(The Notebook #1)
by Nicholas Sparks
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Publication date: October 1rst 1996
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Format: Hardcover
Genre: Drama, romance
"You can't live your life for other people. You've got to do what's right for you, even if it hurts some people you love."
From Goodreads:
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 its 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 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 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.
Noah, thirty-one, is restoring a plantation home to its 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 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 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
Giving this 4.85*
I'm a sucker for Nicholas Sparks. When I think contemporary romance and drama, he's the first I think about because he is just that good. I have seen more movie adaptations than I have read his books but most movies have made me go get the book. So that's a plus!
As a movie, The Notebook is in my top 10, if not my top 5 of all time. When I finished reading the book, I gave it an automatic 5* because I love the movie so much. Now that I think about it, yes, I adore the book almost just as much but I'm going to say it now, I did prefer the movie to the book. Wanna know why that is?
Because of details the movie gave us that explained certain things better than the book did. Or the character development on Allie's side, mainly. Noah and Allie have two different social statuses and given when this story is based, I guess it wasn't viewed nicely when the statuses mixed together like this. We do get more background on Noah and his relationship with his dad and all and with Allie, we are to assume she's happily engaged to a good man and she's perfectly content about the situation. I would have liked to read a bit more about her and the cold feelings towards Noah her family, her mom especially, was having.
Noah and Allie spent an amazing Summer together as teens, head over heels in love with each other and then they parted ways until 14 years later, Allie shows up at Noah's and the love between them, though it never truly disappeared, resurfaces and Allie's confused about what the right decision is.
Nicholas Spark's is, to me, a master in the way he describes the settings, the places the characters go to, the backgrounds. I was there in the house with Allie and Noah. I could picture the creek the same way Allie did in that canoe. I could feel all the emotions both characters were feeling as they were feeling it.
Despite the little bits I thought were missing, I still think the book was amazing. I smiled, I frowned, I imagined... I could have cried but didn't. Mostly, I felt some of the love and definitely hoped they's end together. And that ending was just perfect.
I had to think hard about this review. For some reason, I found it hard to write for some odd reason. I wanna be all "OMG! I love this so much!" and be done with it but I can't, can I? So, there, after 5 rewrites of this review I think I finally got one I can be happy of.
A to Z Challenge, Mini challenge of January: A book from my 2019 TBR.
I'm a sucker for Nicholas Sparks. When I think contemporary romance and drama, he's the first I think about because he is just that good. I have seen more movie adaptations than I have read his books but most movies have made me go get the book. So that's a plus!
As a movie, The Notebook is in my top 10, if not my top 5 of all time. When I finished reading the book, I gave it an automatic 5* because I love the movie so much. Now that I think about it, yes, I adore the book almost just as much but I'm going to say it now, I did prefer the movie to the book. Wanna know why that is?
Because of details the movie gave us that explained certain things better than the book did. Or the character development on Allie's side, mainly. Noah and Allie have two different social statuses and given when this story is based, I guess it wasn't viewed nicely when the statuses mixed together like this. We do get more background on Noah and his relationship with his dad and all and with Allie, we are to assume she's happily engaged to a good man and she's perfectly content about the situation. I would have liked to read a bit more about her and the cold feelings towards Noah her family, her mom especially, was having.
Noah and Allie spent an amazing Summer together as teens, head over heels in love with each other and then they parted ways until 14 years later, Allie shows up at Noah's and the love between them, though it never truly disappeared, resurfaces and Allie's confused about what the right decision is.
Nicholas Spark's is, to me, a master in the way he describes the settings, the places the characters go to, the backgrounds. I was there in the house with Allie and Noah. I could picture the creek the same way Allie did in that canoe. I could feel all the emotions both characters were feeling as they were feeling it.
Despite the little bits I thought were missing, I still think the book was amazing. I smiled, I frowned, I imagined... I could have cried but didn't. Mostly, I felt some of the love and definitely hoped they's end together. And that ending was just perfect.
I had to think hard about this review. For some reason, I found it hard to write for some odd reason. I wanna be all "OMG! I love this so much!" and be done with it but I can't, can I? So, there, after 5 rewrites of this review I think I finally got one I can be happy of.
A to Z Challenge, Mini challenge of January: A book from my 2019 TBR.
Great review and we want read the book! With how many times we;ve seen the movie its crazy we haven't read it yet.
ReplyDeleteNice Review...and this would be first when movie scores 10 and the book 5! I am yet to watch the movie or read the book so added this one to my list.
ReplyDeleteI swear the more you love a book, the harder it is to review, haha! But this is a great review - I'm not sure I've read any of his stuff although the name is sounding really familiar. Definitely one to add to the TBR pile - thanks for the great review.
ReplyDelete