The Deep End of the Ocean

Ivey, Dana; Mitchard, Jacquelyn

ISBN 10: 0140863559 ISBN 13: 9780140863550

Publisher: Penguin, 1996

Synopsis

When three-year-old Ben vanishes without a clue, it leaves his mother frozen on a knife-edge of suppressed agony for nine years and drives a shattering wedge through her marriage. And then, one ordinary day, the undreamed-of happens: a neighborhood boy knocks on the door--a boy who does not know them--who will irrevocably twist their lives a second time.

About this title

Review:

The horror of losing a child is somehow made worse when the case goes unsolved for nearly a decade, reports Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel columnist Jacquelyn Mitchard in this searing first novel. In it, 3-year-old Ben Cappadora is kidnapped from a hotel lobby where his mother is checking into her 15th high school reunion. His disappearance tears the family apart and invokes separate experiences of anguish, denial, and self-blame. Marital problems and delinquency in Ben's older brother (in charge of him the day of his kidnapping) ensue. Mitchard depicts the family's friction and torment--along with many gritty realities of family life--with the candour of a journalist and compassion of someone who has seemingly been there. International publishing and film rights sold fast on this one--it's a blockbuster.

Review:

‘So well observed and perceptive it’s hard to shy away from... masterfully paced... A story of one family’s slow tumble back into light.’
Los Angeles Times

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0140863559
• ISBN 13: 9780140863550
• Binding: Audio Cassette