Ann Packer

When her fiancT Mike is left paralyzed following a tragic accident, Carrie Bell begins to question her familiar world, from her everyday life in Wisconsin to her relationships with her mother, friends, and fiancT, as she sets out to rediscover her own identity and the meaning of home. A first novel. 75,000 first printing.

The Dive from Clausen's Pier

Twenty-three-year-old Carrie Bell feels suffocated and wants to leave her life in Wisconsin, but when her fiancé is paralyzed in a diving accident, she must ask, how much do we owe the people we love? 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 Packer's intimate and emotionally thrilling new novel, which has won its author comparisons with Jane Hamilton and Sue Miller. At the age of twenty-three Carrie Bell has spent her entire life in Wisconsin, with the same best friend and the same dependable, easygoing, high school sweetheart. Now to her dismay she has begun to find this life suffocating and is considering leaving it-and Mike-behind. But when Mike is paralyzed in a diving accident, leaving seems unforgivable and yet more necessary than ever. The Dive from Clausen's Pier animates this dilemma-and Carrie's startling response to it-with the narrative assurance, exacting realism, and moral complexity we expect from the very best fiction.

The dive from Clausen's pier

Sarah Sammis

I was looking forward to reading The Dive from Clausen's Pier. I had enjoyed Mendocino and Other Stories and hoped to have the same positive experience with this novel. Although I enjoyed bits and pieces of it, the over all experience was rather dull.

Carrie Bell, the narrator and protagonist of the novel recounts the way her life changes when her fiancé is paralyzed after diving off Clausen's pier into shallower than normal water. Carrie's emotional response didn't strike me as genuine and it made me question her entire account of events. I wasn't expecting a happy ending but I was expecting something more determination and loyalty from Carrie and less self pity.

I think the book fell flat for me because I read In an Instant back in April. Having the raw emotional diary of Lee Woodruff's experience during the immediate aftermath of her husband's injury in Iraq created a tough but unavoidable point of comparison with Packer's novel.

Peggy Walker

This book is beautifully written, but I found it ultimately disappointing. It started off very well, with the descriptions of Carrie's feeling of being trapped in the life that was expected of her, and her budding determination to break her engagement and find her own life. Once her fiance takes that fateful dive on Memorial Day, it all starts to slip away. I think that the description of Mike's injury, treatment, and Carrie's guilt and resistance to others expectations is done well. However, when Carrie runs off to New York, she appears to want to become a completely different person, not just to explore her dreams. The descriptions of her love affair with fabric and fashion design are lovely. The message here seems to be that finding one's own life and purpose should be the goal. Great. Then, the message seems to be that such dreams are futile and that ultimately guilt and obligation will most likely win the day. A very disappointing end. Such a shame.

Skye

This isn't a book that I would normally enjoy but I was so caught up in the emotions of the characters: the battle between what they desire vs. what they "should" do. I felt the reality & heaviness of this story as I read it. Spoiler alert: the ending may not be what you want so brace yourself!

Lauren Lopez

** spoiler alert **
           The summary inside the front cover of this book calls it a “riveting story,” and I do not think that’s the word I would use. 

I purchased this book from a sale my local public library had, and I recognized the title from a movie I watched years ago and actually enjoyed. 

Carrie and Mike have been dating for 8 years. They are high school sweethearts. They are college sweethearts. They are perfect. They are boring. Carrie has realized that some connection between them has been lost and Mike is holding on tight. While they are out with their friends one day, Mike makes a decision to dive off of Clausen’s Pier - possibly one an attempt to grasp Carrie’s fading attention. This decision changes his life forever as he becomes paralyzed after diving. 

The first 1/3 of the book drags. It is told in Carrie’s point of view as she struggles with her continued desire to leave this relationship even after Mike’s accident while everyone expects her to step up and “be there” for him. I think Packer was attempting to make her readers feel Carrie’s boredom and indifference with how her life was portrayed immediately after Mike’s accident and after he woke from the coma. 

Mike is cold to her right after the accident. He knows how she felt before, and he knows deep down that his tragedy hasn’t made her want to stay with him. He keeps her at a distance until they both acknowledge that their relationship is over.

When Carrie leaves for New York City, the story gets a but more exciting. Kilroy is her new beau, but he isn’t much more exciting than Mike. He is frustrating because he is closed off and refuses to answer Carrie’s questions about his vague past. She doesn’t even realize he’s much older until weeks into their relationship. I think the appeal of him is the mystery surrounding the things he doesn’t reveal about himself, but he’s too arrogant to like as a character. He tries to strive for a simple lifestyle, but his dislike for the finer things in life and the people who enjoy them make him much snobbier than those who embrace the lifestyle. 

Many people are angry with Carrie’s final decision, but I think it makes sense. It’s disappointing to know she let her dreams of fashion school go to waste, but she didn’t give up on fashion entirely. I’m not sure that she was able to find a way to do things for herself instead of making choices based on how other people fit in her life. 

Overall, Carrie isn’t the most likable character, and I feel like there were a lot of details that made the story drag on. This is one instant where the film overshadowed the book unfortunately.