Book report: The Best Of Me.
The Best Of Me is one of Nicholas Sparks’ most read novel. He is an American novelist born in December 1965. It was first published on 11th October 2011. He was inspired to write the novel after observing the kind of challenges that youths in the society go through in the pursuit of love. His intension was to show the world the conflicts created by love and if true love really has the power to outshine everything.
It is an imaginary story that takes place in Oriental northern Carolina. From the description, the reader can tell that the story takes place in a town that has both rich and poor people. The society is also very selective. The story spans from 1984 to 2009.
The overriding theme in the novel is love. It is a love story with twists and turns that any ordinary person would never envisage. The author is conveying the idea that true love exists but can never overwrite the past. Readers can take the idea that love is a serious undertaking that should be handled carefully and the right decisions made when needed. People should also learn to face the reality rather than living in a world of fantasy. Prejudice and discrimination is another theme that appears in the story. Dawson, being from a poor family that liked fighting, could not marry Amanda whose family was rich and had high hopes and expectations in her.
Dawson Cole and Amanda Collier are the main characters. Dawson was a cool boy who did not like socializing. In school, he would stay alone. Amanda was a rich, humble and good-hearted girl. She was friendly to Dawson and the two fell in love.
Amanda and Dawson fell for each after spending sometime together in school. Since Amanda is a Collier and Dawson is a Cole, seeing each other was forbidden. Due to this, they still sustained to see each other in concealment. After years of being together and being in love, Dawson involuntarily had to end it with Amanda. He ended up in Louisiana. Amanda and Dawson reunited in their hometown 25 years later during the burial of Tuck, a man who buttressed their young love, and they fall in love again. Dawson swiftly tries the best he can to get Amanda back. It works for a moment not until her mother, Mrs. Collier, persuades her to realize that veracity is a lot different from fantasy. The climax in the story is when Dawson tries to win Amanda who already had a husband and three children. He is stopped by Mrs. Collier and they both become embarrassed. Dawson and Amanda say their goodbyes and immediately, Amanda receives a call about her husband and son’s involvement in an accident. In the hospital, she finds out that her son needed a heart transplant. Unfortunately, surgery fails and she also ascertains that Dawson perished from a gunshot. She realizes that she is all alone and discovers her destiny.
