The Notebook

By: Nicholas Sparks

a book review by Ma Dianne Elizabeth G Lao

On December 31, 1965, Nicholas Charles Sparks was born in Omaha, Nebraska. He is the second son of Patrick Michael and Jill Emma Marie Sparks. His siblings are Michael Earl Sparks and Danielle Sparks. He used to live in Minnesota, Los Angeles, and Grand Island, Nebraska, and finally settling in Fair Oaks, California. His father was a professor, his mother a homemaker, then optometrist's assistant. He lived in Fair Oaks through high school, graduated valedictorian in 1984, and received a full track scholarship to the University of Notre Dame. After he got married, He and his family decided to live in Sacramento. Though his first and second novel were not published, He worked a variety of jobs over the next three years, including real estate appraisal, waiting tables, selling dental products by phone, and started his own small manufacturing business which struggled from the beginning.

In 1994, at the age of 28, he wrote The Notebook over a period of six months. In October, 1995, rights to The Notebook were sold to Warner Books. It was published in October, 1996. His novel The Notebook was only the third novel in recent history to spend over a year as a hardcover best-seller. And one of the poems by Walt Whitman quoted in the novel is entitled 'To a Common Prostitute’. The title for the novel was chosen by Theresa Park, his agent.

The novel was later adapted into a popular romance film by the same name in 2004. However, the movie and the book have very different endings.

This bestseller novel by Nicolas Sparks begins is a story about Duke and Allie, an inseparable couple living in a nursing home. While Duke remembers their life together, Allie, who suffers from progressive dementia, does not. Their only bond is a faded notebook from which Duke reads to Allie every day, telling her the same story over and over. It's a sweeping tale of two South Carolina teens, country boy Noah and city gal Allie, who spend one glorious summer in the early 1940s falling madly in love. Unfortunately, the couple is soon separated, first by her disapproving parents and then by World War II, but after seven years apart, after taking different paths, they are passionately reunited. There's a catch, though; Allie is now faced to choose between the man she once loved and the successful businessman she is engaged to. It's really no surprise who the young Allie chooses in the end--but for Duke, the only thing that keeps him going is the fact that every day, somehow through the power of this story, the mentally impaired Allie miraculously remembers their love, if only for a very brief moment, before slipping back into oblivion.

This novel is one of the greatest books I’ve read, second from my favorite twilight series. Some says that if not for some inspired moments of breathtaking beauty and heartfelt performances in the film, The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks would just be one of those tired love stories that you quickly forget. Anyone can appreciate the power of love and the amazing things it can do. We can see here the incredible tales of how love and dedication help a family stay together or give an injured friend remarkable strength.

I recommend this book to all the lovers out there, because this really shows true love and faith. This is really one of a kind book. Nice twists.