The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks

Author: Nicholas Sparks

Publications: Warner Books

A really old man reads to a really old woman. She can understand only little. A boring beginning. He opens his notebook and begins reading. The story starts to get better. Go further. It becomes intense. In the end you ask, "Why did it have to end?".

A simple yet touching story line, the main focus is on the description of the events and the emotions involved and this makes the book stand apart. Noah and Allie have had a great summer romance, but due to the difference in their social standing, they are not allowed to be together for  long. Time passes and they move ahead with their lives. Noah gets work at a Jewish man's estate, then he works at a war and returns with big money, to realize his dream of buying and restoring an old property. Meanwhile Allie has grown up, she is now a socialite and is engaged to one of the most famous lawyers of her town. But some corner of her heart tells her to give her lost love another chance. She goes to meet Noah and they have a real great time together and she is torn between her true love for Noah and her engagement with Lon, the lawyer. The notebook story of the old man ends here.

The story progresses and we come to know that the lady has Alzheimer's and that the notebook story is of the couple itself, who has had a fairy tale like life, with a calm and serene backdrop, perfect home and hearth, complete harmony and above all, contentment. 

Through the story we meet a lot of amazing people and amazing revelations. Janice, the nurse on duty on Noah and Allie's 49th anniversary, decides to go away on the pretext of having coffee, when she already had it with her, just to allow Noah to slip into Allie's room. "Once again I learn that there are good people in the world"

There is absolute sense in the fact that no fairy stories can ever have a 'happily ever after' ending. Even the most beautiful and well-lived and well-loved lives end. Recalling the past is often either the sweetest or the sourest experiences for a human, and both leave a bitter-sweet taste, either of having loved the past and being forced into the present or of a horrid past and the relief of having gotten away. The former, of course, being more poignant.

In the Harry Potter Book 1 (Philosopher's Stone), J.K. Rowling mentions, "It does no do to dwell on dreams and forget to live." But, this book forces us to pose a different question, "What if our dreams and the reality decide to go for a joint venture; or rather - a joint adventure??