Review: The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks

Title: The Notebook
Author: Nicholas Sparks
Format: Hardback(Large Print Edition)
Pages: 261
Genre: Adult Fiction/Romance
Stand-Alone or Series: Stand-Alone

Summary(from book):

"I am nothing special, of this I am sure. I am a common man with common thoughts and I've led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten, but I've loved another with all my heart and soul, and to me, this has always been enough."

A man with a faded, 

well-worn notebook open in his lap.

A woman experiencing 

a morning ritual she doesn't understand.

Until he begins to read to her.

   The Notebook is an achingly tender story about the enduring power of love, a story of miracles that will stay with you forever.

   Set amid the austere beauty of coastal North Carolina in 1946, THE NOTEBOOK begins with the story of Noah Calhoun, a rural Southerner returned home from World War II. Noah, thirty-one, is restoring a plantation home to it's former glory, and he is haunted by images of the beautiful girl he met fourteen years earlier, a girl he loved like no other. Unable to find her, yet unwilling to forget the summer they spent together, Noah is content to live with only memories...until she unexpectedly returns to his town to see him once again.

   Allie Nelson, twenty-nine, is now engaged to another man, but realizes that the original passion she felt for Noah has not dimmed with the passage of time. Still, the obstacles that once ended their previous relationship remain, and the gulf between their worlds is too vast to ignore. With her impending marriage only weeks away, Allie is forced to confront her hopes and dreams for the future, a future that only she can shape.

   Like a puzzle within a puzzle, the story of Noah and Allie is just the beginning. As it unfolds, their tale miraculously becomes something different, with much higher stakes. The result is a deeply moving portrait of love itself, the tender moments and the fundamental changes that affect us all. Shining with a beauty that is rarely found in current literature, THE NOTEBOOK establishes Nicholas Sparks as a classic storyteller with a unique insight into the only emotion that really matters.     

My Thoughts:

    I've seen a few Nicholas Sparks based movies, but(until now) I'd never actually read any of his books. Since The Notebook is one of my favorite movies I figured it would be a good one to start with. (I want to read all of Nicholas Sparks' fiction books. Not in a set period of time or anything; just in general.) One thing I loved about this book was how well-described the settings were. They were so vivid I could practically see Noah & Allie sitting on the porch drinking tea with Clem curled up at Noah's side. I didn't expect to like the way the story was told, but I ended up really enjoying it. Normally I don't much care for third person points of view. I feel like it doesn't allow you to really connect with the main character since you spend so much time in other characters' thoughts. With this story, however, it worked wonderfully. You go from Noah's point of view to Allie's seamlessly, spending just enough time with each of them throughout the book. The story itself was beautiful(& beautifully told). The fact that it's based on a true story is astounding. So tragic & wonderful it's hard to imagine as real, & yet so easy to believe Allie & Noah exist. Not only is this the mark of a great story, but a great writer as well. I feel repetitive by saying, yet again, what a wonderful story this was; so beautifully told that it quite literally brought tears to my eyes.I will definitely be picking up more books by Mr. Sparks in the future.

Rating:

 Content:

*Note* Please keep in mind that I am using the same content scale for this book that I do for middle grade/YA. Even though I am using the same scale this book is ADULT FICTION NOT YA/middle grade.*  

~Profanity: Mild

~Sexual Content: Holy Moly!

~Violence: Mild
For full details click {HERE}

Tweet