Kane and Abel - Jefferey Archer

This is the my second "Jefferey Archer book" I read and it definitely beats the first one many times over. This story is built on two characters: "William Kane" and "Wladeck Abel". 
Kane comes from a very wealthy family made of of bankers; his father dies when he is just a boy and his mother follows trail a few years later in a difficult birth. His whole life he does all he can in his power to grow, gain power and achieve more and more.
Abel doesn't have as much luck. He is found by a lake and adopted into a poor family of already eleven children. He befriends his father's master's son and gladly studies and lives with him for many years. War comes upon them and he is sent to the dungeons for five dark years until finally released. When he thinks things cant go worse he discovers he is wrong and after a long train ride discovers he has been sent to a prisoners camp in Russia - his luck once again rescues him in the way of escape where he jumps from one place to the other until finally arriving in Turkey and from Turkey being sent to America to start out a new life. 
And that is when the story of these two hard headed men weave together into one of dramas, hate, schemes, law enforcement and constant want of revenge.
At the near end the book takes on a nice and surprising turn....but that is to be known only by the one who gets this book and reads it. 

Wikipedia on "Kane and Abel":

Kane and Abel is a 1979 novel by British author Jeffrey Archer. The title and story is a play on the Biblical brothers, Cain and Abel. Released in the United Kingdom in 1979 and in the United States in February 1980, the book was an international success. It reached No. 1 on the New York Timesbestseller list and in 1985 was made into a CBS television miniseries titled Kane & Abel starring Peter Strauss as Rosnovski and Sam Neill as Kane.

The sequel to Kane and Abel is The Prodigal Daughter with Florentyna Kane as the protagonist.

In 2003, Kane and Abel was listed at number 96 on the BBC's survey The Big Read.^[1]

The book tells the stories of two men born worlds apart. They have nothing in common except the same date of birth (18 April 1906) and a zeal to succeed in life. William Lowell Kane is a wealthy and powerful Boston Brahmin while Abel Rosnovski (originally named Wladek Koskiewicz) is a Polewas born in a situation of great poverty and eventually emigrated to the United States.

William follows the steps of his father, Richard Kane, to become a successful banker. When William was still a child, Richard dies in the Titanicdisaster, leaving William fatherless and heir to the Kane & Cabot bank. William displays extraordinary discipline and intelligence as a young man atSt. Paul's School and later at Harvard. His mother marries Henry Osborne, who turns out to be interested in gambling and women. William hates Henry from the beginning and spends most of the time at Harvard and at his best friend Mathew Lester's home. William dreams of becoming the chairman of Lester's bank one day. Henry spends every last penny of Kane's mother's money on the pretext of speculation, while she dies in a miscarriage. Kane throws Henry out of his home.

Wladek Koskiewicz is born in a forest and raised by a trapper family. When he grows up and is found to have exceptional intelligence, Baron Rosnovski asks him to become a companion to his son Leon so Wladek might prove to be a competition to him. Wladek agrees to go to the Baron's castle on the condition that he can bring along his elder sister Florentyna. Soon afterwards, World War I breaks out. Germans attack Poland and capture the Baron, his staff and son in his castle. Leon dies by the hand of a soldier. Before dying, the Baron hands him his silver band of authority. Wladek realises that the Baron was his father when he finds that, like him, the Baron too had a missing nipple. Florentyna is also raped and killed in front of young Wladek by Russian soldiers.

Wladek was then moved to Siberia from where he manages to escape to Turkey after facing many hardships. There, he nearly loses his hand (a common punishment in the Middle East and in the Ottoman empire, predecessor of Turkey, before 20th century) for stealing food but is rescued by two British diplomats. They transfer him to the Polish consulate from where with their help, he migrates to America and assumes the name Abel Rosnovski.

He starts his life as a waiter in the Hotel Plaza, while taking night classes in business at Columbia University. While Abel is working there, Davis Leroy, owner of the Richmond group of hotels, is impressed by his work and appoints him manager of his flagship hotel. Abel converts the ill-managed hotel to a profit-making one and buys stock in the chain. During the Great Depression, the hotel needs a backer and Davis, unable to find one, commits suicide leaving the remaining shares in the Richmond Group to Abel. Before committing suicide, Davis mentions that Kane & Cabot was the bank that didn't support him. Abel thus plans for revenge and considers Kane his arch rival. The bank gets him an anonymous backer. Abel assumes it to be David Maxton, owner of Stevens' hotel. During this time, Abel befriends George and marries Zaphia, both Polish emigres.

Abel changes the name of the hotel from Richmond to Baron and builds up a successful hotel chain. By collaborating with Henry Osborne, who had by now entered politics, Abel plans to ruin Kane and his bank. Abel begets a daughter, named Florentyna in memory of his dead sister while Kane has a son, Richard. Abel during World War II would save Kane's life in France, unaware to each other. He divorces Zaphia when he returns home from the war.

Meanwhile Kane's bank and Lester's bank merge and a provision is made that anyone who has a share of 8% can summon board meetings. Abel tries desperately to obtain 8% of the bank's stock but Kane manages to thwart his attempts. They unknowingly meet each other many times throughout the novel.

Florentyna Rosnovski and Richard Kane happen to meet and fall in love without knowing about the rivalry between their fathers. They get married amid vehement protests from their fathers and start a chain of boutique stores named Florentyna's.

Finally, Abel manages to obtain enough shares of the bank and ousts Kane from power. Kane decides to forgive his son and daughter-in-law and expresses his wish to meet them. He dies before he is able to see them and his grandson William. Abel then comes to know that his backer was not David Maxton, but William Kane. Filled with remorse, he reconciles with his daughter and son-in-law. Abel dies soon after, and bequeathes everything to his daughter Florentyna, except his silver band of authority, which he leaves to his grandson, whom Florentyna and Richard have named "William Abel Kane".

Nights in Rodanthe - Nicholas Sparks

Nicholas Sparks is the kind of writer that can create magic out of anywhere - with a good scenery, a boy and a girl - pling! - a beautiful love story is created! 
Nights in Rodanthe is the lovely story of a divorced doctor who is in bad terms with his son and decides to start all over again - from base one! Adrienne is a beautiful woman whose husband leaves her for a woman ten years younger than her and is left with three teenagers and an elderly father to care for. These two people find themselves in Rodanthe at a quiet and rustic beach hotel left to themselves, their past and their feelings. 
Reading this story makes you see how love has no age, no time and no place. How even when many of our past relationships have gone wrong and we think that we are a lost and hopeless case for love to ever enter again... bam! we are caught by surprise and find the true power of love.
The scenery, the deep and ingrained hurts of the past, the tranquility and speed of passion - all these elements put together are what make this boo

k another incredible, sweet and tender romance that has become famous all over the world and continues to touch many hearts. 

Book Review:

Nights in Rodanthe is a novel by American writer Nicholas Sparks in September 2002.

Set in Rodanthe, North Carolina, the story follows the romance of a divorced mother, Adrienne Willis, and a divorced father and surgeon, Paul Flanner. The novel's two main protagonists meet in an inn in Rodanthe and fall in love; however, fate falls upon them when they realize that leaving Rodanthe would mean going back to their separate lives.

Sparks based parts of his story on his own life's events, particularly his courting of the woman he married, Cathy Cote. Themes of love and sacrifice are incorporated in the novel. Nights in Rodanthe was adapted into a 2008 film of the same name.

Plot summary

The story begins in 2002 in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. Adrienne Willis, a part-time librarian and divorced mother of three, is helping her daughter, Amanda, cope with depression. Adrienne is having problems coping with the loss of her husband and is having difficulties raising her two children. In an effort to show that life goes on despite trying times, Adrienne tells her daughter the story of her relationship with Paul Flanner, whom she met in 1988.

Adrienne was abandoned for a younger woman by her husband. She parented their children alone and took care of her sick father. This had worn her down. So when an opportunity comes along to tend an inn in the small coastal town of Rodanthe, North Carolina for a friend, Adrienne decides to do it. As soon as she arrives, a major storm is forecast. Meanwhile, Paul, a fifty-four-year-old father, arrives in Rodanthe. He has sold his home and practice, and now wishes to travel to an isolated place where he can seek relief from his shattered life. A successful surgeon, he has recently divorced from his wife, and has had a patient die.

While the storm looms, the two characters, the only people at the inn, find compassion in one another and fall in love. After a few days, Adrienne and Paul slowly realize that once they leave, they must return to their separate lives. Paul explains a promise to join his estranged son in a medical clinic in Ecuador; eventually, he and Adrienne part. Adrienne returns to Rocky Mount. Paul heads for Ecuador. They communicate through letters, further fortifying their love. Paul, however, dies in Ecuador.

[edit]Writing

Sparks developed the rudiments of Nights in Rodanthe while he was writing his fourth novel, The Rescue. He said that he contemplated writing "another short love story ... that harkens back to poignant emotional intensity of The Notebook", his first published novel.^[1] Unlike his other works,Nights in Rodanthe was not inspired by a specific person who was involved in Sparks' life; the story drew upon an incident when his mother-in-law requested as a Christmas present that her name and that of her husband, Paul, would appear in a Sparks novel. So Sparks worked on a story that his in-laws would "not only enjoy, but not offend them as well".^[2]

Sparks encountered difficulties; it "just didn't seem to come together".^[1] For Sparks, there should be an "element that [would keep] the characters apart in order to have drama".^[1] Throughout Sparks' career, he has attempted to not use the same element twice, so it had become harder for him to write each new novel. He comments, "If I don't have the 'conflict', I don't have the story, and for the life of me, I couldn't come up with something new to keep the characters apart. ... I also wanted to write a story using older characters, again because it's something I haven't done (with the exception of The Notebook, in which they're elderly, not middle-aged)."^[1]

Sparks diverted his attention by working on A Bend in the Road, his fifth novel, and the first draft of The Guardian, which succeeded the release of Nights in Rodanthe. However, The Guardianimposed a "tremendous challenge" to Sparks, and he reckoned it would require a "great deal of re-writing". He was tired of writing the novel and needed a break from it.^[1]

So Sparks returned to Nights in Rodanthe: "My mind then returned to the story I'd been thinking about, and suddenly everything began to click. Within days, I suddenly knew exactly how to tell the story. I knew the characters, the setting, and especially and most importantly, the 'conflict' that would keep the characters apart."^[1] Sparks started writing the novel in December 2001. He finished the draft in February 2002, and editing continued until April of the same year.^[3]

[edit]Style and themes

Sparks set the novel in Rodanthe, a small town in the Outer Banks off the coast of North Carolina.^[3] He chose Rodanthe because, according to him, it "looks wonderful on the page, and the name itself conjures up a mixture of mystery and sensuality", adding he had wished to write a novel about the place.^[4] In an interview, Sparks said, "In Nights in Rodanthe, I needed a sense of isolation. Find another area of coastline in the U.S. that isn't developed where that could happen."^[5] The inn, where the majority of the events in the novel happened, is fictitious. According to Sparks, there are a number of bed and breakfasts in other Outer Banks towns that are similar to his description of the inn in the novel, but he chose to create it for the story.^[4]

Sparks based parts of the story from his real life events, though less so compared to his previous novels. These events were given twists to "make the story as interesting as possible".^[4] The story parallels Sparks' relationship with his wife, Cathy Cote. In his speech in 2002 for the Friends of the Library in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Sparks cited several similarities of the story with his own life. Sparks and his wife, in their senior years, met in a small coastal town where they traveled to in hopes of respite. He recalls, "I sensed something kind and wonderful about Cathy almost immediately, though Cathy (like Adrienne) was a little bit more hesitant in her feelings for me."^[4]

The prose of the novel is written in third person.^[3] The main body of the novel consists of Adrienne's flashback about her love affair with Paul. Sparks incorporated the themes of love and sacrifice into the story. Adrienne and Paul parted ways for the sake of their children. Sparks comments, "I think that sacrifice is inherent to good parenting. Both Paul and Adrienne loved their children, and the sacrifices they were willing to make made them nobler as characters."^[4]

According to some critics, Sparks was inspired by the 1992 best-selling novel The Bridges of Madison County in writing Nights in Rodanthe.^[4][6] The Bridges of Madison County has a few similarities to Nights in Rodanthe: the characters are roughly of the same age and their relationships had ended. Sparks, said he was more guided by his novel The Notebook than The Bridges. He explained that the latter is a story of adultery while his is not. The main male character of The Bridges was a loner without children, while Paul has children. In his official website, Sparks writes, "The list [of the disparity of the two novels] could go on and on, but I think you get the point."^[4]

[edit]Release and reception

Nights in Rodanthe was published in September 2002 by Warner Books to commercial success. It was Sparks' first novel to debut at number one on the best-sellers chart.^[7] On July 1, 2003,Grand Central Publishing republished the novel in paperback.^[8] Nights in Rodanthe was republished in July 2007 by Hachette Book Group, and the novel's cover features the promotional photo for its film adaptation.^[9] An unabridged audio version of the novel was published by Hachette Book Group in August 2008. The audio is narrated by American actress JoBeth Williams, and it spans five hours and 30 minutes.^[10] Scarce copies of the first printing of the novel's hardcover edition are sold; the cover bears an autograph by Sparks.^[11]

Nights in Rodanthe received mixed reviews. Sheri Melnick of Book Reviews complimented the novel for its "emotional depth", adding, "No doubt bookstores should sell this tearjerker with a box of tissues, as even the most unemotional of readers will be hard pressed not to cry."^[12] Karen Valby of Entertainment Weekly magazine gave the book a "C" and notes, "Sparks, no slouch when it comes to a sales hook, employs many of the same elements of Robert James Waller's weepie in his Outer Banks romance."^[13] Trisha Finster of Lakeland Mirror complimented Sparks, saying "Sparks has a unique way of going about writing romance in his novels."^[14]

The novel was adapted into a film of the same name, released on September 26, 2008, in the United States.^[15] Sparks sold the film rights to Warner Bros.^[4] American film producer Denise Di Novi produced the film, directed by George C. Wolfe from a screenplay by Ann Peacock and John Romano. Nights in Rodanthe stars American actor Richard Gere as Paul and actress Diane Lane as Adrienne. The movie has received generally negative reviews.^[16]

The Wedding - Nicholas Sparks

This book is the story of a normal guy. That normal guy that forgets his wife's birthday anniversary, that works more than spends time with the family, that at times barely sees his children for days on end of so overloaded he is with work, the kind of father that wouldn't take longer than two or three days to go on a holiday because he can't be too far away from his clients and business. The husband that doesn't say "I love you" enough times, rarely buys his wife flowers and chocolate and tries to make up for these mistakes by bringing home some expensive present. 
Not a bad man, no - a hard working father and husband that supports his family - but not the most romantic or the "ideal husband" every woman dreams of having throughout her life. But in the end a good, normal man - the way most men are. 
And I am sure this is one of the main reasons I liked this book so much - because it describes a realistic family, something I could relate to while still bringing in the magic and romance to the story when this man tries to "make things right" and change to be a better father and husband.
It is a very beautiful story and the ending is very touching and turns the book in one you cannot forget easily. 

Book Review:

After thirty years of marriage, Wilson Lewis, son-in-law of Allie and Noah Calhoun (of The Notebook), is forced to admit that the romance has gone out of his marriage. Desperate to win back his wife, Jane’s, heart, he must figure out how to make her fall in love with him… again. Despite the shining example of Allie and Noah’s marriage, Wilson is himself a man unable to easily express his emotions. A successful estate attorney, he has provided well for his family, but now, with his daughter’s upcoming wedding, he is forced to face the fact that he and Jane have grown apart and he wonders if she even loves him anymore. Wilson is sure of one thing—his love for his wife has only deepened and intensified over the years. Now, with the memories of his in-laws’ magnificent fifty-year love affair as his guide, Wilson struggles to find his way back into the heart of the woman he adores.

A Walk to Remember - Nicholas Sparks

And here I go again...with my overdose of Nicholas Sparks books - hah!
Well to this book - no, to this story - I can go on all day saying how much I LOVE it!!! 
Actually, "A Walk to Remember" became my favorite movie for a long time; and until today it still is in my favorites list. I must have watched the movie at least five times and have cried like a baby each and every time I have watched it. 
Last night I started reading the book and before it turned 1:00 am I had turned the last page and was wiping my crocodile tears. One conclusion I have made about both the movie and the film: they are PERFECT!!! 
Nicholas Sparks reaches into your very core as he narrates the story, introduces the characters and unfolds the plot to you. At first you laugh, after you cringe, from then you grimace, crack up once again and before you know it the unending tears have started and don't stop until you are done with this heart touching book. 
Since I was a child I have always loved dramas more than those stories which everyone lives happily ever after and I am sure the fact of this story having a sad but lovely ending is what's made it become one of my favorites. 
I recommend this book to everyone - and if for some reason Nicholas Sparks books haven't yet made their way into your heart strings I promise you this one will. It's unbeatable in softening hearts and wetting cheeks.

Wikipedia on "A Walk to Remember":

A Walk to Remember is a novel by American writer Nicholas Sparks, released in October 1999. The novel, set in 1958-'59 in Beaufort, North Carolina, is a story of two teenagers who fall in love with each other despite the disparity of their personalities. 

Writing

Sparks wrote the manuscripts for A Walk to Remember, his third novel, in the summer of 1999. He wrote it in North Carolina, which is the setting of the novel.^[1] Like his first published novel The Notebook, the prologue to A Walk to Remember was written last.^[2] The title A Walk to Remember was taken from one of the tail end pages of the novel: "In every way, a walk to remember."^[3][4] The novel is written in first-person, and its narrator is a seventeen year-old boy, living in the 1950s.^[1]

The novel was inspired by Sparks' sister,^[1][5] Danielle Sparks Lewis, who later died of cancer in June 2000. Although the story is largely fictional, certain parts were based on real experiences.^[4] For example, his sister, just like Jamie, was never popular at school and always wore an ugly sweater. And just like Jamie, she always carried the Bible around with her every where she went. And just like Landon and Jamie, never in a thousand years did anyone think he would ever deeply fall head-over-heels for her. His sister's husband proposed marriage to her despite her sickness. After her death, Sparks said in the eulogy: "... I suppose I wrote this novel not only so that you could get to know my sister, but so that you would know what a wonderful thing it was that her husband once did for her."^[5]

[edit]Plot summary

The story starts with a prologue from Landon Carter at age 57.^[6] The remainder of the story takes place when Landon is a 17-year-old high school senior.^[7] Landon lives in the small, religious town of Beaufort, North Carolina.^[8] His father is a genial, charismatic congressman.

His father is not around very much, as he lives in Washington, D.C.^[9] Landon is more reclusive, which causes some tension in their relationship. Landon's father pressures him into running for class president.^[10] His best friend, Eric Hunter, who is the most popular boy in school, helps him and, to his surprise, Landon wins the election.^[11]As student body president, Landon is required to attend the school dance with a date.^[11] He asks many girls, but none are available. That night, he looks through his yearbook, trying to find an acceptable date.^[12] Since nobody else seems to be available, Landon reluctantly asks Jamie Sullivan, the daughter of Hegbert Sullivan, the Beaufort church minister,^[13] who accepts his invitation.^[14] While Jamie is very religious and carries a Bible with her wherever she goes, Landon (one of the popular students) is reluctant to go to the dance with someone like her. When Landon is threatened by Lew,^[15] Jamie comes to Landon's aid, to his appreciation. At the end of the night, he admits she was the best date possible.^[16]

A few days later, Jamie asks Landon to participate in the school's production of The Christmas Angel.^[17] While Landon is not very enthusiastic about participating, he agrees to it anyway.^[18]Jamie, on the other hand, could not be happier about her new cast mate. Landon knows that if his friends learn about his role in the play, he will be teased relentlessly.^[19] One day at rehearsal, Jamie asks if Landon will walk her home, after which it becomes routine.^[20] A couple of days later, Eric mocks the couple during their walk home and Landon becomes truly embarrassed to be with Jamie.^[21] Meanwhile, Landon continues to learn about all the people and organizations Jamie spends her time helping, including an orphanage. Landon and Jamie visit the orphanage one day to discuss a possible showing of The Christmas Angel,^[22] but their proposal is quickly rejected by Mr. Jenkins.^[23] When Jamie and Landon were waiting to meet Mr. Jenkins, she tells Landon that all she wants in the future is to get married in a church full of people and to have her father walk her down the aisle.^[24] While Landon thinks this is a strange wish, he accepts it. In truth, he is beginning to enjoy his time with her.

One day, while they are walking home, Landon yells at Jamie and he tells her that he is not friends with her.^[25] The next day at the first show of The Christmas Angel, Jamie enters the stage dressed as the angel,^[26] making Landon simply utter his line, "You're beautiful,"^[27] meaning it for the first time. Following that, Jamie asks Landon if he would go around town and retrieve the jars containing money collected for the orphans' Christmas presents.^[28] When Landon collects the jars, there is only $55.73, but when he gives the money to Jamie, there is $247.^[29] Jamie buys gifts for the orphanage, and Landon and Jamie spend Christmas Eve there.^[30] Jamie's Christmas gift to Landon is her deceased mother's Bible.^[31] As they get in the car to go home, Landon realizes his true feelings for her. "All I could do is wonder how I'd ever fallen in love with a girl like Jamie Sullivan."^[32] He invites her to his house for Christmas dinner. The next day Landon visits Jamie at her house, where they share their first kiss on her porch.^[33] Afterward, Landon asks Hegbert if they can go to Flavin's, a local restaurant, on New Year's Eve. While Hegbert initially refuses, after Landon declares his love for Jamie,^[34] Hegbert allows it.^[35]

On New Year's Jamie and Landon go to dinner, where they share their first dance.^[36] A couple of weeks later, Landon tells Jamie that he is in love with her.^[37] To his surprise, Jamie replies by insisting that he cannot be. In response, Landon demands an explanation,^[38] and Jamie reveals that she is dying of leukemia.^[39]

The following Sunday, Hegbert announces to his congregation that his daughter is dying.^[40] Jamie does not return to school the following Monday and that it is eventually learned that she is too ill and will never return to school.^[41] While they are having dinner at Landon's house, Jamie tells Landon, "I love you, too," for the first time.^[42] A couple weeks later, Eric and Margaret visit Jamie's house, where they apologize for ever being rude to her.^[43] Eric gives Jamie the $400 that he collected for the orphanage.^[44] Jamie refuses to stay at the hospital, because she wants to die at home. In turn, Landon's father helps to provide Jamie the best equipment and doctors so she can spend the rest of her life at home.^[45] This gesture helps to mend the gap between father and son. One day, while sitting next to Jamie while she sleeps, Landon comes up with an idea.^[46] He runs to the church to find Hegbert^[47] and asks him for permission to marry Jamie. While Hegbert is reluctant,^[48] his refusal to deny Landon's request is seen by Landon as approval.^[49] Landon runs back to Jamie's side and asks, "Will you marry me?"^[50]

Landon and Jamie are married in a church full of people with Hegbert walking Jamie down the aisle. When they reach the front of the church, Hegbert says, "I can no more give Jamie away than I can give away my heart. But what I can do is let another share in the joy that she has always given me."^[51] Hegbert has had to experience so much pain in his life, first losing his wife, now knowing his only child will soon be gone, too. The book ends with Landon 40 years later at age 57. He still loves Jamie and wears her ring.^[52] He finishes the story by saying, "I now believe, by the way, that miracles can happen."

[edit]Characters

• Jamie Sullivan is the daughter of the Beaufort church minister Hegbert Sullivan. She has leukemia. Jamie is also Landon's wife. She is very religious, sweet, and kind.
• Landon Carter is a son of a rich family, the narrator of the novel, and the husband of Jamie.
• Hegbert Sullivan is Jamie's father. He is the Beaufort church minister.^[53] His wife died shortly after giving birth to Jamie. He is very old with "translucent skin";^[54] he is often crabby but his daughter describes him as having "a good sense of humor".^[55] He wrote the local play, The Christmas Angel but he maintains a strong dislike for Mr. Carter due to his father's choices.^[54][56]
• Mrs. Carter is the mother of Landon Carter. "She [is] a nice lady, sweet and gentle."^[57]
• Mr. Carter is the father of Landon Carter. He is a congressman in North Carolina and is gone nine months out of the year because he lives in Washington D.C..^[58][59]
• Angela Clark is the first girlfriend of Landon and then begins dating Lew.^[60]
• Carey Denison is the treasurer at Landon's high school as well as a tuba player. He is unproportional, with short arms, a large stomach, and a squeaky voice.^[61]
• Lew is Angela Clark's boyfriend, who "[is] twenty years old and [works] as a mechanic" and "always [wears] a white T-shirt with a pack of Camels folded into the sleeve".^[11]
• Miss Garber is the drama teacher at Landon's high-school. "She [is] big, at least 6'2", with flaming red hair and pale skin that [shows] her freckles well into her forties." Her favorite word is marvelous.^[62]
• Eric Hunter is Landon's best friend, who does more making fun, than being an actual friend.^[10] The popular jock at school, he starts out very crude, but when tragedy strikes his long time friend, he shows that he is sympathetic.^[10][63][64]
• Eddie Jones is not well liked by the drama department. He was scheduled to play the main character in the play, but is demoted to the "bum" when Landon steps in.^[65] He is extremely apathetic.
• Jamie's dead mother is a minor role. Described as "a wispy little thing", she died while giving birth to Jamie, and is greatly missed by Hegbert and Jamie.^[13]
• Margaret, a cheerleader, is Eric's girlfriend.

[edit]Reception

The novel was published in the fall of October 1999 in hardcover print, and later in paperback edition. It spent nearly six months in the best-seller list on hardcover, and an additional four months on paperback.^[1]

The novel received mixed reviews from critics. The Sunday New York Post holds that it "never fails to be interesting, touching, at times riveting ... a book you won't soon forget".^[66] African Sun Times echoes the former's comments, saying, "A remarkable love story that, like its predecessors, will touch the hearts of readers everywhere."^[66] New York Daily News compliments Sparks, commenting that he "has written a sweet tale of young but everlasting love, and though he's told us to expect both joy and sadness, the tears will still come".^[66] Clarissa Cruz of Entertainment Weekly, however, panned the novel, saying, "With its cliche-riddled prose and plot twists that can be predicted after skimming the prologue, Nicholas Sparks' latest, A Walk To Remember, reads more like the script for a bad after-school special than anything approaching literature."^[67] Although the novel is number 12 on their list of 1999 Bestsellers Fiction,^[68] Publishers Weeklydescribed it as "a forced coming of age story" and "the author's most simple, formulaic, and blatantly melodramatic package to date".^[69] Theresea Parks from Publishers Weekly goes on to say how many will be disappointed stating, "Readers may be frusturated with the invariable formula that Sparks seems to regurgitate with regularity."^[70] She also writes that it is especially similar toThe Notebook in its ^[70] "corny flashback device that mimics The Notebook." Overall Publishers Weekly expresses its disappointment.

[edit]Adaptation

A Walk to Remember was adapted in the film of the same name, becoming Sparks' second novel adapted to the big screen after Message in a Bottle in 1999. Sparks sold the film rights toWarner Bros. in December 1998, months before the publication of the novel.^[1] The movie was directed by Adam Shankman and produced by Denise DiNovi and Hunt Lowry for Warner Bros.; the film premiered on January 25, 2002.^[71]

The film, starring singer and actress Mandy Moore (Jamie) and Shane West (Landon), is set in the late 1990s. Sparks and the producer thought that because the film was suitable for teenagers "because of the message it provided", they had to make the adaptation more contemporary.^[71]

Safe Haven - Nicholas Sparks

With all these Nicholas Sparks book reviews soon this will turn out to be a girly blog full of romantic views on life - hah! Well to let things clear I am reading other books other than just ones written by this one author. I am reading at the same time "Kane and Abel" by Jeffrey Archer and the famous "Nelson Mandela" written by none other than himself which by the way is taking me an eternity to reach even the middle of the book. If that wasn't good enough I am also reading "Joseph Anton Memories" which is the very thick book of 600 pages which tells the true story of Saalman Rushdie who had to spend five years of his life in hiding to preserve his own life.
But I am getting off the subject...the truth is that I got a new student who will be studying not more than a month with me before she flies off to Canada. In one of our first classes together she told me that she has the whole "Nicholas Sparks book collection" and since those words left her mouth I am lending two books a week from her so that way I can finish reading the collection by the time the due date of her trip arrives. And so in the past two weeks I have read four Nicholas Sparks book and my head has become filled with love stories, perfect men and kind women, love, passion, romance and other similar words. And yet I love it! 
In my opinion this book of his is great as it has a real good story behind it and it shows what many women go through in real life: physical abuse. I once read somewhere that 20% of the women in the world went through physical abuse and yet in Brazil this number already jumps considerably. In "Safe Haven" the author is able to portray the reality of this abuse and what goes through the heads of both the man that is violent with the woman and what are some of the causes that makes the woman stay with a man like this for such a long time. It is a very shocking story and different from the usual line of thought and plot that Sparks usually uses in his books. I think that this book has jumped a few notches in originality, creativity and context that his other books didn't reach as they kept only on the "lovey-dovey" and "perfect story" kind of novel. I highly admire Nicholas Sparks talent but I must say that in this one book he stepped up a lot and showed the whole world how far he can go when it comes to writing a great book - excellent in my opinion! A big thumbs up to  him!!! 

Book Review:

"When a mysterious young woman named Katie appears in the small North Carolina town of Southport, her sudden arrival raises questions about her past. Beautiful yet self-effacing, Katie seems determined to avoid forming personal ties until a series of events draws her into two reluctant relationships: one with Alex, a widowed store owner with a kind heart and two young children; and another with her plainspoken single neighbor, Jo. Despite her reservations, Katie slowly begins to let down her guard, putting down roots in the close-knit community and becoming increasingly attached to Alex and his family. But even as Katie begins to fall in love, she struggles with the dark secret that still haunts and terrifies her-- a past that set her on a fearful, shattering journey across the country, to the sheltered oasis of Southport. With Jo's empathic and stubborn support, Katie eventually realizes that she must choose between a life of transient safety and one of riskier rewards-- and that in the darkest hour, love is the only true safe haven"--from author's web site.