Title: A Walk To Remember
Author: Nicholas Sparks
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Genre: Romance Fiction
First Publication: 1999
Language: English
Major Characters: Landon Carter, Jamie Sullivan
Setting Place: Beaufort, North Carolina
Narration: First Person
Theme: Love & the fear of loss, The heart Vs the Mind
Book Summary: A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks
There was a time when the world was sweeter…when the women in Beaufort, North Carolina, wore dresses, and the men donned hats…when something happened to a seventeen-year-old boy that would change his life forever.
Every April, when the wind blows in from the sea and mingles with the scent of lilacs, Landon Carter remembers his last year at Beaufort High. It was 1958, and Landon had already dated a girl or two. He even swore that he had once been in love. Certainly the last person in town he thought he’d fall for was Jamie Sullivan, the daughter of the town’s Baptist minister. A quiet girl who always carried a Bible with her schoolbooks, Jamie seemed content living in a world apart from the other teens. She took care of her widowed father, rescued hurt animals, and helped out at the local orphanage. No boy had ever asked her out. Landon would never have dreamed of it.
“It was, I remembered thinking, the most difficult walk anyone ever had to make. In every way, a walk to remember.”
Then a twist of fate made Jamie his partner for the homecoming dance, and Landon Carter’s life would never be the same. Being with Jamie would show him the depths of the human heart and lead him to a decision so stunning it would send him irrevocably on the road to manhood. No other author today touches our emotions more deeply than Nicholas Sparks.
Illuminating both the strength and the gossamer fragility of our deepest emotions, his two New York Times bestsellers, The Notebook and Message in a Bottle, have established him as the leading author of today’s most cherished love stories. Now, A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks tells a truly unforgettable story, one that glimmers with all of his magic, holding us spellbound-and reminding us that in life each of us may find one great love, the kind that changes everything…
Book Review: A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks
The story of A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks starts with a prologue from Landon Carter at age 57. The remainder of the story takes place when Landon is a 17-year-old high school senior. Landon lives in the small, religious town of Beaufort, North Carolina. His father is a genial, charismatic congressman. Landon’s father is not around very much, as he lives in Washington, D.C.
Landon is more reclusive, which causes some tension in their relationship. Landon’s father pressures him into running for class president. His best friend, Eric Hunter, who is the most popular boy in school, helps him and, to his surprise, Landon wins the election. As student body president, Landon is required to attend the school dance with a date. He asks many girls, but none are available.
“I held her close to me with my eyes closed, wondering if anything in my life had ever been this perfect and knowing at the same time that it hadn’t. I was in love, and the feeling was even more wonderful than I ever imagined it could be.”
That night, he looks through his yearbook, trying to find an acceptable date. Since nobody else seems to be available, Landon reluctantly asks Jamie Sullivan, the daughter of Hegbert Sullivan, the Beaufort church minister, who accepts his invitation. 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, Jamie comes to Landon’s aid, to his appreciation. At the end of the night, he admits she was the best date possible.
A few days later, Jamie asks Landon to participate in the school’s production of The Christmas Angel. While Landon is not very enthusiastic about participating, he agrees to it anyway. Jamie, on the other hand, could not be happier about her new castmate. Landon knows that if his friends learn about his role in the play, he will be teased relentlessly. One day at rehearsal, Jamie asks if Landon will walk her home, after which it becomes routine. A couple of days later, Eric mocks the couple during their walk home and Landon becomes truly embarrassed to be with Jamie.
“There are moments when I wish I could roll back the clock and take all the sadness away, but I have the feeling that if I did, the joy would be gone as well.”
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, but their proposal is quickly rejected by Mr. Jenkins. 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. While Landon thinks this is a strange wish, he accepts it. In truth, he is beginning to enjoy his time with her.
The charm of this lovely novel, A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks, all lies in its simplicity and purity; the quiet setting, the easy plot, the everyday characters and the beautiful and breath-taking, yet uncomplicated love story that’ll make you believe in the most wonderful of fairy-tales, without necessitating the encumbrances of ladies stuck in high towers, charming princes on white horses, madcap passions and flowery love declarations. No craziness! Just one of the most beautiful, simple, pure and wholesome love stories ever written, A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks, which truly deserves to go down in history.
