At First Sight

Written in that special way that only Nicholas Sparks can, At First Sight is a must read. If you and your love are contemplating marriage, you can learn a lot from this book. I especially liked Jeremy's father's advice to him and Doris's advice to her granddaughter, Lexie. To get the full effect of this story, I recommend that you read True Believer by Sparks. It is the precursor to this book and by reading it you will better understand what happens in the continuing love story between big city (New York) boy, Jeremy Marsh, and small town (Boone Creek, North Carolina) girl, Lexie Darnell. I learned to like Lexie much better in AFS. When she listens to her grandmother, she grows.

Nicholas Sparks's writing seems to come so naturally. His dialog is believable and well thought out. The scenes he describes come to life and he can make the reader laugh, sigh or cry as appropriate to the moment about which he's writing. I don't want to give away any of this story other than to say it's about the struggle to adjust to one another when a couple that knows each other only a short time decides to marry. They have so much to learn about one another (which is why it is generally believed that couples know each other a couple of years before taking that long walk down the aisle). There is love, devoted friendship, anger, jealousy, betrayal, and deep sadness in this story. When I finished it, I just sat for a time and reflected on all it meant: its beauty; the ah-hahs I felt when I read sequences that I could identify with personally...the ones that made me laugh or sigh, and those that brought tears to my eyes.

If you're thinking about a gift for the holidays, I'd recommend giving True Believer and At First Sight as a package to a good friend who enjoys stories of life, love and romance (by the way, the title for this book is most fitting).

Carolyn Rowe Hill

*Note: This review contains storyline spoilers.

Nicholas Sparks is one of the few contemporary writers I follow. That said, I'm thinking of cutting my ties after reading this book. I am all for sad endings, but they are not always appropriate simply in the name of the "Kleenex" factor, or in the hopes of pumping out yet another Hollywood tearjerker. I felt as if the entire 600-page saga was a total waste of time after finishing At First Sight--we suffered with Jeremy and Lexie through an endless onslaught of arguing, getting to know one another AFTER the ring was on her finger, and all sorts of lies/omissions of truth sprinkled throughout. And for what? A maudlin, contrived scene in the last three pages of the book? In hindsight, the ending was also a bit too predictable, seeing as how the introduction of the book pretty much gave it away.

My other problem with this book was Lexie herself. Perhaps it was a manipulation on Sparks' part, writing the second novel almost entirely from Jeremy's point of view (except for one scene between Lexie and her grandmother, Doris), but I often found myself downright annoyed with her. She lied to Jeremy twice and didn't tell him about her past even after Jeremy had opened up and told her about his fertility problem in True Believer. I felt such disparity in their relationship--Jeremy was expected to give himself completely to her, while she kept secrets and nagged at him incessantly. What person wouldn't break under such constant pressure after turning his life upside down for another person (who never had to make any sacrifices to be with him)? Sparks didn't redeem her until the last arc of the story (the latter half of her pregnancy), which dragged on far too long and seemed to be nothing more than filler. Moreover, some of the bedtime scenes during their early marriage, during which she would run hot and cold on him and expect him to be fluent in her convoluted body language, did nothing to help her already-damaged character. I didn't find any of her nagging to be charming (in one scene, she nags him when he wants to order a porterhouse steak at a restaurant, so he orders the figure-friendly tuna instead--at which point, she says mournfully, "Oh, I was hoping you would order the steak so that I could try a bite.")--in fact, it was woefully childish. Sparks presented a very simplistic, hackneyed view of marriage and the communication divide between men and women--it almost makes you wonder how the same writer produced such rich, complex couples as Noah/Allie and Garret/Theresa.

Jeremy's rift with Alvin was another glaring weakness in this story. It came out of nowhere, and Sparks simply dropped it a few pages later. The narrative presented a very one-sided view of what Alvin did, which, while manipulative, was an expression of concern for his friend. The truth was, Lexie did lie to him, and Alvin erred only in the way he chose to help Jeremy. The book ends without ever reexploring their lost friendship, which I don't "buy," since he was Jeremy's confidant in both books.

Honestly, I feel as if Sparks tried twice to pull off a Shreve-ian twist at the end here (first with the Alvin storyline, and then at the end of the book), and failed in the execution. Sometimes, bittersweet doesn't work. In the case of a two-volume, 600-page saga with limited character development and loose plot ends, it definitely didn't work for me. In the end, Sparks tried to dress up the Jeremy/Lexie relationship with the trappings of the supernatural to compensate for the lack of actual chemistry between them--but their relationship didn't stand out to me at all. The only thing ghastly about their love story was how long it dragged out and how little payoff there was for the reader in the end.

Hi, I bought this book in September and just finished it in January. I know there was not as much time to read because of the holidays...but I dreaded picking up the book, it did not hold my attention. The ending made me raise my voice to I dare him write such a cheap ending...and all that detail about the prgenancy itself..to much info. I will not give up on him and I do have the Wedding on my desk right now, I still have faith, Take your time we would rather have less of really good writing, then a whole bunch of cra...

Like True Believer, this book moved along quickly and superficially, without supporting details to add depth and interest. It didn't draw me into an emotional connection to the characters, and I didn't grow to care enough about them to be moved or saddened by what happened to them in the end. I am not convinced that Jeremy and Lexie were truly in love and belonged together. They seemed so wrong for each other, always fighting and unable to get along at all. He was unhappy and depressed throughout the story while she was uncompromising and not very likable. It made their relationship and everything else seem meaningless and pointless. I totally understand what compelled Alvin to go to the extremes he did to try and knock some sense into his friend because I found myself just as exasperated with Jeremy.

This book, and the one before it, doesn't live up to the high standard Nicholas Sparks set with his previous masterpieces, all of which moved me to tears and evoked very powerful feelings about characters that lived in my heart long after their story ended.

Wow...i made a point 3 years ago,when i first picked up a Nicholas Sparks novel (A Walk To Remember)that i was going to read all his other works as well. The last one i got to read was At First Sight and boy was I glad that this was the order i had chosen because that was an ending to what i have viewed as a magnificent journey in love, loss and life. Nicholas Sparks has never disappointed me when it comes to his style of writing and even though i have predicted some of his endings before (not that it took the thrill away from the novel) this one completely threw me and my tear ducts for a loop. This completely epitomized how love should be and as i read Lexie and Jeremy's journey i too felt as though i was in love with them. If you are looking for a feel good book that touches the heart this is definitely for you. Sparks doesn't stray from his small-town formula but he definitely keeps you wanting more.