Carry the One begins in the hours following Carmen's wedding reception, when a car filled with stoned, drunk, and sleepy guests accidently hits and kills a girl on a dark, country road. For the next twenty-five years, those involved, including Carmen and her brother and sister, connect and disconnect and reconnect with each other and their victim. As one character says, "When you add us up, you always have to carry the one."Through friendships and love affairs; marriage and divorce; parenthood, holidays, and the modest tragedies and joys of ordinary days, Carry the One shows how one life affects another and how those who thrive and those who self-destruct are closer to each other than we'd expect. Deceptively short and simple in its premise, this novel derives its power and appeal from the author's beautifully precise use of language; her sympathy for her very recognizable, flawed characters; and her persuasive belief in the transforming forces of time and love.
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"Judging by other comments I've read here and on Amazon, not everyone feels the way I did about this book. I found it thoroughly engaging; the characters were all equally interesting -- I never found myself bored with a chapter and wishing I could rush through to someone else's. I was invested and worried about each of them, and was able to be happy for them when things actually worked out. I was heartbroken more than a few times. I felt like the ending brought everything to a nice close, full circle. It ended with a whisper, but that's sort of how it began, as well, with just a breeze. I wanted this story to keep going." — Ginny (5 out of 5 stars)
"Judging by other comments I've read here and on Amazon, not everyone feels the way I did about this book. I found it thoroughly engaging; the characters were all equally interesting -- I never found myself bored with a chapter and wishing I could rush through to someone else's. I was invested and worried about each of them, and was able to be happy for them when things actually worked out. I was heartbroken more than a few times. I felt like the ending brought everything to a nice close, full circle. It ended with a whisper, but that's sort of how it began, as well, with just a breeze. I wanted this story to keep going."
“Beautifully observed…A resonate Big Chill-like look at how time affects relationships.”
Anshaw has a deft touch with the events of ordinary life, giving them heft and meaning without being ponderous.
“Splendid…Seductive…Vivid…In sketches, landscapes, and erotic etchings, [Anshaw] carries not just one but all her characters through a quarter century of adulthood. And she makes the task look graceful.”
“A brilliant feat of storytelling…One of the most intensely vibrant novels I’ve ever read…This book is that kind of pearl.”
" Not what I expected. I thought it was going to be about people dealing with a tragedy. More about average people and the small impact this tragedy had on their lives. They don't seem any more messed up than the rest of us. "
" Sorry, Emma donaghue but I definitely didn't feel swept away in this book's tide. The premise was interesting, though heartbreaking, and the characters were vividly drawn but something about the book just felt...stale. If the book would have focused more on the premise, it may have been a fresher read. "
" I feel my two-star rating is generous. I really don't understand all the hype surrounding this book. Sometimes too much hype can be a bad thing; it certainly gave me the idea that I had something special here and to be frank, this book is not. This book contains too much girl-on-girl sex that it makes me seriously uncomfortable (it's not just the girl on girl stuff; this much sex in any book is just too much). None of the characters are redeemable in my opinion. The accident and the characters involved in it don't carry the book as it should (or as the description of the book stated). The storyline doesn't seem to be going anywhere. I don't stop reading a book very often before the end, but I'm halfway through and this book just isn't holding my interest at all. "
" Best book I have read in months. After a wedding reception, 5 people get into a car accident and kill a young child. The story then follows the 5 of them for the next 25 years. This book is only about 250 pages, but continuously interesting and heartfelt. It's not the gigantic downer that it sounds like it might be, and the characters are all varied and really interesting. I am definitely going to check out some of this author's previous work. "
" I really didn't like this. At all. There were a lot of lesbian parts, which I didn't know were going to happen, and I didn't like that it happened since it was a sneak attack. I probably would've reconsidered getting this book had I known there were a lot of those parts in the book. Other than those parts, it was a snooze and had too much flowery language for me. I've been seeing reviews raving about the metaphorical and uber-descriptive language used. I will concede that there were some beautifully described scenes, but more often than not it just irked me. Alas. "
" Disturbing topic- a group of young adults is riding away from a wedding high and drunk and kills a 10 y.o. The book's three narrators, siblings, all describe lives tormented by this awful event. The title was my favorite sentence of the book. The author had some amazingly poetic, descriptive passages and some pages that were deadly dull. Overall, it was a short easy read with a strong message. "
" Really well written with lots of vivid, entertaining description. Not sure I loved how it ended. "
" This book is a gem. Her character development is so warm and so deep that I must stop myself from believing these people are real. The setting in Chicago, with jaunts to Amsterdam and Paris, is exquisitely drawn, and the storyline kept me wanting to read into the wee hours of the night. "
" How can a moment change your life and bind you forever? You get it with this group. Slow in some spots but this one will stick with you. Not a lot of action, but it does dive deep. "
" A beautifully written, amazing book. Carol Anshaw gets lots of critical acclaim & terrific reviews, but more people should be reading & talking about her books. "
" Loved it. Exploring how one mistake can affect so many lives and for a lifetime--excellent! "
" Very wel written- I was involved with the characters almost immediately, and had a hard time putting it down. A must-read. "
" After a wedding, five young people, on their way home, hit and kill a young girl. For the rest of their lives, they "carry the one", the girl, whose death affects their lives in various ways. "
" Interesting read but anticlimactic and sort of depressing. Characters were well developed. "
" Since I'm missing the book club meeting for this one, I'm not going to torture myself finishing since I am hating it. "
" I really liked the development of each character and their stories. The moment of the car accident that killed the little girl shaped all of the characters significantly. This book was an interesting look at how different people respond to tragedy in their lives. "
" I was really disappointed in this book. The storyline had so much potential I was really looking forward to reading it, but then it just got worse further in. I just had to stop reading which is unusual for me because I make myself read at least the first four chapters. This was just bad! "
" Was excited to see this book on the new book shelf at the library, but after reading it, not too excited anymore. What could have been a good story was not. Didn't like the characters, action in the book, nor the ending. Oh Well. You read some winners and then you don't. "
" I enjoyed this book. It's different - more like a series of short stories with recurring characters. The three primary characters were well developed and sympathetic. "
" This was a great family drama. Very much enjoyed it. "
" Received as an ARC from the publisher. It's amazing how an incident early in the lives of several 20-somethings affects their futures for many years. I started this book on 12-9-11. "
" It was an OK book but I hated the ending. "
" Good but the ending was uneventful. "
Carol Anshaw is the author of Aquamarine, Seven Moves, and Lucky in the Corner. She has received the Ferro-Grumley Award, the Carl Sandburg Literary Arts Award for Fiction, and a National Book Critics Circle Citation for Excellence in Reviewing. Carol lives in Chicago.
Renée Raudman is an actor and Earphones Award–winning audiobook narrator. She has performed on film, television, radio, and on stage and can also be heard in several video games and hundreds of television and radio voice-overs.
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