The Notebook (The Notebook, #1) in Reading with Style

Jun 09, 2010 Jayme(theghostreader) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 5-star-books, library-books-read

I saw thew movie recently and wanted to read the book. I enjoyed the movie and I am pleased the book didn't disappoint. It is such a great story of undying, unconditional love. At times it is heartbreaking. You have a man who is married to a woman with Altimeizer's and everyday she falls in love with him over again. How hard that must be to be married to someone who doesn't remember you and yet he never gives up. ...more

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Mar 20, 2011 Deidre rated it it was ok

This is a bit of a tricky book to review, honestly. In moments like this, when I find myself caught between giving a lower rating because two stars seems too generous but there were some redeeming qualities that I do appreciate and one star doesn't seem to recognize that, I really wish Goodreads offered half stars..

Guess I'll just come out and give my "unofficial" rating of 1.5 stars, even if Goodreads doesn't have the awesomely convenient option of 1/2 star.

I think this book has become as popu This is a bit of a tricky book to review, honestly. In moments like this, when I find myself caught between giving a lower rating because two stars seems too generous but there were some redeeming qualities that I do appreciate and one star doesn't seem to recognize that, I really wish Goodreads offered half stars..

Guess I'll just come out and give my "unofficial" rating of 1.5 stars, even if Goodreads doesn't have the awesomely convenient option of 1/2 star.

I think this book has become as popular as it has for one reason: Everyone in their lifetime of relationships and loving someone else can identify with the idea of a "Noah" or an "Allie" to some degree. Everyone can look back in their past and find someone who the felt fit just right, but managed to get away, for whatever reason; sometimes, that person manages to find their way back, and sometimes they don't, but on some level, everyone has the emotional connection to a personal memory of "the one that got away".

That audience identification aspect (and the fact that the book is pretty short), are really what must have saved Sparks, because the book itself is not that great. The focus on Noah and Allie and their struggles as an older couple was actually the best part of the book, because there really aren't many books that are written that can give some light to the struggles of the elderly, and the heartbreak that comes with the aging. It's a pity, though, that that managed to get lost with the incredibly flowery description of Noah and Allie when they met again after 14 years. Really, they spent two days together in the book, and it was filled with a lot of breast tingling, heat flushing in various erogenous zones, and many, many other over-the-top fluffy descriptions of two people who are charging full-tilt ahead, hearts and genitals bared.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a sucker for stories that involve love and two people being right for each other, and somehow making it all work, because love can conquer all. I'm a hopeless romantic, and I know that there are certain things about special people that are unexplainable, and a magnetism that just happens, without reason, insight, or definition. There can be "the one" person that just resonates without reason, and I understand that.

This is a basic story that tries to explain that magnetism, but there's no struggle to somehow make things work, save for Allie having to return to her fiance and explain things. Their meeting again was simple, easy, and there isn't any description of the life that followed, saved the brief times it's touched up on letter. They fell in love again based on a dinner and a few shared moments outside. They might have known each other the fourteen years before, but I really don't believe they could easily fall in love again after two days with someone who would have changed entirely, and keep that love going without any issue over the next 49 years; that's not how real relationships work.

The entire story is all a piece of super-fruity cake with extra whipped cream on top. Which is quite tasty, but in reality, that cake probably was put in the oven a bit too long, so the bottom might be a bit more brown than it should, and the whipped cream melted too quickly. This story showed no burned bottoms, which is simply not realistic, and I couldn't identify with the young Noah and Allie at all.

Now, I realize that since the novel is pretty short, Sparks' goal was more likely to show the more pleasurable and ultimately more appealing sides of love that lasts long-term, and just skip over the rough parts, because those would take too long to flesh out. But in reality, those rough parts are the parts that create the appealing ones (that is how reality works, after all), and ultimately create a much better connection with the readers to the story. The only part of the story that I was connected to was the end, and that's more likely because I worked in a nursing home as a CNA, and saw first-hand how hard it can be for the elderly as they struggle in the last part of their lives. It had nothing to do with Sparks' ability to flesh out his characters and gives them enough background and history to be relatable.

So moral of the story here? If you're a 12 year-old girl who thinks that love is all about the the most appealing aspects of love, then you'll love this book. If you're an adult with the mindset of a 12 year-old girl, you'll love this book. If you're an adult who's been through relationships and lived the reality of making them work around the struggles that life throws your way, you'll probably be largely disconnected and annoyed with this book.
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Feb 09, 2010 d rated it it was ok

I enjoyed the movie more than the book, because the writing is so over-the-top schmaltzy.

I probably would have enjoyed it more if not for the cheesy vocal stylings of Barry Bostwick reading it as an audio book. Ugh. I am not tempted to read any more Sparks.

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