I am going to start this review by saying that I love Nicholas Sparks writings. This book in particular. I had heard a lot of good words about this book about a year ago, and decided to check it out myself. In need of a fabulous love story, I pulled it off my bookshelf again last week.

WARNING – You MUST have a box of tissues on hand to read this book!

PLOT
Note: I am going to reveal most of the plot as it was quite simple.

The story begins with an eighty year old man recounting his life, the good and bad, and having the knowledge that his life has been lived to the fullest because he has loved another so deeply. He lives in a rest home and visits the woman down the hall from him, recounting his story to her every day.

We are then thrown back into the past. It is 1946, and Noah Calhoun has returned to the North Carolina coast after World War II. His intentions? He has bought an old plantation home and desires to restore it to its original beauty that he remembers from his childhood. In spending time at the plantation, Noah is drawn back into the past and his childhood memories, including that of the love of a young girl.

Meanwhile, Allie Nelson is sitting in a hotel room pondering what has brought her back to her childhood town in North Carolina. Could it be pre-wedding jitters that has caused her to seek out the man that has come back into the town after so many years?

“He stepped off the porch and began to approach her, walking easily, then suddenly stopped cold as she emerged from the car. For a long time all they could do was stare at each other without moving.”

Both are not sure of how the other will react. Allie tells Noah of her impending marriage, wanting…needing, his approval. They end up spending time together instead of her saying a quick hello and goodbye. They discuss the old times like two people that have never lost years between them. All the visits seem to only make Allie more confused about what she wants, and which man she is really in love with. Noah is never confused. He knows exactly what he wants and is determined to get it, but without pushing her too hard.

But will he get what he wants? Or will Allie go back to Lon, her fiancée? Will she be able to leave the love she has now, for the love she once had in her childhood?

Well…we don’t exactly know what happens yet because the love story ends there. Or does it?

We are thrown back into the present. And the old man concludes his story. But not before we are given a long explanation about what really happened between Noah and Allie all those years ago.

MY THOUGHTS
WOW…I don’t think I’ve ever read a better love story. Sparks has created a timeless and endless love in this book that you just can’t help feeling drawn in to the characters and feeling like you know them personally. I was really blown over by this book. As someone that picks up a romance to help forget the technical writings that I do at work, I was really surprised because this book is not like your typical romance. This story seems so REAL, unlike other romance novels that have you screaming at the characters most of the time, because they are so dumb. Or maybe that’s just me? (And yes, I am one of those people that yell at the TV when I don’t like what’s going on.) But it was actually very touching to read about Noah’s feelings for Allie, and the way he breaks down after controlling his emotions for hours while spending time with her after all those years of being apart. It makes his character seem all the more life-like.

This book was a short read, but it was the perfect length for Sparks to tell his story about the two characters. Anything more would have just been filler and made the story boring. I was quite surprised by the ending and how their relationship ended up. But I guess Sparks had to create some kind of situation to prove that love can conquer everything, that is, if the love is real and true.

The Notebook was a easy read, with the story being told in first person by either Noah or Allie. I liked this aspect of the book because Sparks was able to show and voice more of the characters feelings and opinions through their own musings.

Overall, I have to say that this is one book that will remain on my bookshelf for years to come. I have definitely recommended it to others countless times, and am now recommending it to you!!

New York Times Bestseller

OTHER BOOKS - By Sparks
A Bend In The Road
The Rescue
A Walk To Remember
Message In A Bottle

ISBN: 0-446-60523-9
Price: $6.99
Format: Paperback
Pages: 213

~ Thanks for reading!

Kim


Recommended: Yes