The Dive From Clausen's Pier
Written by Ann Packer
Narrated by Cassandra Campbell
3.5/5
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this audiobook
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 fiancé, 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 new novelist.
Ann Packer
Ann Packer is the acclaimed author of two collections of short fiction, Swim Back to Me and Mendocino and Other Stories, and two bestselling novels, Songs Without Words and The Dive from Clausen’s Pier, which received the Kate Chopin Literary Award, among many other prizes and honors. Her short fiction has appeared in The New Yorker and in the O. Henry Prize Stories anthologies, and her novels have been published around the world. She lives in San Carlos, California.
Related to The Dive From Clausen's Pier
Related audiobooks
Life, I Swear: Intimate Stories from Black Women on Identity, Healing, and Self-Trust Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sins of the Son Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/552 Little Lessons from A Christmas Carol Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Stepmother: Redeeming a Distained Vocation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLove, and Other Things to Live For Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBetween the Listening and the Telling: How Stories Can Save Us Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5As Happy As I Can Stand: The Third Edition of Hatching Charlie Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHope When Your Heart Is Breaking: Finding God's Presence in Your Pain Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMothering by the Book: The Power of Reading Aloud to Overcome Fear and Recapture Joy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Malestrom: Manhood Swept into the Currents of a Changing World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Lighthouse Effect: How Ordinary People Can Have an Extraordinary Impact in the World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sound of a Million Dreams: Awakening to Who You Are Becoming Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Unhiding of Elijah Campbell: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5True Feelings: God's Gracious and Glorious Purpose for Our Emotions Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5It Ended Badly: Thirteen of the Worst Breakups in History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Identity Theft: Reclaiming the Truth of our Identity in Christ Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Greyboy: Finding Blackness in a White World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5True Companions: A Book for Everyone About the Relationships That See Us Through Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Scandal of Holiness: Renewing Your Imagination in the Company of Literary Saints Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How Not to Be Afraid: Seven Ways to Live When Everything Seems Terrifying Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsShadowhunters and Downworlders: A Mortal Instruments Reader Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Marrow: A Love Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Caprice Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Christmas Carol: Full Cast Drama Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Death of Justina Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Nothing Special: The Mostly True, Sometimes Funny Tales of Two Sisters Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTraveller: Observations from an American in Exile Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Becoming Brave: How to Think Big, Dream Wildly, and Live Fear-Free Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Witch Wisdom for Magical Aging: Finding Your Power through the Changing Seasons Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Not Less Than Everything: One Man’s Quest for Spiritual Enlightenment Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Contemporary Romance For You
Twisted Love Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Twisted Games Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Neon Gods Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ugly Love Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It Starts with Us: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Icebreaker: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Idea of You Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wildfire: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Reminders of Him: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Fine Print Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It Ends with Us Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It Happened One Summer: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5When We're Thirty Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hating Game: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Red, White & Royal Blue: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Lost Bookshop Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hello Stranger: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unfortunately Yours: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hook, Line, and Sinker: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Things We Leave Unfinished Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The True Love Experiment Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5One True Loves: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fix Her Up: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Regretting You Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Confess Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All Your Perfects: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Slammed: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Home: the most moving and heartfelt novel you'll read this year Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Secret of Poppyridge Cove Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Without Merit: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The Dive From Clausen's Pier
976 ratings46 reviews
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5I could not get past my hatred of the main character.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I can see why others reviewed the book as they did, but as someone who was thrust into a 24/7 caregivers role much later in life, I found Carrie's struggle really spoke to me. These are real issues people are forced to face and at such a young age, I can totally believe the angst this would cause. I found all of that very true to life and honest and while not at all the same as my situation, it really spoke to me. Her treatment of the topic of how people struggle to know what to say following a life changing event is spot on, as is the impact on family, friends, and even the wider circle of acquaintances and co-workers in the community. Much of the rest of the story fell into the "good afternoon to curl up and read type of book" which is fine when that is just what you need.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Good book, realistic relationships. Sad.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A story of impossible choices and the surprising way we find our way in life
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Would not recommend this book. I am not even sure that there was a point to it.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Good book, realistic relationships. Sad.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A debut novel. Setting Wisconsin. Enjoyable book. Some points not very believable.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It'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.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I loved this book up until the last section. After reading the reviews, I see that I am not alone. However, I see that others have tended to review the entire book based on their last impression rather than the impression that 3/4 of the novel gave them, which really isn't quite fair to the author.
The writing and the characterizations in this novel are spot on.
It has been many years since I read this novel, but it hasn't left me. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This was an awersome story. You will CRY YOUR EYES OUT! I know... I know... Crying your eyese out is a good thing? But any story that can evoke emotion as strong as this, is a MUST READ!
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5While the decisions facing the characters were interesting to ponder, and the premise kept me reading, the writing was lacking. It bogs down in places. Our book club was disappointed, given all the hype the book received.Carrie and Mike are engaged but drifting apart. Before Carrie can voice her doubts, Mike dives into shallow water, breaking his neck and becoming a quadriplegic. Does she stay? Does she go? The answer is "yes." Off to New York City and a love affair with a selfish older man. Carrie abandons her fiance, her friends, her mother; and indulges herself. But eventually she returns - not to the same relationship though.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I loved this book. At 23, Mike and Carrie have been sweethearts for close to nine years. They are engaged, but things aren't going that well for Carrie. She is starting to feel hemmed in by living in the same town, having the same friends and routines for her whole life. And then Mike suffers a devasting accident. And Carrie wonders how much we owe the people we love.This book is so well written! It talks about friendship, and love, and finding your way in the world. Wonderful!
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Did not sympathize, did not like the main character. But maybe I should bump it a star because it was provocative enough to make me spontaneously remember it years later. Consider it possibly worth 3 stars.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I had a hard time deciding whether to give this book 3 stars or four. I really liked it when I read it, and I found the characters very believable - especially a hipster/cynic character who shows up. It didn't resonate as deeply for me as other books have, but in the end I'm giving it four stars because it's still on my bookshelf when other books have been sold to Half-Price Books
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In an interview with Ann Packer that I heard on NPR, she said that she generally started her stories with an image and built the plot around that image. I find myself imagining which image was the catalyst for her novels while I'm reading. I also find myself encouraged by her description of her process, as it seems like it legitimizes my own writing process. Mine is much more like Packer's than it is like the "write up an outline and do your research before you start writing" process. I always feel inferior to writers who outline their plots before they start, which tinges my pleasure in reading their work.
The plot of this book appealed to me on a couple of levels (beyond feeling a kinship to the author based on her writing process). First, I just like reading about the Midwest. And second, whenever things get difficult in my life, I retreat into fantasies of escape, of just hopping in my car and leaving everything behind. I never take these fantasies beyond that "jumping in the car" point, but that's just what Packer has done in this book. What happens when you get where you're going? What happens if you want to go home again?
This is also a story of loss, and of how people (two people in particular) choose to deal with loss. Packer explores the relationship between our identities and our geographical location and the question of whether you can ever truly leave home. As someone who's never had one geographical location to call "home" (the question I generally ask is, "Would I know "home" if I saw it?"), I'm intrigued by the idea of someone living the same place all of her life, especially when that character pulls up stakes and leaves that lifelong home. I'm quite familiar with the pulling up stakes, but not so much the staying in one place.
Packer seems very adept at painting vivid settings. With Songs Without Words, I wondered if I thought this just because I was familiar with the location of her story. But having never been to Madison, Wisconsin, and having spent less than 24 hours in New York City, I think I can safely say that the vivid image, both visual and physical, of these locations is a result of Packer's skill as a writer. I might be totally off in what I'm imagining the look of these cities to be and the feel of the air in different seasons, but the picture Packer painted drew me in and made me lose my sense of where I was (sitting on my sofa in Salt Lake City reading her book and hoping the baby would stay asleep long enough that I could finish just one more chapter). The accuracy of my image seems pretty irrelevant in this case. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5"The accident happened to Mike not to me," girlfriend Carrie writes. But she is wrong. It happened to Mike and everyone around him. This is a sensitive and intimate look at the fallout of a life-altering accident -- especially but not exclusively -- on the girlfriend of the victim. Mike breaks his neck in, yes, a dive from Clausen's Pier. Despite diminishing affections, Carrie doesn't feel that she can break up with Mike and struggles in her new role as nurse/supporter. She literally escapes to NYC where she encounters a new world of opportunities (great look into the fashion design industry), new friends, and a new lover. The pull of hearth and home are too strong, however, and Carrie ultimately returns to Madison, WI, where she slowly forges a new life. Beautifully written, intimate, and articulate... this would be great bibliotherapy for anyone dealing with a loved one who has a life-altering illness/injury. It's also a great tale for the young adult trying to find their way in the world -- the perils and rewards of journeying out versus staying home.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Following a diving accident that leaves her fiance, Mike, paralyzed, the once happy and in love Carrie sets out for New York City to rediscover herself and start over. While her friends and fiance back home feel betrayed and heartbroken, Carrie meets up with a man named Kilroy who she had been introduced to before. Although Kilroy has a mysterious past and sets up a barrier between himself and Carrie, Carrie begins to fall in love with him. She must grapple with this new love as she is reminded of the fiance she left behind. Carrie starts attending fashion school and starts to redefine her life. However, when one of her friends from back home invites her to his wedding, she must confront the life she left behind."The Dive From Clausen's Pier" is a heartbreaking story. Ann Packer writes in a way that pulls the reader into the story and makes them want to read more.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The girl in this book, I just really wanted to shake her. I can't say much more without giving the story away. The author writes really well, so I stuck with the book til the end, even though I didn't want to know what this chick did. Descriptions of sewing were cool.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A little bit of a slow start, but it really picks up about halfway through the first section. The main character, Carrie, is very well developed and generated a lot of empathy for her terrible dilemma.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Behind the entire subject matter of this novel is Ann Packer's apparent knowledge of sewing---which I found fascinating and THAT was a real hook for me beyond the compelling subject of the novel. How would anyone deal with this issue of sudden paralysis, especially as a questioning fiance in the first place.,,,,what a subject to try and handle and I found the way Packer handled it completely compelling. The detail of Carrie's emotions was painfully wonderful. I read Packer's second novel before this one---I thoroughly enjoy the way she writes.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Truly compelling story about loss and it's domino effect on our lives and of those around us. The author, Ann Packer creates a likeable main character with whom you empathize and sympathize with even when her actions are questionable. Ann Packer is a true talent, I look forward to reading more from her.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5After her fiance braks 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.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5i enjoyed this novel about Carrie Bell and her struggles after her fiance suffers paralysis from a tragic diving accident. Sometimes I got really frustrated with her, though, because some of her actions seemed to self-indulgent and impulsive. Yet that's how human beings behave, so I do think the author portrayed her realistically. The ending left me confused, though. I'm not really sure where Carrie's life was ultimately headed.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5An excellent and moving story of a young woman figuring out who she is and who she wants to be. A little unsatisfying in the end, but you cannot have everything. Carrie is engaged to her high school sweetheart and is having second thoughts. Her fiance, Mike, jumps in water that is too shallow and ends up a quadraplegic. Does she stay in a relationship that she really wasn't sure she wanted anyway? Does she go and live her own life? The answer is that she really doesn't do either, but the journey is very interesting.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This heart-wrenching story is about love, tragedy, regret, and ultimately, learning what is most important in life and making hard choices.Carrie has been in love with Mike practically her whole life, but finds that after their engagement, her love for Mike has begun to ebb and she begins to question if their impending marriage is something she really wants.Just as she decides she must tell him that she is having second thoughts, they join some friends for a picnic at the lake where they have gone many times before to spend time together ~ only this time, Mike takes a dive off the pier, and suddenly, tragically, every one of them is changed forever.Carrie struggles at first to try to do the "right thing", what everyone expects her to do, but finds that she can't handle the situation and on an impulse, drives off to New York to visit a friend. That visit turns into a whole new life for Carrie, all the while ruminating about the life, and the love, she left behind. What Carrie goes through in this story makes the reader consider what they would do in the same situation....what choices they would make....what length they would be willing to go, for the sake of loyalty and just doing that "right thing".I did enjoy this book very much and would recommend it to others.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Worth it. First off, this book made me want to sew so badly, I could smell fabric on the ends of my fingertips. I lvoed Packer's use of the art of sewing and construction to emulate the protagonists struggle to construct a solid, perfect reality, even as her world unraveled. The Dive From Clausen's Pier starts with a tragic accident, and moves along with a rehabilitation. I almost didn't pick it up for this reason, as I feared it would be one of those books/movies (like The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) where you live every painful, struggling thought alongside the protagonist. But no, here, it's not the guy who dove who winds up struggling, but his fiancee. And you do feel sorry for her...or you don't AT ALL. (I'm curious as to how other readers reacted to her.)The book made me guiltily relive just how selfish I was when I was 23-years-old, and made me (for once), grateful not to be in my twenties again. The struggle of that age is artfully expressed by Packer's characters, who run the reader through the emotions of guilt, (repeated) panic, rage for no reason, rage for good reason, grudges, longing, and everything else that is as far from settled and secure as you can get. Take a bow, Mrs. Packer. I'd love to read more of your fiction in the future. Oh, and I added a bonus star for the good sex :)
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5As Carrie deals with the issues of a newly paralyzed fiance, pressures and expectations from everyone around her, decidedly undecided about who she is and what she wants from life she flees to NY. In NY she seeks out familiarity and adventure ending up in a relationship that seems to be as distant emotionally as she'd been previously with Mike her fiance. The story is interesting, kept my attention and was well written but I found myself frustrated with an ending that seemed to imply that she never really did find herself but instead "settled" into what she thought was expected of her. Often even mimicking the behaviors of others and I wasn't sure if it was for "show" or for "real". I felt this nagging feeling that she in the end still didn't know who she was or where she belonged but what was comfortable would be the "safest" choice. Almost like "you can take the small town girl out of the town but you can't take small town out of the girl" I was disappointed.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5In Ann Packer's The Dive From Clausen's Pier, the central character has to quietly endure an upheaval of what was once a pleasant life after a tragic acccident alters the relationship she has with her high school sweetheart. She comes to feel isolated in her feelings that conflict with those of people around her who are ever watchful as to how she should be accommodating a situation she is beginning to sense is hopeless. Written in a staightforward manner, The Dive From Clausen's Pier maintains an attractive tone in its matter-of-fact descriptions of family life in modern-day Wisconsin. Just enough information is given about its characters for the reader to feel comfortable with them, and more would have been welcome. The story switches gears when it moves from Wisconsin to New York City. The storytelling then becomes forced, and small incidences that occur from that point on in the story read like a travel guide by someone who knows very little of what the Big Apple is about. The novel had its roots in suburban Wisconsin life, and it should have stayed there. This all makes the first half of the book compelling and the second half merely filler. This book could be used at the high school level (in snippets, cautiously, as there is strong adult content in its second half) as an English class exercise to study the scenario of alienation and isolation of a main character in a novel setting.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A great story set in the great Madison, Wisconsin! It is a story of love and loss. Guilt and recovery. This book is a winner!
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This 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.