Two By Two by Nicholas Sparks

Do you have a favorite author?  For me, it’s Nicholas Sparks. If you don’t know who he is, which I find hard to imagine, perhaps it will ring a bell if you hear some of his titles, several which have been made into movies. He wrote A Walk to Remember, Dear John, Nights in Rodanthe, The Last Song, Message in a Bottle, Safe Haven, and the iconic The Notebook, just to name a few. He is usually thought of as an author of romance with tragic elements. He was my inspiration to start writing novels.

I just finished his latest book Two By Two. As much as I want to give it 5 stars, I can only give it 3.5. It was definitely worth the time to read it; however, Spark’s heartache from his own divorce understandably appears to be leaking into his writing. If you are looking for the typical Nicholas Sparks love story, this isn’t it. You might call it an anti-romance. Yet, I found the development of the main character interesting.

Through a large part of the novel (probably too much) we see the slow disintegration of a marriage. Russ is a people-pleaser. His wife Vivian manipulates him to the point that he becomes a non-entity in the relationship. When she leaves him, he struggles with his self-worth. He is overwhelmed by the divorce, his new role as a single parent and getting his new business up and running. Through these experiences and with the support of loved ones, Russ grows into a stronger man.

At first I thought it was strange that Sparks would write a book about a failing marriage. He’s supposed to write about romance, right?  And yet, it works. Readers feel for Russ as he goes from drowning in a nasty divorce to gasping for air when he breaks through to the surface as he gains self-confidence. It takes all the “downer” parts of his life to create a man ready to love again in a healthier relationship. Sparks cautiously teases readers with a developing romance, but it comes up short when balancing the heaviness of the rest of the book.

I do feel the need to defend Sparks against some reviewers that didn’t like when Russ’s father left the church to show support for his daughter Marge. I agree that he didn’t have to go to such extremes to support his daughter, but we have to remember that this father character is just that – a character. Sparks uses the father to represent how people respond differently to situations. Although Sparks is a Christian and sometimes includes Christian elements in his books, he isn’t considered an author of Christian stories. Therefore, his characters should not be held to only behaving a certain way.

I would recommend this book as long as you know going in that it isn’t like the romances Sparks is known for. It was unique for him. Like his character Russ, Sparks is healing in his own life and figuring out the new normal. I hope he finds a renewed hope in love both in life and his stories we so love. After reading the book summary of his new book coming out in October called Every Breath, it looks like he may have found his way back to the style we all love.