The Deep End of the Ocean
Beth Cappadora loses her young son Ben in a crowded hotel lobby during a school reunion, and the disappearance fractures her family for years. Jacquelyn Mitchard follows the parents and their other children as guilt, blame, and silence settle into daily life. Then, long after most people have given up hope, a boy turns up nearby who may be Ben, and the family discovers that reunion brings its own hard questions about identity, loyalty, and what home really means. The novel was the first selection of Oprah's Book Club in 1996, which helped make it a major bestseller. It is a close, character-driven story about loss and the limits of recovery.
What you might want to know about The Deep End of the Ocean
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
A mother's three-year-old son disappears from a hotel lobby, and years later the family must face what happens when he is found.
Yes. It was the very first book chosen for Oprah's Book Club, in 1996, which drove its wide popularity.
Yes, a 1999 film starring Michelle Pfeiffer is based on the novel.
The Deep End of the Ocean was written by Jacquelyn Mitchard, published in 1996 by Penguin.
The Deep End of the Ocean is 447 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, The Deep End of the Ocean takes most readers 7 to 10 hours to finish.
The Deep End of the Ocean is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.