I generally enjoy the various movie adaptations of Nicholas Sparks' novels (I'm basically a sap at heart), but- whew!- in the following excerpt from Roger Ebert's review of Dear John, the latest Sparks adaptation, does Mr. Ebert have Sparks' number or what?
Lasse Hallstrom's "Dear John" tells the heartbreaking story of two lovely young people who fail to find happiness together because they're trapped in an adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks novel. Their romance leads to bittersweet loss that's so softened by the sweet characters that it feels like triumph. If a Sparks story ended in happiness, the characters might be disappointed. They seem to have their noble, resigned dialogue already written. Hemingway wrote one line that could substitute for the third act of every Sparks story: "Isn't it pretty to think so?"
Ebert has it exactly right, doesn't he? In every Nicholas Sparks story, it's not just that the characters are consistently kept tragically apart (via death, circumstance, or a complicated combination of both), but that they always seem to, well... almost enjoy being bathed in the tragedy and tears of it all. I guess Mr. Sparks, through his characters, is catering to our occasional need for emotional catharis, sad or otherwise.
About a dozen Nicholas Sparks novels are available on Kindle, including The Last Song ($4.99), The Lucky One ($8.97), The Choice ($7.99), and the main topic of this post, Dear John ($4.39). The movie version of Dear John opens this weekend.
Hey!
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on this one. I really enjoyed The Notebook and even Message In A Bottle(prior Sparks films), but Ebert still has it nailed.
Just came over to check out your blog after you weighed in on mine. Cool stuff. Good idea.
I've been posting a few items about the Kindle since I was gifted with one for Christmas. I'm digging using it.
Thanks for stopping in, Bish! And for the kind words. I've been a fan of your blog since Bill Crider's column in Ellery Queen turned me on to it. It's always fun and interesting.
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