Con esto de la cuarentena, quería leer los libros que tenía pendientes.
Nunca creí que un libro que compré hace tiempo, y que debí haber leído hace mucho, me ayudaría tanto en un momento tan difícil de mi vida actualmente. No sé cómo llamarlo, pero si el destino es real, hizo que no leyera este libro antes, para poder leerlo en el momento correcto.

Adrianne terbiasa hidup untuk keluarganya. Untuk suaminya, juga anak-anaknya. Saat sang suami meninggalkannya demi wanita lain, Adrianne bukan hanya kehilangan suaminya. Tapi Adrianne kehilangan semangat dan hidupnya. Tertinggalkan bersama anak-anak mereka yang tentunya juga kehilangan figur keluarga yang utuh.

Paul terbiasa hidup untuk pekerjaannya. Untuk keluarganya, melalui pasiennya. Saat ia banyak meninggalkan momen bersama keluarganya dan sang istri menyerah, barulah Paul sadar. Ditambah dengan kematian salah satu pasiennya, membuat Paul ingin memperbaiki hubungannya dengan keluarganya.

Adrianne ditakdirkan bertemu dengan Paul untuk berbagi kasih sayang. Untuk saling menyadarkan bahwa masih ada sesuatu yang bisa mereka raih. Untuk saling mengetahui bahwa masih ada orang yang peduli pada hidup mereka. Untuk saling mengingatkan bahwa mereka masih pantas mendapatkan cinta dan kasih sayang yang sebelumnya telah ditelan habis oleh kehidupan. Juga saling membantu untuk berdamai dengan hidup lama yang selama ini masih saja mengintip dari balik punggung kehidupan mereka..

Saya tidak pernah berada dalam posisi Adrianne sebelumnya. Namun saya menghabiskan waktu remaja saya untuk melihat seseorang dalam posisi seperti Adrianne. Setelah hidup lama menghancurkan impiannya, pertemuan dengan seseorang yang istimewa memang mampu membuat hidupnya yang hampir hancur kembali berseri. Wajah yang nampak lebih cantik, bahasa tubuh yang menjadi lebih halus, tawa yang semakin sering terdengar juga mata yang entah mengapa bisa nampak lebih bersinar. Tak pernah terbayang jika ia harus mengalami ending yang sama dengan Adrianne di buku ini.

Kehilangan memang hanya bisa ditolerir dengan kembali mendapatkan, bukan mendapatkan kembali..
Apa yang sudah hilang, tentu sudah tidak seharusnya diratapi.
Jangan takut akan kehilangan..
Karena semua yang tidak akan kembali,
masih akan membentuk kenangan untuk menetap dalam dirimu.
Ambillah cahaya positif dari semuanya untuk kau pancarkan kembali.
Untuk hidupmu, juga untuk hidup orang terdekatmu..

Kuningan, 08.04.10
-ayu, berteman kopi-

Out of curiosity and a slight romantic mood I decided to read a book by this author. This one is quite short, so I finished it very quickly and I can say that I didn't suffer, I didn't find anything particularly annoying, but I feel that this small size of the book and the fast narration make it not offer something, at least for me. It contains a beautiful story has all the elements that can make it romantic and touching but the writing is not able to create the necessary atmosphere.

Από περιέργεια και μία ελαφριά ρομαντική διάθεση είπα να διαβάσω ένα βιβλίο αυτού του συγγραφέα. Το συγκεκριμένο είναι αρκετά μικρό, έτσι πολύ σύντομα το τελείωσα και μπορώ να πω ότι δεν έπαθα τίποτα, δεν βρήκα τίποτα ιδιαίτερα ενοχλητικό, νιώθω όμως ότι αυτό το μικρό μέγεθος του βιβλίου και η γρήγορη αφήγηση το κάνουν να μην προσφέρει κάτι, τουλάχιστον σε μένα. Περιέχει μία όμορφη ιστορία έχει όλα τα στοιχεία που μπορούν να την καθιστούν ρομαντική και συγκινητική αλλά το γράψιμο δεν είναι ικανό να δημιουργήσει την απαραίτητη ατμόσφαιρα.

Nicholas Sparks tiene algo. En todos los libros que leo de él me rompe el corazón y me lo reconstruye de una manera asombrosa. Y vaya que el romance me ha dejado de encantar en los últimos años, pero sus historias son diferentes. Sus historias son definitivamente el tipo de amor que yo quiero llegar a vivir alguna vez.

“Eras de una belleza infinita, y creo que en parte ése es el motivo de que pudiese abrirme a ti como no lo había hecho con nadie. Pero no fue sólo tu belleza lo que me conmovió. Fue todo en ti: tu valentía y tu pasión, y el sabio sentido común con el que entiendes el mundo.” ✨

Trees died for this?

3.5 stars

Nights in Rodanthe is about love and loss. It's a small book really but heavy on emotion, tenderness, yearning, and love. In this book, Sparks takes us from the present, to the past and back to the present seamlessly. His story flows and tears that the heartstrings.

The book starts in the present day 8 months after Adrienne's daughter's husband has died from cancer and she (the daughter)is struggling after his death. Her grief is so much that at times she has trouble taking care of herself let alone her young children. After months of watching her daughter struggle with moving on, Adrienne makes the decision to tell her daughter something she has not shared with any of her children- her own personal story of love and loss.

Thus begins our tale. A little of the present, then Sparks takes us back in to the past. A past where Adrienne's husband has left her for a younger woman. Adrienne is struggling to take care of their three children and her ailing father who is living in a home. She agrees to help her friend by watching her bed and breakfast for the weekend.

In walks the only guest, Paul. A medical doctor who is divorced and estranged from his adult son. He has come to town to talk to the husband of a deceased patient.

During their time at the inn, Adrienne and Paul learn it is never to late to fall in love and dream of a happy future. Knowing they will be apart due to Paul going to rebuild his relationship with his son, they agree to keep in touch and reconnect after Paul's 1 year commitment is up.

"She had fallen in love with a stranger over the course of a weekend. And she had come to believe that she'd learned more in those five days than she had in all the years before and after. Love was the essence of a full and wonderful life."

I am not a huge fan of Nicolas Sparks, but when I heard about this book I was really interested in reading it because it takes place in Rodanthe, North Carolina. I absolutely love the Outer Banks. I went there a few months ago and it was the most wild, beautiful, and magical places that I have ever been.

This is a very short book, and it didn't take me long to read at all. And yet I feel as if the emotions from this book will be staying with me for a very long time. This books forces you to not be a skeptic regarding love. I'm sure many people would roll their eyes and scoff at the notion of falling in love with someone within the course of only a few days. But this novel really makes me believe in the power of love, and the way love changes us and helps us to become better people. Set amid the beauty of the Outer Banks, this book is truly unforgettable.

"The greater the love, the greater the tragedy when it's over."

...."Само че аз не говоря за чувствата ти. Тях не можеш да владееш. Пак ще плачеш, отново ще има моменти, в които ще чувстваш, че нямаш сили да продължиш напред. Ала трябва да се държиш така, сякаш можеш. В подобни мигове контролираме само действията си."

Okay I read another Nicholas Sparks book because apparently he's doing something right. Y'all, I don't get it. It feels as though there's lots of telling rather than showing. He does do that thing where he ends chapters on a kind of "dun dun dun" that people keep telling me not to do. He is very good at withholding information from the reader--that I did note. It was a quick and easy read. I thought he handled the female POV pretty well, something I can't always say about male authors.

BUT...

Why with the unhappy ending? It didn't even feel. . . . necessary. IDK. Feel free to reply with the appeal of Nicholas Sparks so that I may better educate myself.

It had a touching ending when Paul's son came to see Adrienne telling her how much love Paul with her....that's a shame Paul dying to save his son from a bad accident....I thought it was a very good book and it touched my heart reading this book...

She had fallen in love with a stranger in the course of a weekend, and she would never fall in love again. The desire to love again had ended on a mountain pass in Ecuador. Paul had died for his son, and in that moment, part of her had died as well.

Apart from this world full of deceit, anguish and hatred, there exists a world full of love, sincerity and longing and I want to live there. Sparks, hats off to you, you made me think this.

I had rarely come across the books in my life that brings tears in the eyes and you still don't want to put it aside, I loved to go on with this little book full of love while I walked home after alighting from office vehicle, in the elevator and while having a breakfast and when not....

I am awestruck, I am dazed, I am aggrieved,
I cannot write much about the storyline, one word summarizes it - Hypnotic
I don't want to write about the Adrienne and Paul - one sentence for them - A duet of love
I don't want to write about the Author - one word summarizes him - The Master

Lastly, my favourite line from the book itself that summarises my feelings for this book,
In the few days I spent with you, You became my dream.

A simple story that tells you how love strengths you and makes you a better person than you are. The story made me feel like crying at the end but it gave me strength too .