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Message in a Bottle (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author) "A cold December wind was blowing, and Theresa Osborne crossed her arms as she stared out over the water..." (more)
Key Phrases: Nicholas Sparks, Garrett Blake, North Carolina (more...)
3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (878 customer reviews)
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  School & Library Binding, January 31, 1999 $18.40 $18.40 $23.99
  Paperback, January 13, 1999 -- $26.14 $0.02
  Mass Market Paperback, December 31, 1998 $7.99 $3.77 $0.01
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

If you thought The Notebook was a tearjerker, get out the hankies, pull up a chair, and get ready to have your heart monkey-wrenched by Nicholas Sparks's second star-crossed love story, Message in a Bottle. When Theresa Osborne takes a much-needed summer holiday at Cape Cod, she finds a lot more than a break from the hustle and bustle. On an early-morning jog along Cape Cod Bay, she comes across a corked bottle with a scrolled-up message inside that reads, "My Dearest Catherine, I miss you, my darling, as I always do, but today is especially hard because the ocean has been singing to me, and the song is that of our life together..." It bobbles around in the same vein for several more paragraphs and ends with "...am alone on the pier and I do not care what others think as I bow my head and cry and cry and cry. Garret."

Garret may eat quiche, but no bother--before you can say "Look! I found two more letters!" Theresa is hot on his trail and determined to find this mysterious yet sensitive message-in-a-bottle man. She finds him at a sleepy North Carolina port, working on his beloved sailboat, The Happenstance. From there, a romance buds and blossoms into a colorful bouquet of emotional baggage. Theresa has problems with her past--or, more accurately, her past is a problem. She is so scarred from her "I'm a super churchgoing guy now that I've run out on my wife" ex-husband that she hasn't tried to date since her divorce some three or four years before. And who is Catherine? And what's Garret's bag, anyway? When Theresa finds out, she plunges to the depths of her soul and uncorks a whopper of a secret about herself, bringing Garret to terms with who he really is.

Message in a Bottle has the earmarks of sentimental tongue-wagging at its finest and should please romantics and cynics alike--it's sure to bring romantics to their knees, while cynics will be slapping theirs in laughter. --Rebekah Warren --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.



From Publishers Weekly

Avoiding a sophomore slump, Sparks follows The Notebook with another sentimental candidate for the bestseller lists. Boston parenting columnist Theresa Osborne has lost faith in the dream of everlasting love. Three years after divorcing her cheating husband, the single mother is vacationing on Cape Cod when she finds a bottle washed up on the shore. Inside, a message begins: "My Dearest Catherine, I miss you." Subsequent publication of the poignant missive in her column turns up two more letters, found by others, from the same mysterious writer, Garrett Blake. Piqued by his epistolary constancy, Theresa follows the trail to North Carolina, where she discovers that Garrett has been mourning his late wife for three years; writing the sea-borne messages is his only solace. Theresa also finds that Garrett just might be ready to love again... and that she might be the woman for him. There are few surprises here as we watch the couple learn to love in Catherine's slowly waning shadow. By the time they do, Sparks has proved that a man who romantically (and manually) pens missives to his lost lady love in the era of e-mail is a welcome hero in this fin-de-millennium fax-happy world. (Knowing that Kevin Costner has been slated to play Garrett on screen doesn't hurt, either.) Film rights to Warner Bros.; simultaneous Time Warner audio; Literary Guild main selection and Reader's Digest select edition; author tour.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Product Details

  • Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
  • Publisher: Vision; Mass Paperback Edition edition (January 1999)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0446606812
  • ISBN-13: 978-0446606813
  • Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (878 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #9,668 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Nicholas Sparks
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First Sentence:
A cold December wind was blowing, and Theresa Osborne crossed her arms as she stared out over the water. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Nicholas Sparks, Garrett Blake, North Carolina, Wrightsville Beach, Jeb Blake, Nicbolas Sparks, Island Diving, Theresa Osborne, Boston Times, Cape Cod, Arthur Shendakin, New England, Carolina Beach, Nícbolas Sparks, Long Island
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878 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
3.7 out of 5 stars (878 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Unique Romance, September 27, 2001
Message in a Bottle is a unique romantic story and a fine novel. It all starts when Theresa Osborne is vacationing in Cape Code and comes across - you guessed it - a message in a bottle. The message is from a man "Garrett" to his wife about his intensely felt love. Osborne, a middle aged divorcee with little romance in her own life is intrigued enough to start searching out others who may have found similar messages. As she collects them, she herself falls in love with Garrett (although she has yet to admit it to herself) and decides to search for him. She finds him in a small, North Carolina town and the romance emerges. But of course - they are such different people that problems crop up. He is a widower feeling guilty and not over his wife and a small town kind of guy. She's a big city gal with a career. But the relationship develops with ups and downs nonetheless.

Sparks is excellent in fully developing the personalities of his characters and building empathy in the reader. He has done a fine job here. If you didn't like the movie - read the book anyway. It's much better.

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15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A tear jerker, September 24, 2000
Message in a Bottle is one incredible book. The plot of the story is whimsical and will have you dreaming that maybe someday you'll find a love as strong as these two characters in this novel.

Basically this is one sad book, and the people who rate it low, are only doing so because this book doesn't have a cheerful "happily ever after" ending. While I read the book, especially the end, tears slowly streamed down my face as I tried to understand why the story went the way it did. The fact that Garrett was able to love his wife with so much emotion, just shakes you to the core because it comes to the point of obession.

Message in a Bottle is a story about a woman named Theresa Osborne, a newspaper columnist, who finds a bottle washed up shore one day. She proceeds to read the letter inside and there a history of unforgotten love unfolds. Garrett Blake, trying to cope with the lose of his deceased wife, Catherine, writes letters to her and send them out to sea, hoping that one day they'll reach Europe.

As the story progresses, Theresa finds Garrett and they give into the emotions that are growing between them and fall in love with each other. But Garrett isn't ready to let go of his deceased wife yet, so the problem is introduced... read the story and you'll be crying but still happy at the same time.

This book teaches us about the aspect of love and how it's possible to love once more even though you think that you'll never be able to love again. And the fact that love is solid, and so much stronger than simple lust. Recommended.

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most beautifully written books, December 24, 1999
By Grace (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews
Not one for romance novels or any of this lovey dovey stuff, reminds me of those Mills and Boons Books :) I rented the video as a change from action/thriller and I have to say I never cried so much in my life! It was a beautiful film and I had to set about looking for the book as I know how Hollywood likes to 'butcher' some well written novels ie Grisham and the book was even better than I expected! Read the novel and you will not be disappointed. Even though are some story discrepancies between the movie and novel. Whilst I knew the ending was coming I still cried. It makes you believe that true love exists and you can love again. The cynical people will believe what they want. But why Mr Sparks did you let hollywood have its wicked ways with your book....
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyed the book!
I have read several of Nicholas Spark's books. This is the first abridged title. I will not purchase abridged volumes again. I think I missed a lot. Read more
Published 2 months ago by J. Righetti

4.0 out of 5 stars one of his better books but with his usual Cliche' ending...
Message in a bottle is very well paced and the story is very interesting and suspenseful...held my attention throughout.... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Pravin Gurung

2.0 out of 5 stars Boring, sappy, and slow-moving
I was stuck with this book on an airplane flight and read the whole thing in an hour and a half, skimming through the boring parts, which were most of the book. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Oddzilla

5.0 out of 5 stars Message in a Bottle
Like most of Sparks love novels, this novel is unique within its own story.

Theresa Osborne is taking vacation in Cape Cod when she comes across a bottle, that has... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Angela M. Hooper

1.0 out of 5 stars The worst since "Bridges of Madison County"
Formulaic, patronizing and dull. I'm just glad it was loaned to me, and that I didn't waste my money, just my time. Read more
Published 15 months ago by SugahPop

1.0 out of 5 stars Can't believe it is the same author as The Notebook
After reading The Notebook, I was excited to pick up another hyped Nicolas Sparks book. But boy oh boy was it such a let-down. Read more
Published 16 months ago by seabird

4.0 out of 5 stars Far better than the movie!
I admit that I used to be a "movie only" person. But Sparks has changed that! With the exception of "The Notebook", his stories are superior to the movies they've turned out. Read more
Published 18 months ago by luv2teach

4.0 out of 5 stars All about Tragic
I love the story because I love the plot of this story. The book is far more bewitching than the movie. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Jiang Wenyi

5.0 out of 5 stars AGONY
(Contains spoilers)

I sobbed with this book, enough to actually throw it across the bed. I felt her pain in the end, and it was all so terrible wrong. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Anais Cardenas

1.0 out of 5 stars Ridiculous. Seriously, seriously ridiculous.
This book is ridiculous. I was bored out of my mind for the majority of it, and it didn't become even REMOTELY interesting until Garrett ripped Theresa a new one when he found his... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Psyche

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