Before I lay into this book too much, I should make the disclaimer that I probably didn’t fall into the target audience for which this book was intended. And for that matter, I don’t like romance novels in general. Not that I don’t like love stories. I liked “Romeo and Juliet” although in my youth I was probably more influenced by “West Side Story.” “The Great Gatsby” was one of the most beautiful books I’ve ever read, and I also enjoyed “Les Miserables”, “A Tale of Two Cities”, and a host of other books about love.
But I don’t like “Romance Novels”, in the sense of the sappy trash that populates the paper back section of most bookstores. And this novel I think fits clearly in that category.
It has the unique twist of being from the perspective of two older people, one of whom has Alzheimer’s disease, looking back on their youthful romance. Unfortunately that’s the only twist. Other than that it is just a replay of every cliché from the genre. The poor boy is in love with the rich girl. Her parents don’t approve because he comes from a lower class. She gets engaged to a young successful lawyer, who is the envy of all her friends, but doesn’t make her feel quite the same way as the poor boy who used to recite poetry to her under the oak tree. Are you getting ready to throw up yet?
There is no subplot or complicating factors, other than the Alzheimer’s twist mentioned above. Other than that the whole book is pretty much just the lame plot mentioned above, filled with passages like “Allie looked at Noah, and she could tell that Noah was thinking about her, and that knowledge thrilled her. She didn’t know what Noah was thinking about her, and she didn’t care but she was just thrilled with the knowledge that he was thinking about her.” All misquoted here as I have no copy in front of me, but that’s an example of the boring stuff which makes up the whole book. It doesn’t get any more exciting than that.
There’s a certain amount of literary skill involved in making one evening dinner drag on as long as the author does, but it wasn’t my thing.
Link of the Day
In a new report on police treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, a leading international human rights group yesterday indicted the United States law-enforcement system for facilitating discrimination and abuse based on sexual orientation in American communities.
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3 comments:
ive never read the book but i loved the movie. I even shed a tear at the end.
This story is just that, an epic love story. Who doesn't want to be loved or love as strong as these two main characters? I love the story and I love the movie. I will definitely read this book more than once in my life.
I am not particularly a fan of romantic novels and purposely read this book just because a friend compelled me to. And after reading it, i would rather not call it a book.
It's not a novel if you ask me, its poetry. It's the journey of a man. A lifetime.
Ever heard about flawless writing?
This is one...
What is love? What is commitment? What is real and what is fake?
Is it easy? Is it tough? Love doesn't mean living in a relationship.
Love means living up to a relationship.
How ?
You will find all the answers in this book.
Nicholas sparks is a true romantic. He managed to describe an era in this book.
Just feel the essence, understand the soul of the book, be enchanted by its verses and live a lifetime!
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