Dear John - Nicholas Spark

SemBreak Reading Project

I have decided to read more books in the semester break, especially the books I bought last year at Big Bad Wolf (BBW). Oh yea, and FYI, there is going to have another BBW in Penang in this coming July. I will be there and rock it with my wheel LOL

I have always wanted to read a Nicholas Sparks book. For many people complimented him in writing classic teenagers love story. There are a selection of his books but I picked Dear John since I've already watched the movie. So there is this curiosity flow in me to find out if the movie is exactly the same with his book. Which I later found out it didn't.

Before reading it I contemplating Nicholas' style of writing would be similar to Jodi Picoult. The massive use of fantastic and figurative words. But it turned out to be the other way round. His words made me feel so down to earth that I was really reading a story book. It's so interesting that I managed to finish reading it in 2 days. But well I dedicated most of my time reading the book. Nothing much else a girl-in-wheelchair could do.

It uses first person narrative writing. The whole story based on the male leading role, John Tyree's point of view. It revolves around his upbringing, his relationship with his father and the encounter with the love of his life, Savannah.

Savannah in the movie played by one of my favourite American Actresses, Amanda Seyfried. But to be frank, I think the actual Savannah written by Nicholas Sparks is a SELFISH girl. She is so longing for love and in almost the end of the novel, when her husband, Tim was warded in hospital for cancer treatment, I bet she hoped to be with John AGAIN.  I know she had been gone through a lot of hardships to be separated with John, particularly when they were so in love that time. It was suffering to be parted with your loved ones I understand that but once you have decided to give it up, you have no turning back. She made a choice to relieve herself from the heartache seeing John leaving for military. And that is it.

She can't be blamed, I understand. But it's still so disappointing that John and Savannah didn't make it till the end. Tim is a nice guy but for me, John and Savannah makes up a perfect couple.

My tears are burning in my eyeballs in the parts describing relationship between John and his father, Bill Tyree who suffered from a developmental disorder. There are so many hidden emotions flowing under each and every conversations they had. I weep when Bill passed away and surprisingly he had already contacted the lawyer to arrange for his own funeral 6 weeks before. There is this Fathers' love that can't be expressed through words. And I think this is the part that makes this novel so worth reading.

Found this video from YouTube which summarizes the movie quite well. The movie had a better ending than the novel.

Another song sang by Amanda Seyfried in Dear John movie.