The Choice
by Nicholas Sparks
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Book Summary Information
Author: Nicholas SparksEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-08-19
ISBN: 0446698334
Number of pages: 288
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Book Reviews of The Choice
Book Review: Sparks' worst yet
Summary: 1 Stars
I thought I had given up on Nicholas Sparks after the last two-part debacle of his that I read (At First Sight & True Believer). I skipped Dear John, the novel that came after those two. But I decided that I would give him one more chance with The Choice, which I listened to as an audio book while training for a marathon.
Do not touch this book with a ten-foot pole. It is awful. However, it actually starts out promising. A young, handsome single guy named Travis is living in his small home town in North Carolina, enjoying the single life and his still close relationships with his high school buddies (who are all married with kids). Life is good for Travis. He dates around, hasn't found the right girl yet, but he's not in a terrible rush to settle down. But a new neighbor, Gabby, has moved next door. She's young, attractive, and has a longtime boyfriend who won't entertain the thought of marriage. She and Travis get off on the wrong foot because she accuses his dog of impregnating her dog. Well, it's obvious how this is going to go down, with the two of them falling in love and all, but Sparks makes it somewhat interesting, mostly because he actually seems to have carved out actual personalities for the characters that match up with the circumstances and histories of their lives. The narrator of the audio book was actually really good, particularly in his portrayal of Travis, and I actually don't think I would have enjoyed the first part of the book as much as I did if I had read it instead of listened to it. Despite their rough beginning, Travis and Gabby agree to start anew, since neither one wants to be at odds with their neighbor. Travis invites her out on his boat to spend the day with him and his friends, and they wind up spending the whole weekend together falling in love. This entire weekend is told in excruciatingly minute detail, and the big "choice" that must be made in the first part of the book is whether Gabby will choose to stay with her boyfriend or to break up with him and date Travis. I didn't like Sparks's choice of having Gabby & Travis sleep together during this weekend. He writes about it like it's totally fine that she's cheating on her boyfriend because it's obvious that she and Travis are soul mates, but he also has told us that she has a serious commitment with her boyfriend and up until 2 days prior really wanted to marry him! I know that Nicholas Sparks frowns on adultery and won't write about it, but apparently if you haven't taken those vows, it's fine to cheat. It just doesn't jive. And also, Gabby's problem is really not that difficult. Even though I don't think it was right of her to have slept with Travis, I think it's a pretty clear choice that she should be with him after breaking up with her boyfriend. Sparks makes the boyfriend out to be a neglectful, thoughtless, golf-playing, self-centered bore while Travis is a sexy, easy-going, free-spirited, yet responsible and sensitive cutie. Pretty easy choice if you ask me.
In the second part of the novel, we find Travis and Gabby ten years in the future. Sparks completely loses any momentum he had going in the first part of the book. This is like a completely different book all together. He ignores the personalities he created and instead Travis and Gabby become cookie-cutters of perfection who have the perfect marriage and the perfect life. Everyone who comes into contact with them marvels over their perfection and much in love they are. There is another choice to be made in this part of the book. Travis and Gabby are in a car accident and Gabby winds up in a coma. Travis, wrecked with guilt, must decide after several months whether or not to remove her from life support. Gabby actually has a living will that says she does not want to be kept alive by artificial means. She has a very good reason too, which Sparks explains in detail. She is a physician's assistant and came into contact with a family in this situation and made an informed decision about how she would want to be treated. But Travis can't accept this. He literally walks around asking people (and the reader) "how far would you go for love?" as if because he loves Gabby SO MUCH, he can ignore her wishes and do what feels better for himself. (Conveniently, their lawyer has moved away, so no one knows except for Travis what Gabby's real wishes are) He makes the choice to keep her alive and several months after that, she wakes up. And they live happily ever after.
I cannot say how idiotic this whole situation was. It had nothing whatsoever to do with the somewhat interesting dynamic that was built between the characters in the first part of the book. And it was disrespectful to anyone reading it that has really faced this kind of life or death choice for a loved one.
I am done with Nicholas Sparks. I will not read him again until another reader I respect tells me that he's reformed himself from this drivel. Do not read this. It is complete garbage.
Summary of The Choice
#1 New York Times bestseller Nicholas Sparks turns his unrivaled talents to a new tale about love found and lost, and the choices we hope we'll never have to make.Travis Parker has everything a man could want: a good job, loyal friends, even a waterfront home in small-town North Carolina. In full pursuit of the good life - boating, swimming , and regular barbecues with his good-natured buddies -- he holds the vague conviction that a serious relationship with a woman would only cramp his style. That is, until Gabby Holland moves in next door. Spanning the eventful years of young love, marriage and family, THE CHOICE ultimately confronts us with the most heartwrenching question of all: how far would you go to keep the hope of love alive?
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