Customer Reviews

The Deep End

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

A woman living separated from her husband, not sure whether she really wants this...a best friend who might not be so good after all...and a telephone that won't stop ringing - these are the main ingredients Ms. Fielding uses to create a book you won't forget. It was my first Fielding novel, I was still a teenager, and it got me hooked to her novels forever. A little anecdote to go with this: I lost the book shortly after having read it among my Mother's 1000 (!) books and as I had forgotten its title (thou not the author's name) I couldn't re-buy it. A few years later I spotted the novel in a dep store, recognized it by the text on the back cover - and BOUGHT IT ON THE SPOT! Definitely one of the best bools I ever laid hands on.

The purpose of the present post is to caution those reading reviews of Fielding's "The Deep End" against one, in particular: "A DECENT BOOK", written by "A CUSTOMER" on 8/24/00... it contains a massive spoiler!

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Edit(5 years later): Really, Amazon?? You still haven't deleted that review?! Netflix does a better job protecting its members from spoilers! Thankfully, I tend to read books *before* reading reviews; however, for you normal people who read reviews first, I will leave my original post.

I really have enjoyed all of Joy Fielding's books, and this is one of the older ones I really had fun reading!!

Joanne, the main character of the story is a housewife raising 2 girls. She and her husband Paul have temporarily separated, and Joanne would like nothing more than to get back together again.

Along with everything else though, is these scary obscene phone calls that Joanne has been getting over and over again. This caller keeps telling her to read the morning paper, page 13, where a woman was cut to pieces. As the calls go on, Joanne is terrified, but nobody believes her. The last person to believe Joanne is her best friend Eve, who lives next door and has her own set of problems it seems. Eve is battling many different types of ailments that the doctors don't know what it is. And as time goes along further, Eve gets to acting a little stranger each and every day.

Joanne begins to wonder what is really going on with her best friend, and tries to put what is really going on together between the phone calls, and Eve's strange actions. What she discovers might be surprising, but she may be fighting for her life.

I really enjoyed this story about Joanne, a stay-at-home mom who is devastated when her husband decides to leave her "to find himself". It was interesting watching her change from being a doormat to her husband, her two daughters, and her best friend from high school; all of whom take advantage of her in there own ways. On top of having to deal with these people who she dearly loves but who treat her like crap, she has to put up with some maniac making threatening phone calls telling her he's going to kill her. Everyone assures her she's making a mountain out of a molehole and question her sanity. They also unkindly suggest that she may be making the whole thing up! As the book progresses we see Joanne change from everybody's favorite whipping girl into an assertive, attractive, don't walk all over me anymore kind of girl. I was kept guessing until the end about who her stalker was and enjoyed every minute of this book.

I can't remember the last time I was so involved in the plot of a story that I was truly afraid. The main plot was the same as in a hundred horror movies where a woman is alone in a house, getting strange phone calls, believes the culprit is caught and then...Although it sounds familiar and predictable Joy Fielding writes as though you can feel Joanne's terror. Throughout the story many characters are introduced who may be the culprit but I was guessing up until the end. Focus on relationships, friendships and suspense was not absent in this book. A book I would highly recommend.

I couldn't put this book down and still didn't guess the ending. When Joanne Hunters husband tells her that he wants a break from marriage after 20 years, this almost perfect Stepford Wife stereotype, falls to pieces in disbelief...perfect housekeeping, perfect meals, caring only for him and the two girls..what could possibly be wrong? To add to her worries, her elder daughter develops a rebellious streak, her next dood neighbour and oldest friend Eve, is continoually complaining of illness which cannot be diagnosed, and her beloved grandfather who is in a nursing home, is descending into total senility. At about this time, she starts to recieve threatening phone calls, telling her that she's to be a murder victim, but recieves only token attention from police and friends. Joy Fielding has the ability to build up great tension without going over the top and I's recommend this book to any readers who love a bit of psycho drama.

This was a good summer-read/beach book. It's great if you're looking for something completely unrealistic and a touch melo-dramatic. I'll admit that I was completely hooked to the end, but then, Fielding always has that effect on me. Once reaching the end, however, I felt a little bit let down. I suppose I was hoping for something a little more powerful.

Joanne Hunter grew up in an era when a woman had succeeded if she married well and raised a happy, healthy family. Having done this, Joanne is satisfied and content with life. However, Joanne's restless husband is increasingly unhappy with the status quo, and leaves her to see if he can form a happier life without her.

Joanne is at first helpless on her own. She doesn't know where the fuse box is or what magazine subsciptions to renew. Further undermining her security is a series of threatening phone calls and a serial killer on the loose who preys on housewives. Her lifelong friend Eve is going through a crisis of her own. She is in terrible pain and the doctors cannot find the cause. Each woman secretly begins to wonder if the other is cracking up and imagining her troubles.

At bottom, this is a story of friendship and coping. Each woman is confronted with a life changing event and they react very differently.

If you read this book for its character development and psychological insights, you will find it very rewarding. I gave it only three stars because I thought the suspense was handled very poorly. The truth behind the mysterious phonecalls is very implausible and the final confrontation completely devoid of tension.

Love the characters, love the plot, and love the suspense! Don't read this at home alone!

Once again, Joy Fielding, has led us into the relationships between husband and wife. From the first, the wife was sympathetic and the husband a pain in the neck. The wife was almost too pathetic so that I was getting angry with her. The husband was too much of a jerk and I hated him and then I realized, what a minute, this is fiction. This isn't real! She sure made me feel I knew these people and cared what happened. I recommend this book, as well as See Jane Run and The Other Woman. Read all her books. I plan to.