The Lucky One

Yesterday mid-morning I made a beeline for Barnes & Noble and there it was, an entire display devoted to the new book by Nicholas Sparks, The Lucky One. I hadn't called the bookstore to check if it was in so I wasn't sure they'd have it--the book was due out on Sept. 30th but I don't know what time of day books are delivered to bookstores--but I ran in and saw it. I hadn't pre-ordered the book but took my chances that it would be available, and it was.

Last night I began reading Sparks' fourteenth and latest book, The Lucky One. I've only read the first two chapters and am still meeting the characters, so I don't have much to "report" about the book just yet. I have some general comments, though. For people who haven't read much by Nicholas Sparks, I advise you not to write him off too quickly. These books are not fluffy romances, but deal with serious issues such as illness and aging, and in The Lucky One, the war in Iraq, and include tragedies of all sorts (expect to cry). The characters struggle to find not only love but strength and some kind of redemption (not usually in a religious sense). The language may be simple (meaning clear, and I think that's very important as writing is, after all, about communicating), but the stories and characters are complex, interesting, and modern, and several of these books are international bestsellers.