Customer Reviews

A Bend In The Road

5 star:		(110)
4 star:		(51)
3 star:		(31)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(22)

 

 

thanks so much for ruining the end of the book shawnmacd...no need to purchase it now. a bit of advice, some people read these reviews to find new books to read, and don't appreciate when people ruin the book by giving away the ending. don't take my 3-star rating seriously, i didn't get to read the book.

So this is what passes as "contemporay literature:"

Contrived, one-dimensional storytelling. Shallow, unoriginal, unimaginative characters. A plot equal to the most compelling episode of "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood." Lapdog pundits, bowing before a major publishing house, spouting publishing-line spiel.

No doubt: another "New York Times" bestseller.

Alas, I'm being too harsh. A BEND IN THE ROAD is not complete birdcage liner--it is a laugh-out-loud, sophomoric work of prose: a story one would expect to find in a spiral notebook stuffed under a mattress. A very worn mattress, mind you, but a mattress just the same.

And to the author, here's a free piece of advice: why not try the actual word, "had," as opposed to your monotonous contractions when the POV is in the past tense (for instance, "he'd," "she'd" "they'd," "agent'd"). This is Gomer Pyle stuff.

"Golly, gee'd. . ."

Again, this is bestselling stuff? Bring me the broom corn. . .

To all of my long-suffering, talented author friends diligently laboring under the shelter of a small publishing house--or are self-publishing--I say: "Take heart!" If this book can sell, any book can. Sorry, Nick. Bummer.
--D. Mikels.

How predictable can you get? Very short fast read, if you can suffer through the trials and bad luck of Miles and Sarah. Although not a Sparks fan, I thought I'd try this one out. Obviously, not top on my list.

Awful. Just awful. I enjoyed "The Notebook" and even "Message in a Bottle," but since then Sparks is just mailing them in. What was his publisher thinking when it decided to let this one go to print? AWFUL. I'm thoroughly ashamed that I read it through to the end. I have only myself to blame.

If I could give this book negative stars, I would; I am absolutely flabergasted at these reviews. I had to read this book for our Book Club and found it to be the worst book I ever read and a total waste of my time! I am an avid reader and am angry when I read a book that is such garbage as this one was. Not only was it totally predictable, but Sparks' style is elementary. I read one other book by him for the same Book Club, and found it to be total dribble- what is the American public coming to?

Better spending your time reading The Corrections- now that's a good use of your time.

The tedium of reading one cliche after another becomes
incredibly bothersome; like ploughing through a thick
corn field...and I do mean "corn."

I am currently listening to this book on tape, and just had
to comment on it. It's so easy to "read" that it is actually
hard to read. It plods. It never meets a cliche it doesn't
like. All children "nod" their assent to adult questions.
The hero's palms never fail to "sweat" when he comes near
his lady love. A curt "Thanks!" never fails to rear its cheery little head when the hero is complimented. People look off into the distance sadly, see a boat, a tree, a bench.

If you are looking for minimalism in writing...if you are looking for writing that is barely there at all...this is definitely the book for you . He's done a clever thing: set it up so you want to find out who murdered the hero's wife.
If it weren't for that one carrot leading you on, you'd throw up your hands and say, "Get out of my face with your really
bad writing, Mr. Sparks," and toss the book (or tape) into the trash (or return it to the library, in my case).

But we plod on. Listening to the "warm." The ending better be good.

Nicholas Sparks is like comfort food, I always know going in the kind of emotional love story I'm going to get and I can count on being sucked into the lives, loves and heartache of his small town characters. They're written realistically, I mean I feel like I know them, flaws and all and I usually want to move to whatever town it is he's describing. Sure sometimes the stories are predictable and I find that the couple de jour spouts the "I love you's" too soon for my liking or realism's sake but still his stories are always a pleasure to read, which is what keeps me coming back for more.

A BEND IN THE ROAD was a surprise in that it keeps a sense of mystery going throughout, often leaving the main couples love story and allowing us into the mind of the anonymous "bad guy". Slowly unravelling their story until the shocking big reveal at the end. I honestly didn't know how Sparks was going to wrap things up with this one, his couples doesn't always end up together and that too added to the mystery here.

Sheriff's deputy Miles Ryan is still struggling to come to terms with the death of his beloved wife in a hit-and-run accident nearly two years ago. High school sweethearts, theirs was a love destined to last and Miles can't seem to let go of the grief or the fact that as an officer of the law he's been unable to find the person responsible. If it weren't for their young son Jonah it's unlikely that Miles would find the strength to get through the day.

This brings into play Jonah's second grade teacher Sarah Andrews. When Jonah begins having trouble keeping up in school Sarah offers to tutor him and a tentative relationship begins to form. Sarah is running away from a bad divorce (is there a good one?) and has a few skeletons in her closet as well. Our couple fall in love pretty fast (from one page to the next) and are just beginning to see a real future together when Miles' past comes back, tearing everything apart. Unwilling to let go of his dead wife and obsessed with finding her killer and ultimately closure I can honestly say that I was surprised by events I didn't see coming.

As I hinted at earlier I really enjoyed getting inside the head of the hit-and-run driver and slowly discovering who it was, I found myself very sympathetic towards their situation. However I could have done without spending so much time running around with county sheriff Charlie and subsequently the middle parts of this story lagged. Still a recommended read. Cheers!

This book is a heart warming story that has you cheering for the bad guy. The characters are so believable, mostly because readers are able to relate. They express themselves as I would imagine expressing myself in a similar situation. Truely believable.
The story stays true to Sparks' style, a romantic story that makes you cry. I would definately recommend this book and all the others he has written.

Granted, the immense popularity of Nicholas Sparks lately is due to the release of the movie THE NOTEBOOK. Countless people are now reading that novel and delving into his others, A BEND IN THE ROAD probably being the second choice. And a great choice it is. The characters in this book are believable, the premise interesting, and Sparks' development of both is more than satisfying. It is hard for me to believe that Nicholas Sparks continues to write better with each book, but that seems to be the case, as is definitely evidenced in A BEND IN THE ROAD. Whether you're a long time Sparks fan or have yet to read a book, I would recommend this book in the highest terms. If you're looking for another great story that will knock you over, try THE BARK OF THE DOGWOOD.

I had the audio unabridged tapes. It just blew my mind. When
Miles's wife is the victim of a hit and run he is just too hurt.
Then when he meets his son's teacher named Sarah, his life seems to be on the right track to happiness. But when the secret is revealed Miles does not know if there is a future for
him and Sarah.

The readers of this book made it seem so real, I was near tears.
I have read: The Notebook
The Rescue
and I will say they are all excellent reading. If you like drama with romanace Nicholas Sparks has the best.

Try it you might like it.