Customer Reviews

The Best of Me

5 star:		(117)
4 star:		(46)
3 star:		(57)
2 star:		(67)
1 star:		(37)

 

 

"The Best of me" by Nicholas Sparks follows the love story of Dawson Cole--a young man from a never do well family, who is sent to prison after he accidentally runs over the town's doctor, and upon release is nearly killed during an explosion in his new oil rig job--and Amanda Collier, his high school sweetheart who came from a wealthy family, and who, all those years later, is a married stay-at-home mom who occasionally ventures out to volunteer at the town's medical center.

The occasion for their union is the death of Tuck Hostetler, an elderly car mechanic who was their mutual friend and wished for them to scatter his ashes at a cottage owned by his ex-wife, the love of life who died before him, Clara. As Dawson and Amanda visit Tuck's estate and fulfill his wishes, they fall in love with each other all over again. But twenty years have passed, and Amanda's current married life and her mother's disapproval creates a huge obstacle.

But this is not the only problem Dawson faces. Elsewhere in town, his cousins Ted and Abee found out his back in town and want to plot their revenge for Dawson beating them up all these years ago. Not satisfied with a confrontation, Ted plots to murder Dawson. Meanwhile, Abee is caught up in a romance of his own--one that ultimately turns dangerous for all the participants involved.

My thoughts: as in many of Sparks' previous novels, this story is told from different points of view. This is an effective device that Sparks uses, letting the reader get intimately acquainted with all of the characters. Right off the bat, we know that Dawson wears his heart on his sleeve--and is a vulnerable character--weighted down by guilt, lost love, and loneliness. Amanda is less of a dreamer than Dawson--preferring to stay in the present, and deal with the cards she's been dealt. Ted and Abee are both emotionally unstable, violent characters who lack any sort of morality or practicality. And Tuck is a father-figure character, who is above any of the negative events taking place throughout the book, and more of a symbol of how the characters should have acted, but never did.

There's some paranormal elements to this story, but also a kind of nostalgic feel of lost time. You really root for Dawson and Amanda to get back together. But Sparks makes their relationship a mystery--up until the last third of the book. The conflicts created by the presence of Ted and Abee, Amanda's unpleasant mother, and Dawson's own demons are nicely incorporated into the plot. The ending is unpredictable, as the storylines of different characters are unexpectedly connected. The character who seemed so minor only a few pages ago, now has a major role in the story's outcome. And the story keeps you guessing until the last chapters.

I love Nicholas Sparks books, but lately have been disappointed. It is as if he has written every good plot he can think of so now, in desperation, turns to the cliches that are sure-fire tissue twisters. In Safe Haven, which I really did like because it was so different than his other books, Sparks added the element of suspense and a tiny bit of a ghost angle. Well, after experimenting with it and seeing it pleased his fans, he's gone all out with it in this book, landing a ghost as a secondary character and throwing in a couple of back hill goons with a love for their Glocks.

Here's the plot in a nutshell. Dawson Cole, the kid from the wrong side of the track and Amanda Collier, the rich pretty girl fall in love. Alas, their love is doomed, so they part ways, but this love was so very strong Dawson could never find it in him to love another and led a loner life. (I ask ... how many guys would go their ENTIRE lives without ever being with a woman or wanting a family, content to keep company with a memory?) Amanda though, has married a dentist who drinks too much and makes her miserable. She compares herself to an otter asleep on the side of his cage at the zoo, knowing this isn't the life she's supposed to live but with no way out. Even on her wedding day, she wished the poor man at the end of the aisle away, longing for Dawson.

The book begins with Dawson knowing that he should have died when the oil rig he worked on had an explosion. But instead, after he flopped in the water, this dark haired man in a wind breaker appears and Dawson swims towards him to safety. Suddenly this wind breaker guy is popping up here and there, sometimes just a flicker in the corner of his eye, but Dawson can never get a close look at him before he disappears. (That weird secondary character I mentioned earlier.)

An old man from his hometown dies and his attorney requests Dawson's presence. This old man, named Tuck, was a friend so he goes and, lo and behold, who else should the attorney have also called into town, but Amanda, who was also friends with Tuck. Now Tuck was a raging romantic and he'd planned before his death in great detail a fabulous, bring out the sex night away for these two at a little cottage set in paradise. (which brings to mind the already done Nights in Rodanthe.) I will leave you hanging so you can breathlessly turn pages to see if they give in to temptation. I thought this whole bit was cliched, due to the fact a thousand novels have been written about sisters, friends, mothers and daughters, and ex-lovers who are forced together due to a funeral. It's not exactly a surprise what happens.

While all of this romance and rediscovery is happening, there is the threat of some of Dawson's wrong side of the law cousins. (Sparks makes these guys like comic book villians with no real personalities.) Suddenly between these rough neck characters and another surprise event, the novel goes from the sinewy muscles of Dawson's arms' and the heat of his breath on her neck, to a breakneck switch that throws the readers out of their dreamy state into a bucket of cold water.

And then the end. Sparks does his best to make it a fine mix of happy slash sad. He always tries to get in those hankie moments and he really goes for broke with the last pages. One can see what's coming, and whether you're clinging to your tissue and saying, "Oh Sparks, you did it again," or "I can't believe it's come to this - a recycled tear jerker' - either way one must admire Nicholas Sparks. Many a woman would love a man who can think so romantic and put so much of his heart into words.

Or is it just that he has a formula for novels he knows will sell?

Either way, I will continue to read every novel Nicolas Sparks puts out there. There's always a hope the next one will be better and there have been some really great ones already written. Safe Haven is one of those and I can't wait until the movie comes out(mentioned in Acknowledgments).

In ending, read it because truly you can't go wrong with anything he writes but don't expect a novel that will knock you away with its fresh plot.

I tremendously enjoy Spark's books so I wish I had not added this one to my collection to taint the mix. I considered giving this a single star but out of respect for the obviously talented author and the character development of Dawson & Amanda, I begrudgingly gave it two. I have read this book before. The characters have had different names and are set in different times and places and were written by different authors but this story line was hardly original which is unfortunate because the two main characters, along with Tuck were believable for the most part. I agree with another reviewer that Dawson's perpetual fidelity was poignant but unrealistic; reminds me of a sad country song. Shades of John Tyree's touching altruism were revisited (Dear John) but to a much more painful degree which left me wanting something entirely different from the way the last half of the story was written. I was a bit aggravated when I suspected where the story was headed and skipped ahead to confirm my suspicions which is something I rarely do. Incidentally, I hope future offerings from Sparks will avoid the magical, mysterious, paranormal characters that have been lurking in the periphery of some of his more recent books. I find them a little contrived and distracting. I do appreciate that Mr. Spark's books are character driven and that his stories focus on human emotions rather than dragging the readers through a mire of profanity and meaningless copulation that so many of this genre fall to. I am looking forward to his next book but this one just didn't do it for me.

I have read all of Nicholas Sparks' books. I have enjoyed all of them. I was disappointed in The Best of Me. Not all of his books have "happily ever after" endings where the characters end up together, and I am OK with that. This ending ruined the book for me.

I liked the characters of Dawson and Amanda and their love story very much.

I did not like how other lesser characters were just dropped in the story. There was a random little chapter here and there mentioning Marilyn and Alan Bonner, and Candy. These didn't flow well with the rest of the story. It was almost like, here are a few other people that relate to the story that you might want to know about.

I guessed early on who the man in the windbreaker following Dawson was. I think the author wanted the reader to know before Dawson. I had no problem with that.

The problem I had is that when Amanda began her drive home, it was like I was reading a different story. It just didn't fit with the rest of the book for me. I thought what happened with Dawson fit well, right up until the final moment, but Amanda's part made it seem like it was a different novel. I guessed the ending with 30 pages to go. In some of the author's other novels, I have guessed at the ending, but have never nailed it perfectly, there was always some aspect that I hadn't anticipated. Not this time. I said to myself, "If this is the way it ends, I will be very disappointed." And I was. I won't give the ending away, but it ruined the story for me. I am very disappointed. Not one of Nicholas Sparks' best books.

I wasn't merely disappointed by the turn this novel took; I was actually disgusted. The last paragraph of the book was just plain disturbing. Do yourself a favor and skip this one even if you are an avid Sparks fan. You will start to care about the characters then want to punch Mr. Sparks in the face over what he does with them. Perhaps the worst part was that the reader could see the ending coming a mile away. I kept reading only because I thought that surely he wouldn't "go there." Then kicked myself for taking the time to finish the book when that is exactly where he went.

I'd give this zero stars if I could. It was THAT BAD!

I have always had a soft spot for Nicholas Sparks books. They're simple, fun, and easy-to-read books. They are not literary masterworks, they are just a short, light piece of fluff you can read in a couple of days. And usually, Nicholas Sparks can tell a good love story. Not here. I hate to say it, but "The Best of Me" is like one of the groan-worthy movies you see on the Lifetime Movie Network. Get a simple but cheesy love story, throw in a few violent scenes, some explanations of why 99% of men are just jerks who abuse women and want to fight, and that's this book. Unlike his other novels, Sparks seems to be rehashing a lot of ideas from other books. I could have sworn I was reading the Notebook for at least a few chapters while reading this one. Also, Sparks likes to throw in little "cute" talks about fate and destiny (in one chapter there's talk of one of the main characters finding a four-leaf clover on a porch; aww, so cute!) and it really doesn't work as well as he probably thinks it does.

I am being really harsh, I know, but this book was a complete bore. My heart will always have room for The Notebook, A Bend in the Road, The Lucky One, and The Choice. But not The Best of Me.

I was so excited to get this book. I have read all of Mr. Sparks' books and have enjoyed them all, some more than others, but never the less, I have enjoyed them. This one wasn't one of the best nor did I enjoy it. In fact, when I was done, I was mad at myself for being swept up in the story. I was mad at myself for wasting my time reading it. And, mostly, I was mad at Mr. Sparks for writing such a predictible, yet unbelieveable, ending.

I have read most of Sparks' books and enjoyed them. They all have some tragedy or melancholy event, but I have always liked them and found them to be difficult to put down once I get started reading. The first 75 percent of this book is the same. I was really excited and wanted to keep reading and find out what was going to happen next. During the last 25 percent of the book, that excitement deteriorated rapidly. Without posting spoilers, I will say that I immensely disliked the ending and didn't like the direction in which he took the book at all. I wish I would have read reviews before purchasing this one. It is definitely NOT his best work and not the best for me. I would go so far as saying I disliked this book and wish I wouldn't have read it. I will definitely read reviews in the future before automatically purchasing any more Nicholas Sparks books.

I usually love Nicholas Sparks books, but this is definitely not one I could say I love. The whole thing seemed predicable. Predictability aside, the build-up and story were not the caliber one expects from an author like Nicholas Sparks.

This book was a dissapointment. I have read every single Nicholas Sparks book, and loved every one until this book. The book had a terrible ending and so many characters were not well developed. Usually, a Nicholas Sparks book really has you in love with the characters, but not this time. I will still be a Sparks fan and continue to read his books, but this one was not worth the time or money I invested.