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stevienlcf's review against another edition
3.0
This is a book that snuck up on me. Despite the fabulous reviews, the first hundred pages were a slog-fest, but then I began to appreciate the artistry of Anshaw's writing. The story opens in 1983 at the wedding of Carmen and Matt in rural Wisconsin. A group of wedding party revelers, including Carmen's siblings, Alice, an artist, and Nick, an astronomer, and Matt's sister, Maude, a model and nursing student, pile into a car too tired and stoned for anyone to confidently take the wheel. They strike and kill a 10 year old girl, Casey Redman, who inexplicably appears in the road.
The only character who pays real penance for the event is Nick's girlfriend, Olivia, who was driving. She serves several years in jail, marries Nick, and then disappears, fed up with Nick's addiction. Nick also suffers, obsessively reaching out to the Redman family while sinking deeper and deeper into his addiction. Alice is consummed for years with her love affair with Maude, while enjoying success as an artist. Ironically, the paintings she considers her most successful are portraits of the doomed girl that she keeps private. Carmen looks for some meaning in social activism, but her marriage flounders when Matt takes up with the babysitter. Carmen seems to dismiss the affair as a cliche and, seemingly, the only effect of the collapse of her marriage is her detrioriating homemaker skills. When she marries Rob, she is annoyed by his passivity and his cultural ignorance, despite the fact that Alice observes that he treats Carmen as if he "put her on a float in the parade."
Anshaw's characters are self-obssessed and narcissistic, and I was annoyed that there was so little remorse, much less lives transformed by this tragedy. While the Redman girl intrudes on the characters' thoughts, these intrusions are more an annoyance -- "carry the one" -- than an opportunity for redemption. Yet, the very thing that annoyed me is one of the novel's greatest strengths. It does not pander to our expectations and devolve into a sappy tale about profound lessons learned in the aftermath of a terrible accident.
The only character who pays real penance for the event is Nick's girlfriend, Olivia, who was driving. She serves several years in jail, marries Nick, and then disappears, fed up with Nick's addiction. Nick also suffers, obsessively reaching out to the Redman family while sinking deeper and deeper into his addiction. Alice is consummed for years with her love affair with Maude, while enjoying success as an artist. Ironically, the paintings she considers her most successful are portraits of the doomed girl that she keeps private. Carmen looks for some meaning in social activism, but her marriage flounders when Matt takes up with the babysitter. Carmen seems to dismiss the affair as a cliche and, seemingly, the only effect of the collapse of her marriage is her detrioriating homemaker skills. When she marries Rob, she is annoyed by his passivity and his cultural ignorance, despite the fact that Alice observes that he treats Carmen as if he "put her on a float in the parade."
Anshaw's characters are self-obssessed and narcissistic, and I was annoyed that there was so little remorse, much less lives transformed by this tragedy. While the Redman girl intrudes on the characters' thoughts, these intrusions are more an annoyance -- "carry the one" -- than an opportunity for redemption. Yet, the very thing that annoyed me is one of the novel's greatest strengths. It does not pander to our expectations and devolve into a sappy tale about profound lessons learned in the aftermath of a terrible accident.
thejoyofbooking's review
4.0
Carry the One is the sweeping, heartbreaking tale of a tragic moment and the pall it casts over the lives of those involved. The ensemble cast of characters alternately forge confidently ahead or flounder into their futures, reacting to the accident in their own individual way.
More than being about this pivotal moment, Carry the One can also be read as a story about what happens to us as we age – as we achieve or fail to achieve the lives we hoped to be living. Do we change or does the world change around us? What happens when we get everything we want, and it doesn’t fill the void within us? While Carry the One‘s characters are answering these questions through the lens of the death they inadvertently caused in their twenties, the answers they find can be enlightening to those of us who don’t have such regrettable moments in our past. The lessons they learn about love, loss, and life are valuable to the reader no matter what.
Carry the One absolutely swept me up from the first page, and I finished it in a single sitting. Then I fell asleep and dreamed of the characters in all their fully-faceted beauty. It’s a story that will stay with me for a long time.
More than being about this pivotal moment, Carry the One can also be read as a story about what happens to us as we age – as we achieve or fail to achieve the lives we hoped to be living. Do we change or does the world change around us? What happens when we get everything we want, and it doesn’t fill the void within us? While Carry the One‘s characters are answering these questions through the lens of the death they inadvertently caused in their twenties, the answers they find can be enlightening to those of us who don’t have such regrettable moments in our past. The lessons they learn about love, loss, and life are valuable to the reader no matter what.
Carry the One absolutely swept me up from the first page, and I finished it in a single sitting. Then I fell asleep and dreamed of the characters in all their fully-faceted beauty. It’s a story that will stay with me for a long time.
dcmr's review against another edition
3.0
Although I wanted to love this book (it's received rave reviews, I ended up feeling so-so about it. Never got attached to the characters, who also struck me as so-so.
lbb00ks's review against another edition
Beautifully crafted and imagined very, very sad story spanning many years about several lives lost, both corporally and figuratively in a drug-fueled car accident.
lbb00ks's review
Very much enjoyed this difficult look at the aftermath of a senseless accident.
dyerra's review
1.0
The synopsis and description of this book makes it sound like a very good book. Unfortunately, it did not deliver. Basically, it tried to tell the entire life story (from teenagers to older adults) of five people in 253 pages. Ms. Anshaw attempted to bring up many "deep" topics (such as homosexuality, drug abuse, emotional child abuse, abortion, terrorism, and eating disorders to name a few) but everything was briefly skimmed over, as a result of the length of her novel. This left the novel feeling more like the author was attempting to see how many "deep" topics she could mention in 253 pages, rather than choosing one or two and addressing them thoroughly.
Additionally, large periods of time were skipped between chapters, but rarely if ever did the author indicate how much time had passed. It would have been simple for the author to put dates or even just years in the chapter headings, but she did not do this, so the reader was left constantly guessing how much time had passed. This felt discourteous and lazy on the part of the author.
Never have I disliked a book as much as I disliked this one. I did force myself to read the whole thing, but I am somewhat sorry I did, as it did not improve. I do not recommend this book for anyone.
Additionally, large periods of time were skipped between chapters, but rarely if ever did the author indicate how much time had passed. It would have been simple for the author to put dates or even just years in the chapter headings, but she did not do this, so the reader was left constantly guessing how much time had passed. This felt discourteous and lazy on the part of the author.
Never have I disliked a book as much as I disliked this one. I did force myself to read the whole thing, but I am somewhat sorry I did, as it did not improve. I do not recommend this book for anyone.
moogen's review against another edition
3.0
An interesting enough premise - but I didn't like the characters and I was never convinced that the event that begins this novel changes the course of any of their lives.
willowshelter's review
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Alcoholism, Child death, Drug abuse, Addiction, and Car accident
melissakuzma's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this! This book was so right up my alley. It's the story of a group of people involved (but mostly two sisters and their brother) in a car accident that killed a little girl, and what happens to them in the 20 or so years following the accident. Absolutely perfect. Best book I've read so far this year.