Pros: Beautifully written story, set in Madison, WI and New York City
Cons: Could be depressing
The Bottom Line: I will be waiting for more of Ann Packer's novels. has Her words flow from the page. They bring out strong emotional feelings in the reader.
blimbach's Full Review: Ann Packer - The Dive from Clausen's Pier
What caught my eye in a book review of the Chicago Tribune was that the story took place in Madison, WI, our home for many years. It begins with a diving accident that caused Mike to become a quadroplegic.
Maybe I am strange, but I like reading books involving medical problems, hopefully with good outcomes. The main plot of this story is whether Carrie Bell, Mike's fiance, can still be committed to their relationship after the accident. To complicate the issue, she had misgivings about marrying Mike before the accident happened and had acted strangely toward him for weeks.
Her midwest upbringing brought forth conflict over her loyalty to Mike and the guilt over her wanting to leave the relationship. To sort things out, Carrie left all that she knew in the midwest and went to New York City, adopting a totally different lifestyle. She lived for free in basically a closet alcove of a friend while depending on her savings for other expenses.
Meeting Kilroy, a rather disfunctional guy who worked through a temporary employment agency, complicated her life even more. She fell for him but realized that he kept much of himself hidden despite having a great sexual relationship with him.
Carrie became stronger as she developed her talents for designing clothing. She was still very distraught over Mike's having to deal with her being gone and over her lost friendship with her best friend, Jamie. Carrie could not longer resist the pull from Madison when she learned that Jamie's sister Lynn was physically attacked and that their mother tried to commit suicide.
So many of the characters had problems in their lives, from Carrie's father leaving the family when she was young to Lynn who developed problems with Valium and alcohol and flirted with danger sexually to Kilroy who was estranged from his very wealthy parents. Despite these problems, Carrie was able to sort things out and make decisions about being with Kilroy, staying in Madison, or making a relationship with Mike work for both of them. The reader does not know the result until near the end of the story when Carrie makes the only decision she could.
I especially liked Ann Packer's descriptions of the Madison area. You will feel like you are at Picnic Point or shopping along State Street and walking along Langdon Street by the sorority and fraternity houses. The beautiful lakes, the State Capital and its surrounding square and the mansions on the hill are vividly portrayed.
Contrasting the laid back city Carrie grew up in, New York City with its noise and constant activity was the change that Carrie needed. New friends, new surroundings, but with her old problems, were they enough?
You will feel like you really know the people in the story with their full characterizations. You will know why Carrie was drawn to Mike's wonderful family and to Rooster and Simon. You will suffer with all of them and have a sigh of relief at the end.
How much do we owe the people we love? Is it a sign of strength or weakness to walk away from someone in need? These questions lie at the heart of Ann...More at HotBookSale
Twenty-three-year-old Carrie Bell feels suffocated and wants to leave her life in Wisconsin, but when her fiance is paralyzed in a diving accident, sh...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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