The Notebook

Nicholas Sparks

Jan 2000 · Sold by Grand Central Publishing

About this ebook

Experience the unforgettable, heartbreaking love story set in post-World War II North Carolina about a young socialite and the boy who once stole her heart -- one of PBS's "Great American Reads".Every so often a love story so captures our hearts that it becomes more than a story-it becomes an experience to remember forever. The Notebook is such a book. It is a celebration of how passion can be ageless and timeless, a tale that moves us to laughter and tears and makes us believe in true love all over again...

At thirty-one, Noah Calhoun, back in coastal North Carolina after World War II, is haunted by images of the girl he lost more than a decade earlier. At twenty-nine, socialite Allie Nelson is about to marry a wealthy lawyer, but she cannot stop thinking about the boy who long ago stole her heart. Thus begins the story of a love so enduring and deep it can turn tragedy into triumph, and may even have the power to create a miracle...

Ratings and reviews

unlike Brandi Pittsenbarger ⬆️ who's obviously a loser complaining about not getting 2 free chapters (your a loser) this book is great for true romantics and people that want a taste of the simple life even though it wasn't simple back then but only comparatively. read it and get lost in it. "if your a bird I'm a bird"

In The Note Book by Nicholas Sparks it tells of Allie and Noah, who met in their teenage years and fell in love but were soon separated. Years later Allie is engaged and by chance finds something in the newspaper about Noah and goes to find him. They fall back in love, and Allie has to choose between her fiancé and Noah. The author’s main point in this book is to tell of the timelessness of love. The author portrays timelessness by showing the different stages or their love. Noah tells Allie after their summer romance, “Only the summer is over, Allie, not us, we’ll never be over.”(Sparks 25). Even though their time is cut short, they know that their bond is strong and nothing could change that, not even growing up. When Noah and Allie reunite she tells him, “You’re older of course, with more life behind you, but you’ve still got the same gleam in your eye.” (Sparks 115). This shows that even though they have been apart they still love each other for the same reasons. Also it implies that their love gets better with time, they find out more things that they like about each other. In their old age when Allie gets Alzheimer’s during a period of her remembrance Noah says to her, “I’ll never leave you. What we have is forever” (Sparks 190). This implies that their love is so strong that even when she forgets him he will always love her for who she is. It shows that time may be destructive to people but their love cannot be harmed. This book is very convincing and very unique. It tells of a love story that could have happened but in a way that no one else has told it before. Noah talks about his married life, which most couple has, “I think about how lucky I am to have been married to her for almost forty-nine years.” (Sparks 155). This shows how normal and happy their life was. It makes it easy for the reader to relate. However their story is original in the way that they fell in love twice or rather loved each other for so long without realizing it. This book tells us a story of an ageless romance in a unique but convincing way. It is very well written to appeal to your sensitive side. People who would enjoy this book would be those who enjoy tearjerkers and romance and primarily women.

One may have various regrets and triumphs in life merely because of decisions…yes decisions that shape one’s joyous and vivacious moments. Have you ever wondered how a second chance at love in your lifetime could have altered your life? Well you will feel that affirmation and warmth in the inveterate love portrayed in The Notebook. The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks opens up with an ailing, 80-year old man reciting the delicate details of a sentimental love story by reading an eponymous notebook to his wife, who suffers from Alzheimer’s’ disease, in a nursing home. The romance started with Noah Calhoun and Allie Nelson falling in love during one passionate, idyllic summer in New Bern, North Carolina. However, Allie’s wealthy parents repudiated the relationship, because of the social discrepancy between the two lovers. After a fourteen year hiatus, Allie returns to New Bern and rekindles her romance with Noah, but now Allie faces the dilemma of either choosing her first love or her vigilant fiancé, Lon. In a story of love, dedication, and tragedy, the elderly couple is the legacy that continues to live on as a result of Allie’s decision. Nicholas Sparks identifies with this love affair, because it reflects his firm Christian beliefs of hope, his inspiration by his wife’s grandparent’s sixty-year marriage, and the prevalent theme that love conquers all. Sparks exquisitely delivers by leaving the reader with the astonishing realization that love is more than an enduring, romantic testament. Sparks deftly intrigues the reader into renewing their spirits of hope through opaque language and a first person point of view. To solidify his argument Sparks deliberately develops the character Lon in the story to increase the complexity of the conflict. With Allie contemplating whether to choose true love over Lon, the author reinforces the power of love, which “overwhelms logic and common sense” (Sparks 102). By presenting this evidence, Sparks raises the universal question of how powerful a second chance at love can be. Furthermore, he strengthens the comprehensive theme by enlightening the reader that one’s primary fear should be their happiness, which parallels Allie’s enchantment in Noah’s company. Sparks also solicits for the reader’s awareness of society’s pressures and expectations for women. Considering the story is set in Great Depression, an era of great economic turbulence, when Allie and Noah first meet, Nicholas Sparks is reflecting upon how families stressed the importance of economic statuses when weighing-in on whether they would agree in giving their daughters’ hands in marriage. Allie “trying to defy gravity” and the nature of society introduces a new element to the text much more than a mere desire for love, but a stance for independency (Sparks109). The Notebook is similar to Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen in not only exploring the topic of romance, but also in the sense that a woman has to challenge society and face the brutality of control as a consequence during the process. Allie is manipulated by her parents, while Marlena is threatened by her husband August, who is a paranoid schizophrenic. Both women experience subjection and the desire to follow their hearts. The stories are also similar in that they both deal with illness of the elderly and how love continues to live on even after death, just like how Jacob forever cherishes the memory of his deceased wife, Marlena, while in the nursing home. The key to Spark’s captivating plot and characters is the sense of emotion that embodies the text. The reader, especially females, who envision genuine romances of their own, would definitely enjoy this sensational love story, yet men would find difficulty relating with this story, because its theme seem cliché or simply an allusion of fantasy. However, the story is everything but a fantasy, because its mood is quite despondent and apprehensive as in the case of the elderly couple’s health. The realism and extensive focus on the preciousness of life convinces

About the author

With over 100 million copies of his books sold, Nicholas Sparks is one of the world's most beloved storytellers. His novels include sixteen #1 New York Times bestsellers, and all of his books, including Three Weeks with My Brother, the memoir he wrote with his brother, Micah, have been New York Times and international bestsellers, and were translated into more than fifty languages. Eleven of Nicholas Sparks's novels -- The Choice, The Longest Ride, The Best of Me, Safe Haven, The Lucky One, The Last Song, Dear John, Nights in Rodanthe, The Notebook, A Walk to Remember, and Message in a Bottle -- have been adapted into major motion pictures.