Nights in Rodanthe

Adrienne begins this narrative at the age of 60, a divorced woman for 17 years and the mother of three grown children. In order to help her daughter, a recent widow at only 29, to cope with the future, Adrienne relates the following event in her life. We move back in time and meet Adrienne who is 45 and has recently been divorced. We also meet Paul, a newly divorced doctor, who has just left his practice in North Carolina and is estranged from his only child who is a doctor working in Ecuador. On his way to try and reconcile with his son, Paul stops off at a bed and breakfast in Rodanthe, North Carolina to meet with a former patient's family. And Adrienne, trying to make some extra money, is at this bed and breakfast helping out the owner. The stage is set and over a weekend when North Carolina is hit by a violent Nor'easter.................... I think you get the message.

I find the premise of people falling in love so quickly a bit hard to understand and may be it does happen but Sparks didn't convince me in within the pages of this book. And an attempt at a second theme, which concerned Paul's former patient, did little to help out this book from being rather mediocre. As for the writing, I think Sparks tries too hard with too many flowery words to describe the landscape and the dialogue is almost always hard to believe. I imagine Sparks's loyal legions of fans will enjoy this book, but not me. I remain disappointed once again with his attempts to write a romantic novel. Maybe next time!


A Simple, Absorbing Well Written Love Story   October 24, 2002
Tucker Andersen (Wall Street)
19 out of 19 found this review helpful

At age sixty, Adrienne Willis is faced with the fact that her daughter Amanda has been unable to regain her emotional equilibrium after her husband died of cancer. Adrienne becomes increasingly worried about the impact on Amanda's two young sons. Amanda rejects her mother's attempts to lend support, since she believes that her divorced mother does not "know what it is like to live through something like " the death of a loved one. Adrienne decides that Amanda needs to learn about a part of her mother's life that has been kept secret from her family, and as she reviews the items she has saved from her NIGHTS IN RODANTHE and as she rereads the letter from Paul (Flanner), by the end of the first chapter not only has the complete plot been revealed but we guess the conclusion in a general way.

Thus, the attraction of this story is its simplicity and spareness as the author gives us enough details to fulfill our curiosity but makes no attempt to embellish it beyond the necessary minimum. In a flashback to fifteen years ago, Adrienne agees to watch a coastal inn for a friend who has to attend a wedding. Because it is past the tourist season and a hurricane is forecast, Paul Flanner (a very successful surgeon who has just sold his practice to go to Ecuador to be with his son) is the only guest. They are both attempting to recover from failed marriages, and their few brief nights together become a life changing experience for each of them. This is the eternal story of our search to instill meaning into our lives, and the question of what constitutes real love.

I have read none of Nicholas Sparks' other books or THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY, but did see the movie MEASSAGE IN A BOTTLE. My only response to the critics of this book who compare it to those other works is that their disappointment seems to be based on their expectations, rather than on an evaluation of what the author was attempting to do with this story. In fact, I WAS GLAD THAT AN AUTHOR HAS DECIDED FOR ONCE THAT LESS CAN BE MORE, and the essence of a really good and compelling story about human emotions can be strong enough to stand on its own without a lot of embellishment. I believe that this story succeeds in fulfilling that goal, and therefore while I understand the very disparate reviews which it has received I strongly recommend it for those readers interested in what it purports to be, a story of life and rembrance of the healing power of love, even when fate has intervened to make those recollections bittersweet.


Cardboard Characters and Predictable Ending Disappoint   October 9, 2002
Antoinette Klein (Hoover, Alabama USA)
17 out of 19 found this review helpful

As a fan of Nicholas Sparks who reads all his work, I am amazed at how predictable and unappealing his latest novel is. I can't overlook the fact that the plot is a virtual copy of THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY, that the ending is evident within the first few pages, or that the characters fail to ignite any sympathy but remain cardboard cut-outs from first page to last.

I give him credit for attempting to write a passionate middle-aged love story, but must he rely on such hackneyed stereotypes as the lonely, desserted wife and the workaholic man who never stopped to smell the roses? And while it is true that people can change at any age, the transformation of Paul Flanner just doesn't ring true.

Sparks has not forgotten how to write a tear-jerker, however, and this one will leave you at least misty or most likely crying a bucketful of tears. But this is Nicholas Sparks, so you didn't really expect "happily ever after," did you?

However, the most insulting thing about this book to me was the premise that two nights of good talk and good sex can change your life forever and make you wiser, happier, and more together than you could possibly imagine no matter what else happens to you. Whatever happened to building a relationship on trust, friendship, respect, and passion?

Readers have gotten much better from Nicholas Sparks in the past and will, hopefully, do so in the future.


An outstanding romantic novel   October 16, 2002
Lisa (Herndon, VA USA)
13 out of 14 found this review helpful

"Nights in Rodanthe," by Nicholas Sparks is a phenomenal love story. I've read "The Notebook," "A Bend in the Road" and "A Walk to Remember" by Nicholas Sparks and with my past experiences reading his literature I knew to keep a box of tissues by my side. Sure enough I used about half the box reading "Nights in Rodanthe."

I must be honest, I'm not one to read a book in one sitting but sure enough I was up till 3 o'clock in the morning reading "Nights in Rodanthe." I couldn't put the book down. I had to know what was going to happen next or how it was going to happen.

I was a little disappointed with the way the book began because by page 7, I already knew how the book was going to end. Amanda, Adrienne, the main character's daughter, is going through a hard time due to the lose of her husband to cancer and accuses her mother of not knowing what she is going through. In the book, Nicholas Sparks writes "Adrienne had said nothing, but when Amanda left the room, Adrienne lowered her head and whispered a single word. Rodanthe." (Chapter 1, page 7)

Despite the fact I already knew the ending from that simple paragraph I still couldn't put the book down. I had to know every detail to Adrienne's story and how she and Paul, the love of her life, met, fell in love and hoped to spend the rest of their lives together. I had to know what kept them apart and even though I already knew what happened to them, I had to know how it happened.

I strongly recommend "Nights in Rodanthe" to all romanticist. The novel is full of romantic scenes and if you've ever been in love you'll be able to relate with Adrienne and Paul as they fall in love. The book is hard to put down and I often found myself rushing through one page to get to the next to find out what was going to happen. One word of advice, keep a box of tissues handy.