The Deep End of the Ocean

by Jacquelyn Mitchard and Jaqueline Mitchard

Book Overview

"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...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0140286276
• ISBN13: 9780140286274
• Release Date: October 1999
• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Length: 464 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.4" x 8.0"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

The only person who doesn’t like this book!

I must be the only person in America who doesn’t like this book. I read about half and googled the ending. Although I am a mother I couldn’t relate to Beth the main character. Her attitude about her children, other than Ben, made her someone I didn’t like or respect. The story just drags on about her.I may end up finishing the book someday but not today.

You Can't Recapture a Lost Past! A+++ Reading

Beth Cappadora had a college reunion one fateful weekend where she takes her three children, baby Kerry, Ben, and Vincent her oldest. When she tells Vincent to please keep an eye on Ben while she goes off some place for a few minutes, Ben disappears without a trace. And he is never to be seen again for years to come. Right away, a big police squad is called, Beth is frantic as any mom would be, and a special lady detective, Candy Bliss steps in to help and support her. All the way through the book, Beth is like "the living dead." Her other two children suffer for it, and it changes Vincent forever as he never feels his mother's love, but feels she blames him for Ben's disappearance. So a result, Vincent is a very troubled child. Where Ben is, is a mystery to be found. But in the end, what Beth finds out is a complete surprise and a total shock. But then with so many years gone past, she really won't be able to have her son back as he was so many years before. You may wonder what I meant by that last sentence, but you'll have to read to find out!

It was really GREAT!

I read this book in the last summer in a few days, when my baby boy was seven months old. I think, in the heart of each woman as a mother exists this kind of preoccupation like a nightmare. In "The Deep End of the Ocean" Mrs. Jacquelyn Mitchard has created an atmosphere where you do share with her all her preoccupations, anxious and tears in.If you have a baby like me, by reading some parts of this novel, you can't stop your tears with her. Jacquelyn Mitchard is such a brilliant author.

Excellent, powerfully emotional read.

I loved this great, heart-wrenching novel. In reading reviews of the Oprah books, I have noticed that people either love them or hate them. Perhaps this is a mark of good literature. This book is for people who love complex character development and realistic emotions, not for those who want a light-hearted, quick read with stereotypically likeable characters and easy answers. I do not have children, but I could easily identify with the family's anguish. Beth's failure to get adequate professional help was frustrating but all too human. Vincent's sessions with his psychiatrist are wonderful. I also found Ben's reaction believable -- even predictable. And I liked the (possibly) happy ending. Therapists would find it believable; it echos the real-life case discussed by the social worker in the book. When threatened with change, a child will naturally cling to his secure life. But later he may be comfortable enough to explore his blood ties. Life is messy, and this book lets us explore a fascinating predicament. It reminds me of another favorite, "Ordinary People" by Judith Guest. Thank you, Jacquelyn and Oprah.

Beautifully, hauntingly written; a masterpiece.

As the mother of a 3-year old, I would normally not come near a book like this; it is simply too difficult to handle. However, I had read several reviews that praised the skill of the author, so I felt compelled to "try it." It is full of wonderful analogies, and the sections that let you inside the mind of a teenager (the older brother who "lost" his 3-year old) are truly insightful. It is a hard book to read, not only because of the tragedy of an abducted 3-year old, but perhaps more so because of the way the abduction tore up the rest of the family for years after. Normally, I would read a book of this length in just a couple of days, but I found myself moving more slowly through it -- partly to savor her excellent prose, but also because it is so disturbing. Every time I spent a half hour with the book, I felt I had to put the book down and go check on my own precious son. It is a unique read