The Dive From Clausen's Pier: A Novel

I was actually kind of disappointed in this book, i thought it would end much better than it did. there was no happy ending and no sad ending. the main character was seemingly indecisive and that got very annoying.

can't stand the main character. Got half way through and just can't take it any more. ICK!

What would you do?

This book was so amazingly bland that I can’t accurately describe my feelings for it. Through the entire book I found myself hoping to finish it so that I could put it aside and start another, more interesting book. I have never in my life disliked a main character as much as I disliked Carrie Bell.She was selfish, pure and simple. When her best friend and fiance broke his neck in a...more

This book was so amazingly bland that I can’t accurately describe my feelings for it. Through the entire book I found myself hoping to finish it so that I could put it aside and start another, more interesting book. I have never in my life disliked a main character as much as I disliked Carrie Bell.She was selfish, pure and simple. When her best friend and fiance broke his neck in a diving accident, she ran off to New York and began making something of her life. She began following her dreams and exploring her emotions. In New York, unlike her hometown of Madison, Wisconsin, she was known to care about people every now and then. Be happy every now and then. In Madison, she cared about no one, least of all herself. She abandoned her friends and her fiance.I have absolutely no idea how she could feel so numb towards someone who was not only her lover, but her friend. The whole book amazed me. There were no surpises. No plot twists. No caring for the character. I was more interested in the tale of her friends than her own tale. It’s like watching an interesting movie through a very bland character’s eyes.The third book on my new reading plan and I hated it. I can only hope few books like this follow. I will never again trust the New York Times Bestseller list.   hide

I don't usually do this but about half way through, I skipped to the end to see what happenned and then put the book down for a few days. I then picked it back up and finished it. I found the young woman's dilemma fascinating and the author's writing superb.

Well written and well developed characters, but it left me wishing for so much more. SPOILERS AHEAD......I was so involved and as it got to the last five chapters I was devouring it, hopeful for the moment when Carrie would turn around and sieze her life. If it were the same conclusion, but with a more visceral letting go of the NY Carrie, more of a ripping apart, I might have accepted it more. I...more

Well written and well developed characters, but it left me wishing for so much more. SPOILERS AHEAD......I was so involved and as it got to the last five chapters I was devouring it, hopeful for the moment when Carrie would turn around and sieze her life. If it were the same conclusion, but with a more visceral letting go of the NY Carrie, more of a ripping apart, I might have accepted it more. I do not see how she could have chosen the man she doesn't love, to just be friends with, accident or not, and life in the slow-moving, if friendly, Wisconsin town over her NY family, her noted future at Parsons, and her LOVE with Kilroy, damaged as he may have been in other ways than Mike. I don't know. I could go on, but it is sad to say that this very good book dissapointed me. And so, Carrie dissapointed me. ::shrug::   hide

Great novel. Tension throughout. COuldn't decide if I liked or hated her, then decided that I understood her dilemma and then got frustrated because I couldn't RESOLVE her dilemma for her (I'm a fixer/helper) THEN at the end, was just a bit let down that she did finallly decide, but was still so unsure about the decision. SIGH. A sequel would be nice, but understanding that life often leaves us...more

Great novel. Tension throughout. COuldn't decide if I liked or hated her, then decided that I understood her dilemma and then got frustrated because I couldn't RESOLVE her dilemma for her (I'm a fixer/helper) THEN at the end, was just a bit let down that she did finallly decide, but was still so unsure about the decision. SIGH. A sequel would be nice, but understanding that life often leaves us with this exact kind of indecisive tension, I see that a sequel may be ...unrealistic.   hide

An interesting dilemma for this book's protagist -- How can you break up with someone after they've broken their neck?

Talk about depressing! I could not even finish this.