A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks

Update March 29, 2013:

Sometimes when I review a book immediately after reading it, I think I am probably more excited than rational about it, both in like and dislike. Later, my opinion tends to deviate from the review. I was revisiting my older blog posts today when I just could not understand what I have written myself. A Walk to Remember was a good time-pass, but I don't know why I called it great. It was simple and cliche, the subject more suitable for a short story than for a whole novel. To sum it up: it was average. (Rest can be found below, but just try to filter out my excitement from it).

December 23, 2012:

It was simply great! The kind of story of an angel who teaches everybody how to love and help others.  The kind people call cliché. That you read as fairy tale as a child. But the best thing is that its not a fairy tale but a story that has all those common yet special characters we have around us in real life. Deeply moving.

It is a short novel with a slow and steady pace. Jamie was a good-natured but an oddity-by-teenagers-standards girl. Landon, the narrator, is just an average person. Somehow they come to work together for a play. As Landon gets to know her, he finds himself falling in love with her. It is one of the best things about this novel: its not the usual caught-by-breath-taking-beauty and love-at-first-sight teenage romance (which irritates me unbearably), it’s the true love inspired by the goodness of character which can really have the kind of depth the story describes. I loved the character Jamie. She knew she was right and stood by her principles and inspired others around her to be like her. And I cried for her as much as any of the characters in the story. Like Landon, I also kept hoping for a miracle throughout the last chapter. One of my favorite excerpts:

"Jamie was more than just the woman I loved. In that year Jamie helped me become the man I am today. With her steady hand she showed me how important it was to help others; with her patience and kindness she showed me what life is really all about. Her cheerfulness and optimism, even in times of sickness, was the most amazing thing I have ever witnessed"

Nicholas Sparks has a great gift when it comes to the genre of romance. He know how to keep his audience captivated with such a simple story. And in spite of sad endings, he always gives a hopeful insight. He never leaves the lovers miserable and dejected but they always manage to find solace from their love. I admired him for the same thing regarding Message in a Bottle.

So I am even bigger fan of Nicholas Sparks. And I’ll soon start another of his books. But right now I am turning to the much-awaited The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling.