This is my first Nicholas Sparks book (he also wrote the Notebook and A Walk to Remember-both movies). I heard they were good, so I thought I would give them a go. I had mixed feelings about it.
Summary: A single mom raising a special needs child gets rescued by a fireman when her car crashes. Typical romance ensues only said fireman also is carrying a lot of baggage and can't commit.
My opinion: Sad. I know the Nicholas Sparks books are often sad, but I almost think he was being sad for the sake of being sad. Let me give an analogy: I dislike when comedians are dirty not just because I dislike dirty jokes, but because they aren't really clever. I think good comics are the ones that make everyday stuff funny because that is clever. 12 year olds can think of dirty jokes, it doesn't really take talent.
That is how I thought of this book- to just kill off a few characters to make your story 'heart warming'. Like the shock value of killing off characters you wouldn't expect would make the book popular or something. I have read some sad books I really liked, but this one just seemed a little forced or something. And even though the ending is sort of good, it doesn't really make up for all the sadness. But there were some really good characters and conversations, so someone with different taste will probably like it a lot.
I guess I prefer sad books to be nonfiction. When it actually happened, that is one thing. But when you just make up a really sad story, I'm not a huge fan.
The only Nicholas Sparks book I have read has been A Walk to Remember and I liked the movie better. So, I'll keep this one off my list. I've been thinking about reading something else by him but...will see.
ReplyDeleteI think some of them are good. You'd have to ask someone who has read them all to actually find out which ones are really good.
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ReplyDeleteI love A Walk To Remember. Also I really enjoy Dear John. I like the realistic images he creates.
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