The Divide by Nicholas Evans

The Divide Reviews

• 
  Kasey

  I can not believe this guy is a popular writer! Some people "LOVE him"
  It's a story about a family who has a missing daughter, and then you go back in time and read about the parents divorce because the dad cheated. Read on to find the daughter became a dirty hippie, later morphing into some radical ELF (earth liberation front) person...I don't know! The only think I can say about the book is I finished it.
  
  The best line in the book- which shocked me, made me laugh, and pissed me off all at the same time- "Twice, only twice, in all the years of their marriage had he cheated on Sarah, and he had managed to rationalize this fact to the point where the rarity of his transgression had become evidence of an almost virtuous restraint."
  
• 
  Aoibhínn

  For four anguished years Ben and Sarah Cooper's daughter, Abbie, has been on the run from the FBI, wanted for murder and acts of eco-terrorism. But when Abbie's body is found embedded in the ice of a remote mountain creek in Montana, the family's devastation deepens into mystery. How did Abbie die? And what was the trail of events that led this golden child of a loving family so tragically astray?
  
  The Divide is a very well-written novel with an engrossing and interesting plot. The novel started off so well but the plot did get quite slow halfway through the book. I did wish it would speed up at times but the story did remain strangely engaging. The last 60 or 70 pages of the novel were just as gripping and compelling as the first half of the novel. To tell the truth, I enjoyed the family drama sub-plot a lot more than I liked the murder mystery plot but I think that was probably because I didn't like the character of Abbie all that much. I loved all the vivid and wonderful descriptions of the Montana setting and landscape that made me feel like I was actually there. Nicholas Evans has got a great writing style and I love his use of language and imagery.
  
  The characters were well-developed and realistic. There were some characters I really liked and some I didn't really care for at all. I loved the characters of Sarah, Josh and Ty. I sympathised with Sarah. I thought Josh and Ty were strong male characters. I hated the characters of Ben, Abbie and Eve. I thought Ben was a selfish, egotistical, controlling prick and Abbie was a selfish, immature, whiny brat. I kept wishing she would grow the hell up and act her age. Abbie was definitely the female version of her father. I did think that what happened to Abbie was partly Ben's fault. I thought Eve was fake and nasty and definitely not someone I would like in real life.
  
  The Divide wasn't anywhere as good as The Horse Whisperer and The Loop but it was still a good read nevertheless.
  
  
  3.5 Stars!
• 
  Vicky Ziliaskopoulou

  Ωραιότατο βιβλίο, ο ορισμός του κοινωνικού μυθιστορήματος. Πολύ ωραία ιστορία, εκτός από τη ζωή της Άμπι μέχρι τον θάνατό της περιγράφει και τη ζωή των γονιών της. Νομίζω όλοι οι ήρωες είναι εξαιρετικά ανθρώπινοι, εγώ λόγω ηλικίας ταυτίστηκα πιο πολύ με τους γονείς, αλλά σαφώς και υπήρχαν στον χαρακτήρα και τις ενέργειες της Άμπι γεγονότα (και κυρίως συναισθήματα) που μου θύμιζαν τα νεότερα χρόνια μου.
  Τελικά, κάποια από τα κλασικά κοινωνικά μυθιστορήματα είναι ότι πρέπει για να ηρεμήσεις, να διαβάσεις κάτι όμορφο που θα σε ικανοποιήσει χωρίς να σε κουράσει.
• 
  Sharon Metcalf

  3.5 rounded up
  
  The Divide by Nicholas Evas was one of those books I selected at random from a second hand book festival a few years back. If I'm honest the main appeal would have been the price but I was also drawn to it because he's the author of The Horse Whisperer. Not that I've read or watched it! So the fact I thoroughly enjoyed this book was a completely unexpected but very welcome surprise.
  
  In the opening chapter I was drawn into a story between a father and son and their shared interest in skiing however this was a ruse. The story was not about them at all. Instead, during a skiing trip which went dangerously wrong, they discovered the body of a young woman frozen into the ice. Local police soon discovered the body belonged to Abbie Cooper who had been missing for three years. Though she'd been the golden girl at school and at home, she'd gone somewhat off the rails when she left for college. After her mum and dad unexpectedly separated she was devastated. She began mixing with the wrong crowd and started becoming active in the eco aware group Forest Action. From protests and marches, one thing lead to another and before long she was wanted by the FBI for eco-terrorism and suspected murder.
  
  Despite how it may sound, this was not really a murder mystery. It was a heart rending story of one family's destruction. Of love gone wrong. Of hurt and guilt, of rediscovery and eventually of the fractured family beginning to heal. It was well written and kept my interest throughout. With each chapter my alliances changed. Essentially I liked all characters (except one) though they each had their flaws. Rolf was the bad influence and he never seemed right for Abbie even though she was clearly infatuated. Though I knew her fate from the outset I couldn't help wishing she'd open her eyes and make changes before it was too late. Perhaps the ending was a little too neat for some but I was happy with how the loose ends were tied off.
• 
  Heather

  I had never planned to read a Nicholas Evans book. I saw the movie of The Horse Whisperer, and while I love all things Redford (I've had a crush on him since The Sting), I thought the story was only so-so. It all felt a little too Lifetime Movie for me. But then, one day at school, I was alone in the teachers' lounge, bored, and there it was, The Divide. Someone had left it on the table, our universal sign for these cookies/chips/magazines/books are fair game. I will admit I was so desperate for something to read I didn't even peruse the dust jacket. For the first chapter I thought it was going to be the story of a man and his son lost in the wilderness after a skiing accident (it's not). 300ish pages later I know what it is about, but I'm still not sure I would plan to read a Nicholas Evans book.
  
  
  The Divide is the story of a family torn apart by...well, I'm not really sure. The husband being oversexed, or the wife's indifference to sex in general? Mid-life crisis? Thwarted dreams, both his and hers? Whatever it was that brings this couple to the point of divorce, it really does a number on their daughter, Abbie. She falls in with eco-terrrorists, does bad things, ends up on the run, and then ends up dead. I'm not really spoiling anything for you with the above sentence. All of this the author tells you in the first 50 pages or so. He then spends the next eternity...I mean, 200 pages or so-explaining how the above mentioned things happened. After the excitement and drama of the first several chapters, it felt a little like driving behind someone going 10 miles below the speed limit on a two lane road with no passing lane.
  
  
  Despite this, I persevered, because the story was just engaging enough to keep me hooked. The last 70 pages or so were actually quite good, and if Evans had told the beginning of this family's story at the same pace the novel would have been quite improved (and about 100 pages shorter). The book does offer some interesting commentary on eco-terrorism, and why so many wealthy, privileged young adults reject their upbringing and turn to extremism (think Patty Hearst). The fact that I didn't really like most of the characters probably didn't help. I found the father a little clueless and indulgent, the mother cold and distant, and the daughter spoiled and selfish. The son, who had previously been the "problem" child, was the only one I had much sympathy for in the end. And the character of Ty was just too good to be true-methinks that Mr. Evans, who interestingly enough is actually English, has a little thing for American cowboys! More bromance than Brokeback, but still...Overall, this was an OK read. Not great, and not enough that I will go out of my way to pick up another of Evans' books. Now, if one happens to be left on the table when I'm bored, well, then all bets are off.
• 
  Asghar Abbas

  
  Lame. Broke no new ground here. Same themes and elements. You'd get more bang for your buck reading Sidney Sheldon formulaic novels.
• 
  Ali M

  4****Stars
  I enjoyed this book far more than I expected to. Maybe that was because it was a much different book than I thought it was going to be. I was expecting a mystery/crime story and while it was that, it was also a multi-layered family drama.
  Was it the best story ever written? No. But it did have really good characters and a believable story of mistakes and deceptions and foolishness that built and built into a really good story. In some ways it was the kind of story that you just couldn’t believe, the kind of thing you hear at a party and think “no way.” But Evans makes you see how this good girl from a nice family could end up in a dark sad place and for me that was where the power of the story lay.
  
• 
  Lyda Van Den Bos

  Een tragisch, maar mooi verhaal.
• 
  Mana-tasia

  The Divide written by Nicholas Evans tells a story of the Coopers, an ideal and rich family who live in New York, US. They have a good and decent life. Unfortunately, a disaster is yet to come and ruin their stable lives. Before the tragedy occurred, Ben had left his wife and started a new life which destroyed his daughter emotionally. Abbie, Mr. Cooper's daughter is wanted for murder and acts of eco-terrorism. After her body is found in the remote mountain creek, Ben as well as Sarah are completely devastated. They ask themselves question how did she die, since she was this perfect, smart and always cheerful child.
  
  At first glance, the plot may seem a little bit overused, since we have seen it applied in so many other books before. It doesn't look too promising or convincing but it catches one's attention after the first chapter. As the story goes on, it reveals some more facts making it even more interesting. Most of books show you the general idea of what happened but Nicholas Evans presents the story to you from a different angle - how people react on certain incidents. Despite that in the first two chapters you actually get to know how the story ends, it is so well composed you wouldn't even imagine how complicated and complex the story is going to become. You start thinking what could have caused such a tragedy and this pushes you forward to reading it until you don't realize you have been sucked in by this book. The story is gradually developing as you read it so you want more and more of it. What I really like, is the way the characters are introduced and developed. Every one is actually different, yet absorbing. It also contains important and crucial aspects about divorce and coping with damaged life. The Divide is about personal tragedy of unhappy marriage but, more importantly, it shows how each person handles it in the best way they can. Nicholas Evans is probably one of the best writers I know, who can grasp human emotions with such ease and then just writes it all down making an enjoyable, if not a great story.
• 
  Fairlita

  Raw human emotion. Illustration of the betrayal and each of the Coopers are so realistic that I could barely managed to stop myself disliking/liking them intensely. Still, I cannot reconcile with Benjamin, who is so damned selfish in my opinion, despite him being forgiven by Sarah. But then again, she is after all a weak woman. And I can't bring myself to sympathize with those kind of people who always blame themselves and saying sorry and finding excuses for the husband's wrongdoings.
  
  I like how the author writes the story, but not the story itself.
• 
  Jo Sansevero

  This is a good story. I like the way the characters were developed. Focus on the problems that face todays families with the challenges of this modern world. Addie gets caught up in the Environmental movement during her college years and this is a disasterous event for her family and friends. I enjoyed reading about the ELF and the problems that idealistic organizations like that can reap on those they come in contact with. I would recommend this book to any one.
• 
  Atishay

  For anyone who saw it on a bookshelf in a library or a book store, picked it up, read the back cover and put it down again because it seemed so Un-Nicholas Evanish, you made a serious mistake. I'd just read Horse Whisperer by this author earlier and this tale just showed me that Evans is not a typical drama storyteller. He can spin an incredibly moving story from our everyday lives and leave us gasping for more.
• 
  Deval

  One of the worst books I have ever read.
• 
  Aleksander Radecki

  Historia o tym jak rozpad malzenstwa i toksyczny zwiazek sprowadzil dziewczyne z dobrego domu na przestepcza sciezke. Troche sie dluzy na poczatku, ale zakonczenie dosyc szokujace 7/10
• 
  Brandy

  The family dynamics in this story make a compelling plot. The audio version was read well.
• 
  VICTORIA

  Una historia sobre familia, pérdida y perdón. Una buena lectura.
• 
  Zumi

  I had started with this book supposing it to be a missing person forensic procedural, one of my favourite genres. But soon I realized that the author stressed more upon the personal lives and emotions of the people involved, rather than materials and methods. I love reading about the way bodies are identified and how killers are found based on scientific evidence. But this book was more about what lead to the incident, and how various people involved faced it. There was a myriad of emotions, family drama, tears, dialogues, coupled with beautiful descriptions of the American vast wild, and the effect of modernization on nature and enviornment, how greed of the multinational tycoons harm flora, fauna as well as local population, and the emerging eco terrorism, which initially evolved to put a check on the rape of the earth by greedy men.
  I listened to the leisurely pace of the story during my daily brisk walks, got involved with the characters and on the whole quite enjoyed the narration.
  Gist: Abby, an overachieving teenager gets involved with ecoterrorism, and disappears from her family's radar. Soon she is wanted by the police, and a frozen dead body is found in a thawing icy lake, which might or might not be Abby. Her estranged parents, Sarah and Ben, and an almost drug addict brother, Josh are left to face the music.
• 
  Tabitha

  The Divide is about two men finding a body cased in ice while they were out skiing. When the body is identified, it appears that the woman was wanted for murder.
  Let's get the negatives out of the way.
  I have to say that this story was a bit slow paced in the beginning. I had a hard time wanting to read on because it bored me, but it really did pick up some suspense and encouraged me to read on half-way through the book.
  Honestly I read this story for a book report, and my motivation to finish it was mostly the due date for the powerpoint.
  I did not like the author's usage of commas. Yeah, some people probably overlook punctuation and don't care, but I'm a huge grammar person. This book had a lot of run-on sentences and listing problems that bothered me a lot.
  Onto the positives.
  The story is okay. Great and interesting idea with characters who are likable and okay. The only words I really have for The Divide was that it was just okay.
  I do like how the story is portrayed. It starts off in the present and then throughout the rest it's in flashback to show you how the woman had met her end.
  That's all I really have to say for this book.
  
  Almost peace, man.
• 
  Brandi

  I just re-read this for what must be the first time since I bought it, because I could not remember the story to save my life. Bits and peices came back as I read, but this was almost like reading it for the first time. I hadn't realized I didn't put his books on my read list either. I am a big fan of Evans and wish he would write more!! One thing that I came to realize is that my taste has evolved quite a bit since I had become a fan of his work. I still enjoyed it, but I don't think I will add another read to this particular novel.
  
  The story is about a family who seems to have everything until the patriarch decides he is unhappy, and the daughter decides that she must take drastic actions to show her support of her cause. The story has several different point of views, and works from the present through the past, finally ending shortly after where it all began. I found the different points of view to be a bit annoying, but it wasn't too terrible. Even with the small bits that got on my nerves with this novel I would still say it was worth the money, and a good read.
  
  
• 
  Janine

  The Divide expresses divisions between people - husband and wife, friends, parents and children, people fighting for heart felt causes and everyone else ... At the beginning of the story I felt connections to different people than I did at the end which is a very challenging and interesting technique that is hard to successfully do. Enjoyed the storyline and enjoyed the interactions between the characters.
• 
  Petrina Wetzel

  An amazing book about how lives can be changed so dramatically by a change and the emotional impact of close family relationships torn apart. The complex, multi dimensional characters are weaved into this story with a dynamic but sensitive view of reactions from a range of perspectives.
  Refreshingly honest sometimes brutal but a book that I couldn't put down. Excellent story with a raw reality.
• 
  Theresa

  Another good book by Nicholas Evans. I didn't get into the book immediately, however towards the middle I was really drawn in and couldn't wait to see where the story would go. It's a mystery about what happened to a young girl whose body was found, basically the story begins with that but then takes us back to several years before so we can see what led up to that point. Suspenseful!
• 
  Michelegg

  This was probably the saddest book I read all year. It's amazing how the decision by one person to end a marriage could have such tragic and life altering consequences for so many people. This poor family. My heart just ached for all of them. A good reminder of the truth that every decision you make has consequence and affects more than just you.
• 
  Sheila Myers

  "The Divide" has a few subplots driving the action. I had to ask myself if all of these things could happen within the same family and decided the answer was "yes" and so the overall story was believable. The characters are well-developed and seem like real people.
• 
  Eric Wright

  One of two skiers out on a wintry, back-country ski in Montana’s high country, hits an icy patch and loses control. He careens faster and faster down the dangerous slope finally crashing at the bottom through a drift into an icy cavity on a frozen stream. The horror that faces him is the frozen body of a young woman.
  
  Who is she? How did she end up here? Using DNA the Sherrif’s department soon identifies her as Abbie Cooper, wanted for murder and eco-terrorism. Nicholas Evans, author of the Horse Whisperer returns with a haunting story of the events that led to her entombment in the ice. The story that he weaves becomes a classic story of how middle age and different perspectives between men and women lead to a break-up that shatters a family and their two children. The strains between a husband and a wife leads to the unhappiness of both for which the husband seeks to make a new start. This choice, which is so common in marriages today is shown to almost destroy four lives and those connected to them. It also highlights the dark world of eco-terrorism against corporations and those who benefit from the earth, below in gas and oil and above in timber.
  
  Should one person demand fulfillment and happiness if his or her choice leads to the misery of others? What about innocent children of a broken marriage. In spite of what I’ve said this is no morality tale, just a well written story.
  
• 
  Kaylee Irwin

  The Divide, in my opinion, is a great book. It starts out by stating what happened in the end, and then the events that led up to it. The storyline wasn’t very interesting until about halfway through the book. Once I got into it, I struggled with putting it down. This book has hurt, heartbreak, love, laughter, sadness, and much more, allowing you to feel what the characters feel.
  The book revolves around a family, the Coopers. Two skiers find Abbie Cooper frozen in the ice. Everything else in the book shows us their lives before this happened and what let us to it, vividly describing their personalities and lives. Truths come out, secrets spilled, lies told.
  I’d say if you love emotional books, read it. Some parts are a bit inappropriate, and sometimes vulgar language, just to warn you. Overall, I liked the book and would read it again if I ever have the time.