Enduring power of love: The Notebook
The Notebook, written by Nicolas Sparks, can be named one of the best American romantic novels. The book portrays every trait in a guy or girl would desire to have in a significant other. According to Nicolas Sparks, “it is a celebration of how passion can be ageless and timeless, tales that moves us to laughter and tears and makes us believe in true love all over again”.
The Notebook was on the New York Times best-seller list within the very first week of release. It spent over a year as a hardcover best seller. Theresa Park, Nicolas Sparks’ agent, discovered the book after going through her slush pile, without hesitation, Park offered to represent him. In 1995, one year later, Sparks agent managed to secure a $1 million advance for it from Time Warner Book Group, the novel was then published the following year in October 1996.
The Notebook was originally inspired by Sparks’ wife’s grandparents who had been married for over sixty years. Based on Sparks (2004), They had a truly magical relationship, one that withstood the test of time and circumstance. Ultimately their love for each other gave Sparks the idea to even consider on attempting describing their deep love.
The main characters in the book were, Allison Nelson and Noah Calhoun. The two met at a carnival in a peaceful town of New Bern, North Carolina in 1946. Little did Allie and Noah know their bond would be more than just a summer romance of the 1940’s.
While watching the movie, “The Notebook,” it differed from the book in several ways. From the way the two met, their heartbreaking breakup and the letters that Noah wrote Allison. However both versions were still incredibly amazing.
The movie has much strength. The first strength is acting. Every actor and actress played their role well. Cassavetes’ first and only choice to play the role of Noah was Ryan Gosling (The Notebook). He did not want anyone else to play this role. As for Rachel McAdams, she had beaten nine other actresses to play the role of Allison. That is amazing! The older Allison was played by Cassavetes mother. Another strength in this movie was the plot. Without a good plot, there would be no point to the movie. The last and final strength in “The Notebook” is emotion. This film takes one through every motion imaginable. As for examples, when Allie and Noah split, the emotional response automatically takes a tole on someone. It’s as if, your actually apart of the movie.
In the book, Allison and Noah met in 1932, at the time Allison was 15 and Noah was 17. But in the movie, they met in the year of 1940, where they both were around the same age of 17. According to Cassavetes, (unsolved), this movie was filmed in South Carolina because of its 1040’s look. Allison and Noah meet at a carnival, where Allison is very fond of Noah. With love in the air, they spent the rest of the night together until the carnival was over. However, in the movie, Noah became infatuated with Allison, and went to the extreme of insanity by jumping on the ferry’s wheel to ask her out. Noah plays remarkable in both and just makes the audience fall in love with his character.
With most summer romances follows heartache. As for Noah and Allison, their fairytale love weren’t excluded. When the summer ended, Allison had to return back home, leaving Noah behind. With heartache comes conflict, according to the movie, Allison and Noah got into a huge fight before she left, which ultimately lead them regretting the whole disagreement. Nicolas Sparks, captured this moment perfectly, not only does it make the audience stand on edge; it also makes the viewer’s wonder could true love really occur this beautiful. According to Sparks (2004), True Love exists and there’s evidence of it every day. In 1932, Allison and Noah separate for fourteen years, but in the movie they separated in 1940 for only seven years. Many feel as if the huge timeline difference were to create tension for a more dramatic audience, considering younger audience would be drawn into the movie more.
In the movie, Noah’s character is so much more romantic than in the book. Noah’s love for Allison was so strong in the movie, that he wrote her a letter every day for a year. That is three hundred and sixty five letters from a heart aching young man, who only wish in the world is to reunite with the love of his life. In the book, Noah wrote Allison one letter a month, the equivalent of only 12 letters. Cassavetes did a wonderful job into capturing such a raw talent and emotions that draws an audience attention. Unfortunately, Allison never receives one letter. So therefore, Noah had to mend his broken heart by moving on. Right before Noah left for the war, Noah sent his last love letter. The time frame was shortened for the movie, which made it a lot easier for younger audience to relate too.
Nicolas Sparks, “The Notebook”, strongly informs the world on how true love exists, between a man and a woman. Noah and Allison had such true love that some way or another, their love carried them into the afterlife together. In both the book and movie, Noah sneaks Allison room, where they are currently in the nursing home due to their aging and health, and they both laid together all night long (Sparks, 1996, p. 204). When morning comes, the nurse finds them holding hands still and realizes they passed away together in their sleep. Noah stated, “If you’re a bird, I’m a bird” (Sparks, 1996, p. 103), clearly shows how deep their love remained.
This remarkable story makes every young lady want to fall in love, and only hope to have a love like “The Notebook.” Allison and Noah’s love could outstand anything. Sparks has written the ultimately perfect fantast for the world. “I think the most obvious reason is that the story touched people in a deeply personal way. It seems that nearly everyone I spoke with about the novel knew a “Noah and Allie” in their own life.” (Sparks, 2004). The Notebook was amazingly directed, written and it is great to read and watch.
