its perfect rendering of life on the smaller scale. It is witty, tragic and touching, and beguiling from the first page." --Scott Turow
A riveting novel about loyalty and self-knowledge, and the conflict between who we want to be to others and who we must be for ourselves.
Carrie Bell has lived in Wisconsin all her life. She's had the same best friend, the same good relationship with her mother, the same boyfriend, Mike, now her fiance, for as long as anyone can remember. It's with real surprise she finds that, at age twenty-three, her life has begun to feel suffocating. She longs for a change, an upheaval, for a chance to begin again.
That chance is granted to her, terribly, when Mike is injured in an accident. Now Carrie has to question everything she thought she knew about herself and the meaning of home. She must ask: How much do we owe the people we love? Is it a sign of strength or of weakness to walk away from someone in need?
"The Dive from Clausen's Pier" reminds us how precarious our lives are and how quickly they can be divided into before and after, whether by random accident or by the force of our own desires. It begins with a disaster that could happen, out of the blue, in anybody's life, and it forces us to ask how we would bear up in the face of tragedy and what we know, or think we know, about our deepest allegiances. Elegantly written and ferociously paced, emotionally nuanced and morally complex," The Dive from Clausen's Pier" marks the emergence of a prodigiously gifted newnovelist.
A riveting novel about loyalty and self-knowledge, and the conflict between who we want to be to others and who we must be for ourselves.
Carrie Bell has lived in Wisconsin all her life. She's had the same best friend, the same good relationship with her mother, the same boyfriend, Mike, now her fiance, for as long as anyone can remember. It's with real surprise she finds that, at age twenty-three, her life has begun to feel suffocating. She longs for a change, an upheaval, for a chance to begin again.
That chance is granted to her, terribly, when Mike is injured in an accident. Now Carrie has to question everything she thought she knew about herself and the meaning of home. She must ask: How much do we owe the people we love? Is it a sign of strength or of weakness to walk away from someone in need?
"The Dive from Clausen's Pier" reminds us how precarious our lives are and how quickly they can be divided into before and after, whether by random accident or by the force of our own desires. It begins with a disaster that could happen, out of the blue, in anybody's life, and it forces us to ask how we would bear up in the face of tragedy and what we know, or think we know, about our deepest allegiances. Elegantly written and ferociously paced, emotionally nuanced and morally complex," The Dive from Clausen's Pier" marks the emergence of a prodigiously gifted newnovelist.
About the Author
About the Author
Ann Packer is the author of two best-selling novels, Songs Without Words and The Dive from Clausen's Pier, the latter of which received a Great Lakes Book Award, an American Library Association Award, and the Kate Chopin Literary Award. Her short fiction and essays have appeared in The New Yorker, The Washington Post, Vogue, and Real Simple. Also the author of Mendocino and Other Stories, she lives in northern California with her family.
Critical Reviews
Critical Reviews
"Packer knows just how to make a story build: the novel reveals a sure sense of pace and pitch, a brilliant ear for character . . . a searching emotional generosity."
-The New York Times Book Review "Intricately detailed, deeply felt, compelling and utterly surprising. . . . Wonderfully satisfying."
-The Boston Globe "Gracefully written and provocative. . . . An elegant book."
-The Washington Post Book World "[Packer's] characters seem observed rather than invented, and capable of mistakes that the author may never have intended. The result is genuine suspense."
-The New Yorker "A graceful writer . . . a quietly provocative novel. . . . Packer has a wonderfully optimistic yet realistic view of humanity."
-Katharine Weber, Chicago Tribune "One of those small miracles that reinforce our faith in fiction. It does what the best novels so often do, making the largest things visible by its perfect rendering of life on the smaller scale. It is witty, tragic, and touching, and beguiling from its first page."
-Scott Turow "An intricately detailed, deeply felt, compelling and ultimately surprising portrait of a young woman facing an unbearable loss . . . surprisingly suspenseful. . . . By the end of this wonderfully satisfying novel, it's clear why Carrie is too complex a character to take the easy way out."
-Jane Ciabattari, San Francisco Chronicle "[The Dive from Clausen's Pier] has an affinity with the work of Rosellen Brown . . . and Anne Tyler. . . . Packer writes with a rare density of detail and ideas, and it's just possible that the reader will be wiser at the end of the book than she was at the beginning."
-Laurie Muchnick, Newsday "Packer's novel explores how life itself can confront ordinary human beings with daunting moral dilemmas."
-USA Today "A fast, absorbing read. . . . Packer . . . [has] written a first novel whose subject easily transcends the page."
-Entertainment Weekly "[Packer] plays the slower rhythms of Madison against the Broadway boogie-woogie of Manhattan to great effect."
-The Economist "A winning debut novel."
-Vogue "Ambitious . . . both a colorful chronicle of life in Wisconsin and New York City . . . and a serious, moving meditation on the nature of love and of loyalty."
-Glamour "Impressive . . . Packer skillfully distills broad themes into small, personal moments . . . a thoughtful and satisfying examination of duty and personal integrity."
-Time Out New York
"Remarkably assured, utterly winning. . . . Packer's characters scramble up from these pages as terrifically physical beings, so well does she describe them."
-Miami Herald
"Absorbing . . . the suspense of the book's last pages is intense and moving."
-Cleveland Plain Dealer "Rich with characters and restrained in its language, Packer's novel is, first and foremost, a great story.
-Minneapolis Star Tribune "Fresh, contemporary, and fast-paced . . . a powerful and compelling read."
-Baltimore Sun
"Packer knows just where she wants to take us . . . [and] the journey is worth taking."
-Milwaukee Journal Sentinel "Multilayered...absolutely credible and quite surprising."
-Seattle Times
"A book I couldn't let go for days after finishing. . . . This book will make you think, so read it and pass it on to a friend."
-Winston-Salem Journal
-The New York Times Book Review "Intricately detailed, deeply felt, compelling and utterly surprising. . . . Wonderfully satisfying."
-The Boston Globe "Gracefully written and provocative. . . . An elegant book."
-The Washington Post Book World "[Packer's] characters seem observed rather than invented, and capable of mistakes that the author may never have intended. The result is genuine suspense."
-The New Yorker "A graceful writer . . . a quietly provocative novel. . . . Packer has a wonderfully optimistic yet realistic view of humanity."
-Katharine Weber, Chicago Tribune "One of those small miracles that reinforce our faith in fiction. It does what the best novels so often do, making the largest things visible by its perfect rendering of life on the smaller scale. It is witty, tragic, and touching, and beguiling from its first page."
-Scott Turow "An intricately detailed, deeply felt, compelling and ultimately surprising portrait of a young woman facing an unbearable loss . . . surprisingly suspenseful. . . . By the end of this wonderfully satisfying novel, it's clear why Carrie is too complex a character to take the easy way out."
-Jane Ciabattari, San Francisco Chronicle "[The Dive from Clausen's Pier] has an affinity with the work of Rosellen Brown . . . and Anne Tyler. . . . Packer writes with a rare density of detail and ideas, and it's just possible that the reader will be wiser at the end of the book than she was at the beginning."
-Laurie Muchnick, Newsday "Packer's novel explores how life itself can confront ordinary human beings with daunting moral dilemmas."
-USA Today "A fast, absorbing read. . . . Packer . . . [has] written a first novel whose subject easily transcends the page."
-Entertainment Weekly "[Packer] plays the slower rhythms of Madison against the Broadway boogie-woogie of Manhattan to great effect."
-The Economist "A winning debut novel."
-Vogue "Ambitious . . . both a colorful chronicle of life in Wisconsin and New York City . . . and a serious, moving meditation on the nature of love and of loyalty."
-Glamour "Impressive . . . Packer skillfully distills broad themes into small, personal moments . . . a thoughtful and satisfying examination of duty and personal integrity."
-Time Out New York
"Remarkably assured, utterly winning. . . . Packer's characters scramble up from these pages as terrifically physical beings, so well does she describe them."
-Miami Herald
"Absorbing . . . the suspense of the book's last pages is intense and moving."
-Cleveland Plain Dealer "Rich with characters and restrained in its language, Packer's novel is, first and foremost, a great story.
-Minneapolis Star Tribune "Fresh, contemporary, and fast-paced . . . a powerful and compelling read."
-Baltimore Sun
"Packer knows just where she wants to take us . . . [and] the journey is worth taking."
-Milwaukee Journal Sentinel "Multilayered...absolutely credible and quite surprising."
-Seattle Times
"A book I couldn't let go for days after finishing. . . . This book will make you think, so read it and pass it on to a friend."
-Winston-Salem Journal
Publishing Information
Publishing Information
Publisher:
Vintage
Pub date:
2003-04-08
Length:
432 pages
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