From Amazon.co.uk
A Bend in the Road is a first-rate novel and Nicholas Sparks' finest book yet. Such well-turned books as
The Rescue, and
Message in a Bottle established him as a writer of skill and persuasiveness, with a particular knack for wry, well-rounded characterisations--qualities well in evidence in this book.
Miles Ryan leads a relatively uneventful life in the small town in which he is sheriff--except for an incident two years previously that changed him irrevocably: the killing (by a hit-and-run driver) of his adored wife. Miles' obsession with uncovering the identity of the driver has led to problems with his nine-year-old son Jonah, who is having difficulties at school. And when Miles finds himself brought together with Jonah's teacher, the attractive Sarah, both of them are soon caught up in a relationship that will force them to re-examine what their lives mean--particularly as Sarah has a secret of her own.
The secret of Sparks' success (here, as in his other books) is to carefully establish the problems of his main protagonists so that we come to be involved in their lives and care about them--before involving them with someone else, who we similarly come to know intimately. It's not an easy task, and many a novelist has come adrift by concentrating too much on the hero or heroine at the expense of those around them. Sparks is much too sure-footed for that, and we are utterly involved with the problems of both Miles and Sarah (not to mention the nine-year-old Jonah, who is handled without a trace of sentimentality, which is a refreshing touch). As the central characters' destinies intertwine, we are as keen for them to recognise each other's virtues as we are that they'll solve the problems that have been ruining their lives. Barry Forshaw
--Ce texte provient d'une édition qui n'est plus publiée ou qui est non diponible.
From Publishers Weekly
Sweet, accessible, uplifting and predictable, the latest love story from Sparks (The Notebook) leaves the reader with just one burning question: Why is this consummate beach book being published in the fall? The nearly thwarted but eventually triumphant romance of deputy sheriff Miles Ryan and second-grade teacher Sarah Andrews goes down as easily as marshmallow fluff and offers about as much real nourishment. Miles's high school sweetheart, Missy, was killed in an unsolved hit and run accident, leaving him to raise their son, Jonah, in New Bern, N.C. Sarah's politically ambitious husband, Michael, dumped her when her ovaries proved inactive, and she fled to New Bern to teach, and love, other people's kids. Miles and Sarah meet at a parent-teacher conference, and the sparks fly. But there's a fly in the ointment as well; an italicized voice threaded among the happy chapters alerts us that Missy's death was caused by someone whose identity, if revealed, could destroy Miles and Sarah's newfound joy. In Sparks's heaven, clouds exist to make silver linings look the brighter. As tough truth shadows their landscape, Miles and Sarah find depths within themselves, and their rekindled light illumines all. New Bern becomes a city of the reborn. Charlie Curtis, Miles's stickler boss, learns to bend; Missy's aimless killer morphs into a healer; and Jonah once again knows a mother's love. The opposite of edgy, with simple sentences and soft-pedaled sex, Sparks's plain vanilla morality will doubtless sell like ice cream on a steamy day. (Sept.)Forecast: Major television and print advertising and an 18-city author tour will broadcast Sparks's latest from the rooftops; expect instant bestsellerdom.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--Ce texte provient d'une édition qui n'est plus publiée ou qui est non diponible.
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