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portuguese_bookaholic 's review for:
Corações em Silêncio
by Nicholas Sparks
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
About 19 years separate my first and last readings of this book. The world has changed, books have changed and, most importantly, I have changed.
I'm not entirely sure whether this book is REALLY showing its age or if it's mainly that my demands and tastes as a reader have (naturally) evolved dramatically. After all, this was first published in 2000, and I must have been no older than 15 when I first met these characters and fell in love with them, and I'm now 34. But, in good conscience, I can no longer call this book a favourite after rereading it.
Denise is a single mom in her late twenties who is going through financial difficulties after having had to quit her job as a teacher to take care of her four-year-old, Kyle, a cute little boy with an unspecified speech impairment. As such, she decided to move to a small town in North Carolina, to her late grandparents' house.
Taylor is a good ol' southern boy living in said small town. In his mid-thirties, he owns a construction company, volunteers with the local firefighters, and is starting to be pressured by his loved ones to "settle down". However, none of his past relationships have worked and there are hidden, unexplored depths in his past.
Then Denise crashes her car in a storm and when she comes to her son is missing. They are both saved by Taylor, and a connection between the couple seems inevitable.
These characters have been living in my mind and my heart for a very long time. I remember that I particularly loved Taylor's tortured soul and how he changes throughout the book. The truth, however, is that some things now bother me.
First, I'd love for Kyle's learning disabilities to have had a name, a concrete diagnosis in the book. It seems to baffle doctors all around, not one of them seems to know what they're doing (which is fine, doctors don't know everything all the time). After doing a bit of research, I realize that Kyle is based on the author's son, who has Central Auditory Processing Disorder. This is actually alluded to in the book, but not specifically stated, and that bothered my "medical brain" throughout the book. It's just that the child has been having speech therapy non-stop with his mother, but seems to improve far more dramatically after meeting Taylor and, in the end, it felt as if the big explanation is more "lack of a father figure". I'm sure that wasn't the intention, but it's what I felt, and I think it cheapens the wonderful mother-son relationship that the two characters are supposed to have, as if Denise just wasn't enough on her own.
Which, by the way, was another thing bothering me. There's an undercurrent of "damsel in distress" that I just didn't notice (or didn't bother with) when I was younger. The thing is, Denise is a grown woman with a higher education. She has a very hard life and has had to make some pretty difficult choices for herself and her son, but she shouldn't have had to be completely helpless, and honestly, sometimes she felt like that. It's a plot point to "draw Taylor in", but quite frankly, it's a bad one. She seems way too happy to have him do everything for her, which is quite at odds with the portrayal were supposed to believe in, that she is a strong, independent woman who is fighting tooth and nail for her son and his future. And I just noticed when rereading thatin the epilogue, Denise has given up her job as a waitress and seems to now be a full-time wife and mom. There is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING wrong with making that choice, truly, if that's what you want, but it seems so at odds with what she always said she'd like to do, which was to go back to teaching . I don't know, am I reading too much into this? Perhaps I'm being biased by the time setting of this book...
Taylor's journey also seemed less tortured hero this time,and far more PTSD. It's fine to show that love can save you, but I'd have loved for him to seek professional help too, it would have been so much more believable...
Also, the relationship between Denise and Taylor felt a bit insta-love-y, maybe???
I also found the author's writing clunky in places. It has a very tell and not show quality to it that I don't appreciate. We are told what a character is feeling or how the relationship is progressing, instead of having dialogue or scenes where we see that happening and take our own conclusions. It's been a long time since I've read some of his other books, so I'm not sure if this is a recurring characteristic of his writing, but I'd wager it is.
With all this, I've downgraded my previous rating and I'm now giving it 4 stars. And you may ask "4 stars?! After all you've said before?!".
First, it's a nostalgic thing. I see all these problems now, but this was still a favourite for a long time and I can't really downgrade it more at this time.
Second, Kyle is still adorable, his relationship with Taylor is still heart-warming and all the characters still have shining moments.
Finally, the final plot twists are still heart-wrenching and I still shed some tears, even if I knew what was coming this time around.
All in all, a book I've loved from my teens, and that maybe I just shouldn't have reread 😅
I'm not entirely sure whether this book is REALLY showing its age or if it's mainly that my demands and tastes as a reader have (naturally) evolved dramatically. After all, this was first published in 2000, and I must have been no older than 15 when I first met these characters and fell in love with them, and I'm now 34. But, in good conscience, I can no longer call this book a favourite after rereading it.
Denise is a single mom in her late twenties who is going through financial difficulties after having had to quit her job as a teacher to take care of her four-year-old, Kyle, a cute little boy with an unspecified speech impairment. As such, she decided to move to a small town in North Carolina, to her late grandparents' house.
Taylor is a good ol' southern boy living in said small town. In his mid-thirties, he owns a construction company, volunteers with the local firefighters, and is starting to be pressured by his loved ones to "settle down". However, none of his past relationships have worked and there are hidden, unexplored depths in his past.
Then Denise crashes her car in a storm and when she comes to her son is missing. They are both saved by Taylor, and a connection between the couple seems inevitable.
These characters have been living in my mind and my heart for a very long time. I remember that I particularly loved Taylor's tortured soul and how he changes throughout the book. The truth, however, is that some things now bother me.
First, I'd love for Kyle's learning disabilities to have had a name, a concrete diagnosis in the book. It seems to baffle doctors all around, not one of them seems to know what they're doing (which is fine, doctors don't know everything all the time). After doing a bit of research, I realize that Kyle is based on the author's son, who has Central Auditory Processing Disorder. This is actually alluded to in the book, but not specifically stated, and that bothered my "medical brain" throughout the book. It's just that the child has been having speech therapy non-stop with his mother, but seems to improve far more dramatically after meeting Taylor and, in the end, it felt as if the big explanation is more "lack of a father figure". I'm sure that wasn't the intention, but it's what I felt, and I think it cheapens the wonderful mother-son relationship that the two characters are supposed to have, as if Denise just wasn't enough on her own.
Which, by the way, was another thing bothering me. There's an undercurrent of "damsel in distress" that I just didn't notice (or didn't bother with) when I was younger. The thing is, Denise is a grown woman with a higher education. She has a very hard life and has had to make some pretty difficult choices for herself and her son, but she shouldn't have had to be completely helpless, and honestly, sometimes she felt like that. It's a plot point to "draw Taylor in", but quite frankly, it's a bad one. She seems way too happy to have him do everything for her, which is quite at odds with the portrayal were supposed to believe in, that she is a strong, independent woman who is fighting tooth and nail for her son and his future. And I just noticed when rereading that
Taylor's journey also seemed less tortured hero this time,
Also, the relationship between Denise and Taylor felt a bit insta-love-y, maybe???
I also found the author's writing clunky in places. It has a very tell and not show quality to it that I don't appreciate. We are told what a character is feeling or how the relationship is progressing, instead of having dialogue or scenes where we see that happening and take our own conclusions. It's been a long time since I've read some of his other books, so I'm not sure if this is a recurring characteristic of his writing, but I'd wager it is.
With all this, I've downgraded my previous rating and I'm now giving it 4 stars. And you may ask "4 stars?! After all you've said before?!".
First, it's a nostalgic thing. I see all these problems now, but this was still a favourite for a long time and I can't really downgrade it more at this time.
Second, Kyle is still adorable, his relationship with Taylor is still heart-warming and all the characters still have shining moments.
Finally, the final plot twists are still heart-wrenching and I still shed some tears, even if I knew what was coming this time around.
All in all, a book I've loved from my teens, and that maybe I just shouldn't have reread 😅