A heartrending love story … will have you entranced. And if The Notebook left you ......View All Reviews
The Choice
Description
Travis Parker has everything a man could want: a good job, loyal friends, even a waterfront home in small-town North Carolina. In full pursuit of the good life -- boating, swimming, and regular barbecues with his good-natured buddies -- he holds the vague conviction that a serious relationship with a woman would only cramp his style. That is, until Gabby Holland moves in next door. Despite his attempts to be neighborly, the appealing redhead seems to have a chip on her shoulder about him...and the presence of her longtime boyfriend doesn't help. Despite himself, Travis can't stop trying to ingratiate himself with his new neighbor, and his persistent efforts lead them both to the doorstep of a journey that neither could have foreseen. Spanning the eventful years of young love, marriage and family, The Choice ultimately confronts us with the most heartwrenching question of all: how far would you go to keep the hope of love alive?
Did You Know
Gabby was named after one of the former athletes on the track team that Nicholas coaches?
This is the second novel, along with A Walk to Remember, that Nicholas set in Beaufort, North Carolina?
Travis’s character was modeled after Nicholas’s brother Micah?
The structure of The Choice was modeled after The Notebook?
Description
Travis Parker has everything a man could want: a good job, loyal friends, even a waterfront home in small-town North Carolina. In full pursuit of the good life -- boating, swimming, and regular barbecues with his good-natured buddies -- he holds the vague conviction that a serious relationship with a woman would only cramp his style. That is, until Gabby Holland moves in next door. Despite his attempts to be neighborly, the appealing redhead seems to have a chip on her shoulder about him...and the presence of her longtime boyfriend doesn't help. Despite himself, Travis can't stop trying to ingratiate himself with his new neighbor, and his persistent efforts lead them both to the doorstep of a journey that neither could have foreseen. Spanning the eventful years of young love, marriage and family, The Choice ultimately confronts us with the most heartwrenching question of all: how far would you go to keep the hope of love alive?
Film/TV Sales
The film rights are not for sale at this time.
Background Info
The Notebook. Millions of people loved the novel. Millions of people loved the film. With Cliffs Notes coming out on the novel in 2009, a case can even be made that it’s become something of a modern classic. Nowadays, I’m fairly certain that when people look back on my career, The Notebook will always be first in the list of work for which I am most known. This doesn’t bother me at all, by the way. I’m proud of that novel for many different reasons, but that doesn’t mean that I fully accept the fact that I’ll never write a novel that becomes even more well-known.
Still, there was something magical about the story, and after finishing Dear John, I set out with the hopes of capturing at least a bit of that magic once more, if only to show that I hadn’t forgotten why people began to read my novels in the first place.
The Choice was the product of those efforts.
Again, as with all my novels, one of the questions I must first answer when attempting to conceive of a story is the “obstacle” that keeps the characters apart. The obstacle creates the tension and drama inherent in the story; in many ways, it’s the glue that holds the entire story together. In The Notebook, the “obstacle” that kept them apart was two-fold; in the early story, it was Allie’s engagement to Lon; in the final section, Alzheimer’s kept Allie from remembering Noah.
With The Choice, I tried to parallel – not copy – those obstacles. In The Choice, I decided to give Gabby a serious boyfriend, one whom she thought she would marry; in the final section, Gabby was in a coma, and Travis wasn’t sure whether she would ever awaken.
Parallels. Not copying. Close enough to feel superficially familiar, but different enough to feel completely unique. And though I simply laid out my thoughts behind the novel in just a few preceding sentences, it took months to actually come up with the central thrust of the story. It’s always like that though: the idea, once expressed, seems obvious. But conceiving the idea in the first place is often a long journey of frustration.
Once I had those elements, however, I wanted to make the story as original as possible. Travis, a character inspired by my brother (before he got married), was nothing at all like Noah Calhoun. And Gabby, inspired by a former assistant, was nothing like Allie. Nor did Gabby and Travis have a “prior history” together (whereas Noah and Allie had fallen in love as teenagers). The Choice was a contemporary story; The Notebook was more of a period piece. The Choice was written completely in third-person; The Notebook was written in both first and third person. Again, all these decisions were made consciously, so the story would feel fresh and new, while still inspiring the same sort of emotion prevalent in The Notebook.
Notes on Writing the Book
From the very first page, I felt as if I were balanced on a knife-edge. Quite the cliché, but true nonetheless, for the simple reason that I knew that virtually all of the emotional impact of the story would take place in the final third of the novel.
I know what you’re thinking. That’s always where the reader finds the emotional intensity in my novels, so why was this one so hard? Why was this so different?
Frankly, there are different sorts of emotional intensity. If I’m writing a novel in which one of the main characters pass away – Message in a Bottle, for instance, or At First Sight – I know in advance that the death – and the death alone – will be all that’s necessary to evoke emotion. Usually, in those instances, there’s a “quickening of the pace” combined with a “sense of foreboding,” but even so, the story stays relatively linear (one event leading to the next), and the events are allowed to explain themselves.
The Choice, however, was different. I knew the final section would resemble – somewhat anyway – the final sections of both The Notebook and Nights in Rodanthe, because this section also included mystery. In The Notebook, the mystery simple: who was Noah reading to, and once that was known, would she ever remember him? In Nights in Rodanthe, the mystery centered around what happened to Paul, and why he and Adrienne were no longer together.
The reality of writing a compelling novel is this: once the answer to the mystery is known, it’s imperative to end the story relatively quickly. Without the mystery, there’s no more drama and tension, and it’s drama and tension that keep the story interesting. In The Choice, the mystery centered around misdirection: the reader is led to believe that Travis has gone to the hospital because Gabby might leave him, and they each have a choice to make. In reality, his choice is whether or not to take her off life-support.
Still, while it’s easy to explain what I intended to do – and the rules of literature that always apply – it still doesn’t always make the job easy. I had to draw out the mystery for approximately 100 manuscript pages (out of 300), while still weaving a compelling story.
From the very first page then, I knew these challenges were coming. I knew that structure and pacing would be difficult, I knew that nearly every sentence would have to be crafted just so, and I’d have to carefully select words for ambiguity, while still ratcheting up emotion. I knew there would be “time shifts” in which both the past and present had to be explained. I knew “the past” would have to have its own story and tension that builds, as would those sections that discusses “the present.” I had to make the reader believe that Travis was at the hospital to apologize, while at the same time making it clear (in retrospect) that the reader had it wrong the whole time. In addition, I had to generate authentic emotional impact in a novel that I knew would end happily.
And most importantly, I also knew this: that if I couldn’t pull off the final section, the entire novel would crumble and fail on nearly every level.
Thus, I wrote the first two thirds of the novel with a sense of trepidation, simply because I knew the final section would be a doozy, and I wasn’t looking forward to it.
And yet, in the end, I was able to pull it off, and in the end, I think The Choice is one of my better novels. It’s among the novels that I always recommend to new readers.
Reviews
A tender and moving love story and a quick read, Sparks's latest does not disappoint.
-- Publishers Weekly
A heartrending love story … will have you entranced. And if The Notebook left you teary-eyed, his latest will have the same effect.
-- Myrtle Beach Sun News
Provides subtle lessons in love and hope … reinforces the theory that all choices, no matter how seemingly unimportant … often have far-reading, rippling effect. Sparks has become a favorite storyteller because of his ability to take ordinary people, put them in extraordinary situations, and create unexpected outcomes.
-- Bookreporter.com
Will unleash a torrent of tears … But, the emotion will be emotionally cleansing for it involves a choice each of us is likely to face one day. This is the stuff of serious romance novels.
-- ContemporaryLit.About.com
Will leave the reader feeling warm of heart.
-- CurledUp.com
FAQ
What was your inspiration for The Choice?
I wanted to write a novel with a structure and tone that harkened back to The Notebook, i.e., the story of a man who loves a woman unconditionally.
Will there be a sequel to The Choice?
Perhaps. If I can come up with a high-quality, original story, I might just write something more about Gabby and Travis. These were two of my favorite characters.
Will The Choice be made into a movie?
Perhaps. As of now, the film rights are not for sale.
Book Club/Discussion Questions
1. When the novel opens, Travis is feeling guilty about an argument he had with his wife. His friends assure him, however, that guilt is “the cornerstone of a good marriage.” What do they mean by this and do you agree?
2. Travis says that his father knew he would marry his mother the minute he touched her hand. How do you know when you’ve met “the right one”? Do you believe in love at first sight?
3. Do you think it is right for Gabby to get intimately involved with Travis while she insists she loves someone else? Is it possible to be “in love” with two different men at the same time?
4. Gabby is in a committed relationship with Kevin, but he doesn’t offer to marry her. Travis does. What are the differences between a committed relationship and a marriage? Do you think marriage is always a better option?
5. Travis says “There’s no such thing as being friends, not with single men and women our age.” Do you agree? Is it possible for men and women to be friends?
6. The small town of Beaufort has a significant presence in the book. What are the advantages and disadvantages of small town life? Why do you think Nicholas Sparks sets so many of his books in small towns?
7. Travis is a veterinarian and both Gabby and Travis own dogs. What does their relationship with animals reveal about their characters?
8. During the course of the novel, Travis decides having close friends isn’t enough for him and he needs Gabby in his life. How important are friends in having a happy, fulfilled life? Can they be more important than a spouse? More important than family?
9. Did you believe that Travis was responsible for the car accident? Why or why not?
10. The free-spirited Travis adapts readily to married life and his role as a father. Do you think it’s common for men who shy away from commitment to change dramatically when the right woman comes along?
11. Does anything positive result from the terrible accident that Gabby has?
12. What is the “choice” Travis must make? What do you make of his choice and what would you have done if you were in his position?
13. Gabby and Travis discuss the fate of Kenneth and Eleanor Baker frequently, yet view what happened to this couple somewhat differently. Whose view do you share, Gabby’s or Travis’s? What do you think accounts for the difference in the way Kenneth and Travis deal with their tragedies?
14. Travis asks, “How far should a person go in the name of love?” How far is Travis willing to go? What is the most difficult choice you’ve made in the name of love?
15. What do you make of the novel’s ending? Were you surprised by the story’s conclusion?
Published: 2007