The Dive from Clausen Pier by Ann Packer
The Dive from Clausen’s Pier is about relationships ~ how they change and how they change us.
Carrie Bell is a young college graduate who has been dating her boyfriend, Mike, for since she was 15. They recently became engaged, but Carrie is having second thoughts ~ none that she has been able to articulate, though. She just has a nagging feeling that she needs more in her life than settling down in Wisconsin with her childhood sweetheart.
At their annual Memorial Day picnic, Carrie, Mike and their friends head out to their favorite lakeside spot for a day of fun. Carrie is considering how to break it to Mike that she wants out of their pending nuptials. Mike, knowing something is up and in an attempt to catch Carrie’s attention, dives into the water, but things go terribly wrong. He breaks his neck and suffers terrible head injuries.
For weeks Mike remains in a coma. Playing the part of the good girlfriend, Carrie spends hours at the hospital with him, but feels guilt. Her friends all expect her to stand by the injured Mike. His family refuses to believe that he will not recover.
Finally, Mike comes out of his coma, only to acknowledge his own limitations as a quadriplegic. He still faces numerous surgeries and months of rehab. He cannot join his friends on evenings out. Carrie is no longer interested in the party life she enjoyed with her friends prior to Mike’s accident.
One night, however, her friends convince her to join them. She meets Kilroy, an eccentric single male who is visiting from New York City. Something about him catches her interest.
Finally, the pressures of Mike’s illness prove too much for Carrie to bear. She packs her car, complete with her sewing machine (she sews to relax) and heads to NYC, where she crashes with another high school friend, Simon. Simon is gay and feels comfortable being open about his sexuality in New York, where it wouldn’t have been possible in Wisconsin.
Carrie seeks out Kilroy and begins an affair with him. Then she begins to learn about him. He has no permanent job and hangs out in a bar playing pool. Kilroy is 40 years old and is still seeking himself. Carrie learns that he has a troubled relationship with his parents, who are very well-to-do (hence, are underwriting Kilroy’s lifestyle.) Kilroy is unable to make a commitment and is alternating loving and cold to Carrie. He has his own tragedies, as we ultimately learn, that render him unable to move forward with his life.
Carrie enrolls in design school and is destine to succeed, when she receives a call from her best friend, Jamie, back in Wisconsin. Jamie’s message, although very cryptic, is a plea for help. Furthermore, Jamie refers to Carrie as someone who would dump her boyfriend after he breaks his neck. Carrie, whose relationship with Jamie had been altered by Mike’s accident, doesn’t immediately provide Jamie with the answer Jamie was seeking.
After some soul searching, Carrie decides to return to Wisconsin. Carrie is still conflicted and struggling between her needs and those needs of others.
Although most of us aren’t faced with the dilemmas Carrie is confronted with, all of us struggle with relationships as we all grow and change. I was especially drawn to the change in relationship between Carrie and her friend, Jamie. The Dive from Clausen’s Park reminds us that as relationships change, we must take them for the gift they are and know when to let go.
Read: August 29, 2010
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Books Set in Spain
The Last Jew, by Noah Gordon (2000).
The Last Jew follows the life of Yonah Toledano during the Spanish Inquisition. The Inquisition was initially designed to ferret out conversos, those Jews who converted but were “backsliding” towards their former religion. The Church viewed conversos as suspect, however. In time, however, the Church extended its reach and began targeting all Jews.
Yonah was the second son of a silversmith and only survivor in his family following the Inquisitions raid in his familial home town of Toledo. He manages to escape and “passes” as a Christian by assuming the name Ramon Callico. He recites his Hebrew prayers in secret to retain his ties to his beliefs. At the same time, however, he knows that at anytime he can be turned in to the Inquisitors.
At times Yonah/Ramon is just one step ahead of the Inquistors. At other times, he is able to find a sympathetic family who may or may not have discerned his true identity. Along the way, he reinvents himself ~ he is takes a job as a shepherd, travels with gypsies, recalls his training as a silversmith and crafts armor, and finally apprentices with a physian.
The book started off well, but the plot began to weaken. After a while, I grew bored with the exploits of Yonah. The author researched the period, and details the market for (fraudulent) sacred relics as well as medieval medicines.
Read: August 13, 2010
The Last Jew follows the life of Yonah Toledano during the Spanish Inquisition. The Inquisition was initially designed to ferret out conversos, those Jews who converted but were “backsliding” towards their former religion. The Church viewed conversos as suspect, however. In time, however, the Church extended its reach and began targeting all Jews.
Yonah was the second son of a silversmith and only survivor in his family following the Inquisitions raid in his familial home town of Toledo. He manages to escape and “passes” as a Christian by assuming the name Ramon Callico. He recites his Hebrew prayers in secret to retain his ties to his beliefs. At the same time, however, he knows that at anytime he can be turned in to the Inquisitors.
At times Yonah/Ramon is just one step ahead of the Inquistors. At other times, he is able to find a sympathetic family who may or may not have discerned his true identity. Along the way, he reinvents himself ~ he is takes a job as a shepherd, travels with gypsies, recalls his training as a silversmith and crafts armor, and finally apprentices with a physian.
The book started off well, but the plot began to weaken. After a while, I grew bored with the exploits of Yonah. The author researched the period, and details the market for (fraudulent) sacred relics as well as medieval medicines.
Read: August 13, 2010
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Books Set in India
The Girl From Foreign, by Sadia Shepard (2008)
The Girl from Foreign is both a memoir and a loving tribute to the author’s maternal grandmother. Sadia Shepard grew up in Chestnut Hill, a posh suburb outside of Boston, where she lived with her American father, Pakistani-born mother and Indian-born grandmother. Her father was Christian and her mother was Muslim. When Shepard was a teenager, she discovered that her grandmother was born Rachel Jacobs into a Jewish family in India’s Bene Israel community. When her grandmother secretly married her father’s business partner at age 17, she agreed to raise any children from the marriage as Muslims. She also changed her name to Rahat. She also may or may not have converted herself.
Shepard promises her grandmother that she will seek out her Indian heritage. Her trek begins a few years following her grandmother’s death. When Shepard is awarded a Fullbright scholarship, she makes good her promise. This book is a part of that search.
As Rachel Jacobs, the author’s grandmother lived in the Bene Israel community of India. The Bene Israel are believed to be descendants from a ship-wrecked group of Jews who washed up on Indian shores sometime before 166 BCE. There are still a few remnants of the Bene Israel in India today, although many have now immigrated to Israel.
Upon her marriage, Rachel became the third wife of a Muslim business man. She was believed to be the wife he married for love, the first two marriages were business arrangements. Rachel’s children, including the author’s mother, were raised Muslim in an environment of tolerance.
The author embraces her varied religious heritage, but is on a journey to determine where she fits. While in India, she connects with the Jewish community and attends Shabbat services as well as other Jewish festival services. Clearly, she feels comfortable in this setting. She also befriends a young Hindi man who often accompanies her on her travels to the small Jewish enclaves in India.
In her later life, Rachel began to look back into her faith and wanted to be buried as a Jew. Although her family buried her in a traditional Muslim manner, on the anniversary of her death, she was remembered in a traditionally Jewish service.
Shepard also recounts how, as a child, she and her family would make trips to Pakistan to visit relatives. When she returns as an adult, after September 11, 2001, she finds her Pakistani relatives to have moved to a more militant brand of Islam. She also learns how her grandfather’s other wives and families have decimated her estate.
The Girl from Foreign is a beautifully written book. It is a lesson in understanding cultures that are making headlines in today’s news stories.
Read: August 8, 2010
The Girl from Foreign is both a memoir and a loving tribute to the author’s maternal grandmother. Sadia Shepard grew up in Chestnut Hill, a posh suburb outside of Boston, where she lived with her American father, Pakistani-born mother and Indian-born grandmother. Her father was Christian and her mother was Muslim. When Shepard was a teenager, she discovered that her grandmother was born Rachel Jacobs into a Jewish family in India’s Bene Israel community. When her grandmother secretly married her father’s business partner at age 17, she agreed to raise any children from the marriage as Muslims. She also changed her name to Rahat. She also may or may not have converted herself.
Shepard promises her grandmother that she will seek out her Indian heritage. Her trek begins a few years following her grandmother’s death. When Shepard is awarded a Fullbright scholarship, she makes good her promise. This book is a part of that search.
As Rachel Jacobs, the author’s grandmother lived in the Bene Israel community of India. The Bene Israel are believed to be descendants from a ship-wrecked group of Jews who washed up on Indian shores sometime before 166 BCE. There are still a few remnants of the Bene Israel in India today, although many have now immigrated to Israel.
Upon her marriage, Rachel became the third wife of a Muslim business man. She was believed to be the wife he married for love, the first two marriages were business arrangements. Rachel’s children, including the author’s mother, were raised Muslim in an environment of tolerance.
The author embraces her varied religious heritage, but is on a journey to determine where she fits. While in India, she connects with the Jewish community and attends Shabbat services as well as other Jewish festival services. Clearly, she feels comfortable in this setting. She also befriends a young Hindi man who often accompanies her on her travels to the small Jewish enclaves in India.
In her later life, Rachel began to look back into her faith and wanted to be buried as a Jew. Although her family buried her in a traditional Muslim manner, on the anniversary of her death, she was remembered in a traditionally Jewish service.
Shepard also recounts how, as a child, she and her family would make trips to Pakistan to visit relatives. When she returns as an adult, after September 11, 2001, she finds her Pakistani relatives to have moved to a more militant brand of Islam. She also learns how her grandfather’s other wives and families have decimated her estate.
The Girl from Foreign is a beautifully written book. It is a lesson in understanding cultures that are making headlines in today’s news stories.
Read: August 8, 2010
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Books Set in the United States: Seattle
The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein (2008)
The Art of Racing in the Rain is a beautiful little book as told from a dog’s point of view. Enzo is a Labrador-terrier mix who was adopted as a young pup by Denny. The novel begins near the end of Enzo’s life. Although he cannot speak, he strives to let his Denny know that it is time to let him go. Enzo has a strong feeling that he will become human in his next life, something that he looks forward to.
Denny works in an auto shop with dreams of becoming a famous race-car driver. Enzo truly lives a dog’s life, whose only disappointment is that he has no thumbs. If only he had thumbs, he thinks, what wonderful things he could accomplish!
Enzo’s goes through life changes as Denny’s life changes. Denny falls in love with Eve and marries and begins a family. Eve worries how Enzo will treat their young daughter, Zoe. She should have had no fears, however, as both dog and child become good pals.
Denny has a habit of leaving the TV on so that Enzo can be occupied during the day. Enzo learns about life through the wonderful world of television. Between the television, and Denny’s monologs, Enzo gains insight into the human condition. He learns about life through race-car driving. Life, like race-care driving requires techniques to navigate all the obstacles that are thrown at one.
Enzo knows long before the rest of the family that Eve has a dreadful illness. After Eve dies following her battle with brain cancer, her parents fight Denny for custody of Zoe. Eve’s father dislikes Denny and feels Eve married beneath her class. When a young relative accuses Denny of rape, Enzo becomes his main strength, as he struggles to regain his reputation.
The title of the book comes from Denny’s talent for racing on wet pavement. It is also an metaphor for live itself. The Art of Racing in the Rain is a quick read, to anyone with a pet is an unforgettable story.
Read: August 1, 2010
The Art of Racing in the Rain is a beautiful little book as told from a dog’s point of view. Enzo is a Labrador-terrier mix who was adopted as a young pup by Denny. The novel begins near the end of Enzo’s life. Although he cannot speak, he strives to let his Denny know that it is time to let him go. Enzo has a strong feeling that he will become human in his next life, something that he looks forward to.
Denny works in an auto shop with dreams of becoming a famous race-car driver. Enzo truly lives a dog’s life, whose only disappointment is that he has no thumbs. If only he had thumbs, he thinks, what wonderful things he could accomplish!
Enzo’s goes through life changes as Denny’s life changes. Denny falls in love with Eve and marries and begins a family. Eve worries how Enzo will treat their young daughter, Zoe. She should have had no fears, however, as both dog and child become good pals.
Denny has a habit of leaving the TV on so that Enzo can be occupied during the day. Enzo learns about life through the wonderful world of television. Between the television, and Denny’s monologs, Enzo gains insight into the human condition. He learns about life through race-car driving. Life, like race-care driving requires techniques to navigate all the obstacles that are thrown at one.
Enzo knows long before the rest of the family that Eve has a dreadful illness. After Eve dies following her battle with brain cancer, her parents fight Denny for custody of Zoe. Eve’s father dislikes Denny and feels Eve married beneath her class. When a young relative accuses Denny of rape, Enzo becomes his main strength, as he struggles to regain his reputation.
The title of the book comes from Denny’s talent for racing on wet pavement. It is also an metaphor for live itself. The Art of Racing in the Rain is a quick read, to anyone with a pet is an unforgettable story.
Read: August 1, 2010
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