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A review by savvyrosereads
The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
The second chance love story of Noah and Allie that inspired the hit movie.
I’m not a huge movie person, but THE NOTEBOOK is one of my favorite movies of all time, and one of fairly few I have intentionally watched without reading the book first. I set out to read the book at LEAST a decade ago, and never got through it. Fast forward to my 2024 goal of finishing all my past DNFs and it was finally time to revisit this one!
This is one of the rare unicorns out there—that is, a situation where the movie is better than the book. Mild spoilers ahead for why!
I felt like the book cut out so much of the early parts of Noah and Allie’s relationship, which is the part of the movie I love the most, and skipped over huge chunks of dialogue (honestly, they don’t talk much), which is what makes the movie what it is. It also felt more focused on cheating…yes, Allie does technically cheat on Lon in the movie too, but *for me* the presentation there made me feel wholly different than it does here. And finally, the ending: the movie ending is gorgeous, and the book just feels…odd, and slightly icky.
CW: Dementia/Alzheimer’s; infidelity; death
The second chance love story of Noah and Allie that inspired the hit movie.
I’m not a huge movie person, but THE NOTEBOOK is one of my favorite movies of all time, and one of fairly few I have intentionally watched without reading the book first. I set out to read the book at LEAST a decade ago, and never got through it. Fast forward to my 2024 goal of finishing all my past DNFs and it was finally time to revisit this one!
This is one of the rare unicorns out there—that is, a situation where the movie is better than the book. Mild spoilers ahead for why!
I felt like the book cut out so much of the early parts of Noah and Allie’s relationship, which is the part of the movie I love the most, and skipped over huge chunks of dialogue (honestly, they don’t talk much), which is what makes the movie what it is. It also felt more focused on cheating…yes, Allie does technically cheat on Lon in the movie too, but *for me* the presentation there made me feel wholly different than it does here. And finally, the ending: the movie ending is gorgeous, and the book just feels…odd, and slightly icky.
CW: Dementia/Alzheimer’s; infidelity; death
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Infidelity, and Dementia