The Divide

click here for more details, find new or used items	Nicholas Evans Used from £13.80 Pages: 520 (Hardcover) ISBN: 1585476870 Pub: Center Point Large Print Pub date: 2005-12-31 Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 523719

Reader Reviews:

Good-but lacks some engery (0/0 people found this helpful)

Nicholas Evans knows how to write family drama. A solid story about the relationships among a family. The story begins in the present with a gruesome discovery and then the reader is taken back to the past where the main story unfolds leading up to the present again and solving the mystery of the earlier discovery. We get to know each family member intimately and share their desires and anxieties. In my opinion, the story lacks some of the energy of the author's previous books, but it still is a good read.

Well-written relationship drama, but a little too neat (0/0 people found this helpful)

There's no doubt that Evans can write well and you can't deny the impact he achieves with the opening scene of The Divide, the mood and tone perfect for the discovery of a body by two skiers in the Montana wilderness, or the emotional force he achieves with the gut-wrenching reaction the discovery has on the parents of the dead girl.

The correctness of tone and quality of the writing is maintained throughout the main section of the novel, a flashback sequence which recounts the events leading up to the present. There's a strong thematic coherence as well, capturing in the break-up of the Cooper family the deep sense of a divide and shift in attitudes between class, generations and their relative values in modern-day America, particularly with regard to environmental issues. The division between the old world and a post 9/11 loss of innocence however seems a bit forced.

It is all a little neat - particularly the well-wrapped conclusion - but Evans manages to capture this well without overemphasis, and keeps the reader involved in the family's progress - the conflicts between the parents and their in-laws, the development of the children and their coming of age, their love-affairs and their disappointments. But no matter how well-drawn the characters are and how well described their pain - and it can be deeply wrenching in places - it's all a bit "textbook". At heart The Divide is just a big family relationship drama and not a particularly original one either.

A Brilliant Read (0/0 people found this helpful)

I have read all four of Nicholas Evans books. He really draws you in to the story, so beleivable I've shed a tear everytime. Hard to put down can't wait for the next one.

Brilliant writer (0/0 people found this helpful)

This is one of those books where you feel like you actually know the characters, they are written so humanely and emotionally it is spot on. I'd highly recommend this book for anyone who likes a book that is stimulating but not patronising.

A rich and moving story (2/2 people found this helpful)

This is the 3rd book written by Nicholas Evans that I've read and I was even more impressed and moved by "The Divide" than all of the others. As suggested by another reader, it starts as a crime story then develops into a rich, deep and intriguing tale of passion, human errors and betrayal. This is definitely a book to pass onto or buy for friends and family members as it is enjoyable for all! A pure delight!

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