The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks, 3-4 stars, [bwf, steeplechase]

[NancyJ]

This book is a very romantic tale inspired by the author’s grandparents. The wife has Alzheimer’s disease, and her husband reads her a story about their romance every day, or as often as he can. (She is sometimes fearful because she doesn’t recognize him.) I have a strong sentimental connection to this book, because of my grandparents. The author said he has heard from many people with similar experiences or observations about parents, grandparents, and spouses with Alzheimer’s disease. (As romantic as this was, I hope my husband will find someone else if this happens to me.)

The book begins when the couple first meet as teenagers and fall in love during summer vacation. Her parents don’t think he has the right background for her, and they hide his letters from her. Years later, when she is about to marry someone else, she reads an article about him, and feels compelled to find him. The drama of this visit is a large part of the romantic story that Noah tells his wife many years later. I loved it in the movie, but I suffered through the will-she or won’t-she dilemma during this reading. The writing describes the actions in much more detail than I need, but in this case it was fine because I could visualize the actions in the movie. I really enjoyed the movie (especially James Garner and Gena Rowlands) when I saw it 20 years ago. I would give the book 3 stars based on this reading, but I’ll let my original rating stand.

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