A BOOK REVIEW: THE NOTEBOOK

A BOOK REVIEW: THE NOTEBOOK

By Bryan Sa Iyo Moreno

IV- Sir Isaac Newton

"Short enough to read in an evening, but long enough to tell a story of real love and devotion that spans a couple's life."

I. Introduction

For over a decade, #1 New York Times bestseller Nicholas Sparks has captivated readers with stories that explore the profound mysteries of the human heart, establishing him as one of our most cherished novelists. In his book, he restores our belief in destiny—delivering a stunning tale about a man whose brushes with sacrifice along his journey lead him to the love of his life, the one and only lady he ever wanted to be with.

The Notebook is his first novel which brought him many awards as expected. This was only the third novel in recent history to spend over a year as a hardcover best-seller This was so influencing and this has actually made many hearts eager to learn from the first mischance until the final drops of probabilities- to remain with his loved one or to stay alone even in the end of our lives.

II. Summary of the Content

Noah Calhoun
The narrator of the book and the main character, Noah is a good and kind man who fell in love with Allie fourteen years before the novel opens. He has never forgotten her and is overwhelmed with how much he still loves her when she returns to tell him she is engaged.

Allison Nelson
A young woman who comes from a privileged family, she spends a wonderful summer with Noah when they are young, but is forced to leave when her parents disapprove. She meets Lon and becomes engaged to him, but something in her makes her return to Noah to be sure she is not making a mistake.

Lon Hamilton
He is Allie’s fiancé, who fights for her in the end, but is too late. He has allowed his career to disrupt any hope he may have had to win her for himself.

Morris Goldman
A Jewish man who hires Noah for eight years in his scrap yard and leaves him part of his assets as an inheritance, which then allows Noah to restore his house.

Anne Nelson
She is Allie’s mother and had so disapproved of her being with Noah that she had never delivered his letters to her daughter. She comes to warn them that Lon is on his way to confront them both, and she finally gives Allie the letters. When she leaves, she whispers to Allie that she should follow her heart.

A man opens a well worn notebook in his lap. A woman experiencing a morning ritual she doesn't understand. He began reading the text written. The Notebook is an achingly tender story about the enduring power of love, a story of miracles that will stay with you forever.

The Notebook begins with the story of Noah Calhoun, a rural Southerner got back from World War II. Noah, at the age of thirty- one, is haunted by images of the beautiful girl he met fourteen years earlier, a girl he loved like no other. Unable to find her, yet unwilling to forget the summer they spent together back then, Noah is content to live with only memories...until she unexpectedly returns to his town to see him once again.

Allie Nelson, at the age of twenty- nine, is engaged to another man, but realizes that the original passion she felt for Noah has not been erased with the length of time that has passed. Still, the obstacles that once ended their previous relationship remain, and the gulf between their worlds is too vast to ignore. With her impending marriage only weeks away, Allie is forced to confront her hopes and dreams for the future, a future which relies only on his capacity.

Like a bridge over troubled water, the story of Noah and Allie is just the beginning. As it unfolds, their tale becomes something different, with much higher stakes. The result is a deeply moving portrait of love itself, the tender moments and the fundamental changes that affect us all. Shining with a beauty that is rarely found in current literature, The Notebook establishes Nicholas Sparks as a classic storyteller with a unique insight into the only emotion that really matters.

"I am nothing special, of this I am sure. I am a common man with common thoughts and I've led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten, but I've loved another with all my heart and soul, and to me, this has always been enough."

And so begins one of the most poignant and compelling love stories you will ever read...The Notebook.

The themes presented in the book are truly remarkable. Love is an essential part in a human’s life. In love, you would do anything. You would give your all. This has been a traditional theme and with all the stakes of fighting for love, there is only one thing that it all sums up to. Love conquers all.

III. Analysis of the Text

“The best love is the kind that awakens the soul; that makes us reach for more, that plants the fire in our hearts and brings peace to our minds. That's what I hope to give you forever.”

This book is very interesting, written with the well molded chastity. The points were pointed out clearly and so we were able to define themes and lessons fondly. The book is so abundant with heart aching experiences but with these, I definitely learned and was inspired. This is an excellent love story told in a Fried Green Tomatoes sort of fashion about a boy and then a man who never gives up on his first love. We urge you to read the book and/or see the movie ‘The Notebook’ if you like love stories.

The story is told on two levels - one is the present day when Allie and Noah have grown old and live in a home; the other is the story Noah reads from the notebook in which he tells how he and Allie met, fell in love, lost each other, and then found each other again. The end of their love story is tragically altered by Allie’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis, but even that has no power over their love.

Reading this book is truly a worth pastime. The allotted moments of absorbing every single inspirational chapter was not waste, instead, it made my free time so content. It made me filled of dedications. A lot of things entered my mind but those were all in a definite shape that love is but a fine piece of plant, which when implanted to our minds, would never be easy to avoid and to forget. There would always be a mark, a mark that would always remind us of how fate and destiny would play a game with our hearts.

IV. Evaluation of the Text

Upon understanding the flow of the story, it truly made a great amazement and I was so delighted that I have spent time reading this book, though, after watching the movie. I should have read this before watching.

All I can say is, if you would just know how a man breaks his heart when his loved one seeps another way… you would understand how we are hurt, how we are turned down to the lowest level of our dignity, that in a short period of time, we cannot get ourselves up from it. With all these, I shall say the book is wonderful and for sure, it would inspire a lot more people.