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    The Deep End of the Ocean
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    The Deep End of the Ocean
    Unavailable
    The Deep End of the Ocean
    Audiobook (abridged)3 hours

    The Deep End of the Ocean

    Written by Jacquelyn Mitchard

    Narrated by Dana Ivey

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    "Masterful...A big story about human connection and emotional survival" - Los Angeles Times 

    The first book ever chosen by Oprah's Book Club

    Few first novels receive the kind of attention and acclaim showered on this powerful story-a nationwide bestseller, a critical success, and the first title chosen for Oprah's Book Club. Both highly suspenseful and deeply moving, The Deep End of the Ocean imagines every mother's worst nightmare-the disappearance of a child-as it explores a family's struggle to endure, even against extraordinary odds. Filled with compassion, humor, and brilliant observations about the texture of real life, here is a story of rare power, one that will touch readers' hearts and make them celebrate the emotions that make us all one.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateJun 15, 2009
    ISBN9781101105429
    Unavailable
    The Deep End of the Ocean
    Author

    Jacquelyn Mitchard

    New York Times bestselling author Jacquelyn Mitchard has written many novels for adults, including Two If by Sea. She has also written young adult novels; children’s books; a memoir, Mother Less Child; and a collection of essays, The Rest of Us: Dispatches from the Mother Ship. Her first novel, The Deep End of the Ocean, was the inaugural selection of the Oprah Winfrey Book Club, later adapted for a feature film starring and produced by Michelle Pfeiffer. Mitchard is the editor in chief and co-creator of Merit Press and a professor of fiction and creative nonfiction at Vermont College of Fine Arts in Montpelier. She lives on Cape Cod with her husband and their nine children.

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    Reviews for The Deep End of the Ocean

    3.5/5

    974 ratings31 reviews

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 3/5
      I remember reading this when it first came out in the late 90's and I remember loving it! When I re-read it, I did not remember one single thing from my previous read. And, I don't remember why I loved it so much. I have never experienced the loss that this family did, but I found each one of the characters more frustrating than the last; and I was unable to relate with any of them. I think that JM tried to get us to identify with Beth and appreciate her honesty in her feelings, but it just didn't happen for me.
    • 5/5
      I loved this story!
    • 1/5
      This book had a really interesting premise, but it wasn't executed well at all. The writing was mediocre, the pacing slow, and the protagonist rather unsympathetic.
    • 4/5
      This is the story of a dysfunctional family that goes through the trauma of having one child kidnapped. While it was the story of the kidnapping and aftermath I thought it was more the story of Vincent, who had emotional problems before this took place. Vincent gets some professional help, but Beth, the mother does not. By the end of the book neither Beth nor Vincent are normal. This was a great story, but really dragged in a lot of places.
    • 1/5
      Life's too short to read depressing books about a main character with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. I got through 7 chapters and decided that, for the first time in years, I'm not going to finish this book and it will immediately go in my Goodwill pile. Again, life is too short.
    • 5/5
      Great read!!
    • 3/5
      Honestly I enjoyed the book but found the narrator's voice to be a little annoying.
    • 2/5
      Such a disappointment for the first book in Oprah's Book Club. Poorly written. I persevered until the end and I got no more satisfaction.
    • 5/5
      I felt like I knew the characters! I really loved Beth!
    • 5/5
      I know I loved this book cause it is on my amazon list: Ten great Books I've read in 2004. Would like to read again.
    • 3/5
      A young mother asks her seven-year-old son to watch his three-year-old brother while she registers for a school reunion.When the registration takes a long time and she returns, her three-year-old son Ben has been kidnapped.A good story of interpersonal live and the results on a family when a tragedy like this happens.Years later, a young boy comes to the woman's door to see if she'd like her grass mowed and the mother, Beth, swears it is Ben.
    • 4/5
      SPOILER ALERT—this review discusses the plot beyond what some people who haven’t read the book may want to know.There are lots of reviews of this book out here on the web so perhaps it doesn’t really need one more. But reading several made me want to tap those reviewers of the shoulders and point out they were looking at the author’s right hand when the really interesting part of this books was in her left. Reviewers focus on the familiar Act One of the story—the missing child, the mother paralyzed with grief neglecting the rest of her family, the brave father trying to hold everything together and keep life going for his other kids, the large cast of supporting characters. These elements are all very well rendered—sometimes heartbreakingly so (think The Lovely Bones). And when, years later, the missing child accidently turns up on his family’s doorstep, not aware that he was ever missing, I wondered how the writer could need another couple hundred pages to wrap this thing up. It’s at that point that many of the online reviewers lost interest; many state that they skimmed or had to force themselves to read the rest of the book. But Deep End of the Ocean is not the formula family-crisis tragedy these reviewers seem to crave.The author performs such graceful slight-of-hand that everybody focuses on the separation while the real heart and soul of this book is the reunion. Sure, to have a reunion, first you have to have a separation. But, the loss in Deep End of the Ocean—as crushingly sad as it is—is preamble. The hard questions at the heart of the book are about reunion. Can reunion be more than superficial and what are the costs?
    • 3/5
      Heartbreaking storyline, I'm just not sure it was executed as well as it could've been. It seemed to drag on in several places, and I wanted to kick Beth in the face the majority of the time.
    • 1/5
      Very disappointing. Pablum and not worth reading.
    • 5/5
      I LOVED this book so much more than the movie - I cant wait to read the sequel
    • 4/5
      As if the abduction of her child wasn't traumatic enough, the rediscovery of him as a teenager brings its own set of traumas for a mother.
    • 3/5
      A very troublesome story of a family. The middle child, three year old Ben, was kidnapped, and it changed the dynamics of the family completely. I was very angry with the mom for ignoring her other children as she mourned and blamed herself for his loss..... Got better in the second half.
    • 4/5
      I cannot imagine going through what this family went through. I really don't know who to feel more sorry for the mom, dad, the other kids, or the other relatives. My heart also goes out to the woman who kidnapped Ben. I enjoyed this book and I would read more by this author.
    • 3/5
      It is a decent story, but not one that I could really relate to in any real sense. A good beach novel, but nothing spectacular.
    • 4/5
      Haunting story written well...read many years ago and still crystal clear. The unspeakable fear of every parent...
    • 3/5
      Very well written. Novel as made into a movie with Michelle Pheiffer. Goes through the trials and turbulations of a child abduction.
    • 5/5
      This novel could best be described as a page turner. That is what you want to do -- turn the page quickly to see what happens next. The subject is every mother's nightmare -- a child disappears. But beyond the plot elements there are people. The characters are drawn so that you care what happens to them. Which makes the plot even more intense. This book is a best-seller for a good reason.
    • 3/5
      One of the most heartbreaking novels I've ever read. I could barely even finish it -- in fact I skimmed major portions of this book -- because the family's agony was just too much for me. Of course, at the time I still had young children so my sympathy level would have been very high; I might have a better time dealing with a re-reading of it today.
    • 3/5
      Fast paced story but not sure I liked it.
    • 5/5
      I wish I had dreamed this book. I read it in a day; it stayed with me for years. The story is sad and frustrating, the characters are intriguing. What would you do, who would you become, if you lost one of your children? What would become of what remains of your family? A very thought provoking read.
    • 4/5
      This book will rip your heart out, but stick with it... you'll be glad you did.
    • 5/5
      A family is torn apart after 3-year-old Ben disappears. I almost put the book down, because the first half was so painful to read. I'm glad I didn't.
    • 3/5
      I found this novel to be somewhat disappointing. I just didn't care for the main character.
    • 2/5
      I tried to get into this book. Having just finished "How to be Lost," I think I made a mistake reading this book back to back with another similar book. I became bored around page 125. The book dragged on and on, with characters that seems just "so-so." So, I am reviewing a book I haven't full finished, but I write this as a cautionary tale. This one will require a lot of attention. After reading what I've read, it really makes me long for a book that I don't feel a chore to read. I have another Jacquelyn Mitchard book, which I'm hoping to like better.
    • 4/5
      Did not like the character of the mother....I would move mountains to get my child back...thought the mother was not real enough...but that is very personal. The book was well-written and worth a read.