The Books
Home »Books by Nicholas Sparks
Published: 2002 ISBN-13: 0446531332
Publisher: Warner Books
Foreign Sales | Film/TV Sales
Reviews
The intense yet short-lived romance in Nicholas Sparks's novel, Nights in Rodanthe. . . ......View All Reviews
Nights In Rodanthe
Description
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Nicholas Sparks comes a tender story of hope and joy; of sacrifice and forgiveness -- a moving reminder that love is possible at any age, at any time, and often comes when we least expect it. At forty-five, Adrienne Willis must rethink her entire life when her husband abandons her for a younger woman. Reeling with heartache and in search of a respite, she flees to the small coastal town of Rodanthe, North Carolina to tend to a friend's inn for the weekend. But when a major storm starts moving in, it appears that Adrienne's perfect getaway will be ruined -- until a guest named Paul Flanner arrives. At fifty-four, Paul has just sold his medical practice and come to Rodanthe to escape his own shattered past. Now, with the storm closing in, two wounded people will turn to each other for comfort -- and in one weekend set in motion feelings that will resonate throughout the rest of their lives.
Did You Know
The main characters' names were Christmas presents to Nicholas's in-laws (Paul and Adrienne)?
This was Nicholas's first book to debut at #1?
Description
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Nicholas Sparks comes a tender story of hope and joy; of sacrifice and forgiveness -- a moving reminder that love is possible at any age, at any time, and often comes when we least expect it. At forty-five, Adrienne Willis must rethink her entire life when her husband abandons her for a younger woman. Reeling with heartache and in search of a respite, she flees to the small coastal town of Rodanthe, North Carolina to tend to a friend's inn for the weekend. But when a major storm starts moving in, it appears that Adrienne's perfect getaway will be ruined -- until a guest named Paul Flanner arrives. At fifty-four, Paul has just sold his medical practice and come to Rodanthe to escape his own shattered past. Now, with the storm closing in, two wounded people will turn to each other for comfort -- and in one weekend set in motion feelings that will resonate throughout the rest of their lives.
Film/TV Sales
A major motion picture starring Diane Lane and Richard Gere was released in 2008. The film is now available on DVD.
Background Info
Unlike most of my novels, Nights in Rodanthe was not inspired by specific people in my life, other than the names of the two lead characters. That year, when my mother-in-law was visiting, she came up to me and asked if I knew what she wanted for Christmas. "No," I said, "I don't," and she quickly responded, "Paul and I would like our names in one of your books."
Hence, the names of the major characters became Paul and Adrienne, and of course, because they were my in-laws, I wanted to write the type of story that they would not only enjoy, but that would not offend them as well.
Now, when I say that in some ways, this story parallels that of the relationship between my wife and I, I don't mean to imply that everything that happened in the story happened in real life. Rather, as I had with my other novels, I took the true events and modified them to make the story as interesting as possible.
So how was the story of Paul and Adrienne similar to the story of my wife and I?
For starters, my wife and I met in the same way that Paul and Adrienne did, though, of course, for us, it happened on Spring break. (I know, I know... but hear me out.) We were both in our senior years -- I was at the University of Notre Dame and Cathy was at the University of New Hampshire, and like Paul and Adrienne, we'd both traveled to a small coastal town in the hopes of a respite, when we met for the first time. I sensed something kind and wonderful about Cathy almost immediately, though Cathy (like Adrienne) was a little bit more hesitant in her feelings for me.
Like Paul and Adrienne, we had a lot of things in common -- Cathy and I were both were middle children from Catholic families, both of us had an older brother and younger sister, both of us were majoring in business, and ironically, both sets of our parents celebrated their anniversaries on August 31. But more than that, I was drawn to her common-sense view of the world, her views on the importance of family, her ability to laugh and listen (all elements of Adrienne's character and the way Paul sees her). On the day after we met, I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her, because I knew even then that I'd never find someone so perfectly matched for me as she was (again, just like Paul). So I told her how I felt. And Cathy's first response when I told her that we'd be married someday? She laughed and suggested "that I get another beer."
Like Adrienne, she didn't believe it was possible. But it was.
Like Paul and Adrienne, we were only together for five days before we each had to go back to our "other" lives. And like Paul and Adrienne, we wrote letters and made phone calls to each other in the months we were apart. I wrote at least once a day, and shared my hopes and dreams with her. I wrote love letters, I wrote letters to let her know what I was doing, and I wrote letters that described a future life together. In fact, some of the letters quoted in the book were drawn from the letters I'd originally sent Cathy. And like Paul and Adrienne, despite the fact that we couldn't see each other, our love for each other grew stronger during this period apart, and as the flap of the novel proclaims: love comes at any age, at any time, and often when we least expect it.
In other words, for those of you who don't believe that love can blossom as quickly as it did for Paul and Adrienne, I just want you to know that it can, and it's as real as love that takes years to form. And if you don't believe love can grow stronger, even if you're not together? It did for us, and my wife and I have been married since 1989.
Notes on Writing the Book
It had been in my mind for some time to write another short love story, a story that harkens back to the poignant emotional intensity of The Notebook. I suppose I'd been thinking about it since I was working on The Rescue, but as much as I tried, the pieces just didn't seem to come together. In all love stories, there has to be an element that keeps the characters apart in order to create drama, and throughout the course of my career, I've tried never to use the same element twice. Thus, it gets progressively harder and harder to write new novels, but in the end, it's what makes a story memorable. If I don't have the "conflict," I don't have the story, and for the life of me, I couldn't come up with something new to keep the characters apart.
I also wanted to write a story using characters at mid-life because it's something I haven't done (with the exception of The Notebook, in which they're elderly, not middle-aged). It's a great age to write about, simply because so many family elements can come into play between the characters. People at that age are being pulled by their children (who are becoming adults) and their parents (who might be in need of additional assistance), both of which create realistic obstacles to new relationships.
Yet, as I said, for a long time, the story didn't seem to want to come together.
In the meantime, I wrote A Bend in the Road and the first draft of The Guardian. The Guardian was a tremendous challenge for a number of reasons. I won't go into those here, other than to say that the first editorial letter was the most disheartening letter I'd ever received from my editor. It was obvious that The Guardian would require a great deal of re-writing, but I was tired of working on the story and needed a break from it.
My mind then returned to the story I'd been thinking about, and suddenly everything began to click. Within days, I suddenly knew exactly how to tell the story. I knew the characters, the setting, and especially and most importantly, the "conflict" that would keep the characters apart.
I then had a choice of which novel I wanted to publish first -- do I go back to work on The Guardian, or do I write the new story that eventually became Nights in Rodanthe?
Because I had no doubt that I could have either story ready by September, there were a number of business decisions that came into play in making the final decision. I looked at the "pattern" of my novels, and noticed that I tended to follow a long book with a short book, and I thought it best to keep that pattern. The Rescue was long, A Bend in the Road was long, and The Guardian was long, which meant that Nights in Rodanthe would more than likely be short. I thought it would be best to publish a shorter novel in between those three long ones, and that favored writing Nights in Rodanthe.
There was also the fact that although The Guardian is a wonderful and exciting book, it was different in that it had a "dangerous" element to the story. Though I was confident that everyone would enjoy the novel, I didn't want my readers to think I'd strayed too far from the type of novels that I originally wrote. Many authors do exactly that -- stray too far -- and lose readers in the long run for doing so. Again, that realization favored the writing of Nights in Rodanthe, which in many ways -- characters, settings, structure, etc. -- is similar to my original novel, The Notebook. I wanted my original readers to know that I hadn't forgotten that they were the ones primarily responsible for my success, and I wanted to give them a novel that I knew they would enjoy.
But it was mid-December and the book was due in February. The question then became whether or not I could finish the novel in time. I made the decision to give it a try.
Thankfully, most of the novel came off without a hitch. I worked five days a week, and wrote a couple of thousand words each day. By the end of January, I had completed 75% of the novel but I hit a snag regarding the structure. After coming up with an original idea, structure is always the most difficult part of crafting a love story.
The problem was this: as the story was structured, I knew that Paul and Adrienne separated about three quarters of the way through the novel, but Paul had promised that he'd be back in a year and that they would be together after that. I also knew that I wanted the novel to not be much longer and everything up until the point of their separation was written with that in mind. It was also obvious -- from the very beginning of the story -- that Paul and Adrienne never got back together. The reason, of course, was because Paul had died (and I knew that from the very beginning), yet because Adrienne was telling the story to her daughter, there's no doubt that "where is he?" would be one of the first questions Amanda asked.
To sustain the suspense, however, I couldn't let the reader know what happened for about the first quarter of the novel. The reason I had to keep the suspense that long was simple: once the reader finds out what happens to Paul, the conclusion of the book is anti-climactic. To keep the story moving, I simply couldn't provide the answer to that question right away. Nor could I simply have ended the story a few pages after he'd left the house, or the novel would fail on a structural level.
Now, pages and page of "stalling" is actually quite hard to do in short novel. As I worked through that final section, one page at a time, I honestly felt as if I were on a "tight-rope." Could I make it to the other end? I didn't know, yet I had to, or the novel would be lost. If you glance through those pages, you'll notice that I covered Adrienne's opinion about her house, what had happened in the last fourteen years --including aspects of her job and her relationship with her former husband, what had happened in the immediate aftermath of Paul leaving the house in Rodanthe, letters, conversations... and, of course, it all had to flow and seem perfectly natural, so that the suspense continued to build. Let's just say that it was a whole lot harder to do than it probably seemed to the reader. But in the end, I think it worked and I was pleased how the final section had come out.
The other major problem had to do with how to tell the reader that Paul had died. In a conversation? In a phone call? I made attempts at both of those, but neither seemed to be create the emotional intensity I desired. In the end, I came to the decision to use a letter, as I had in some of my previous novels. While you may think that using a letter from Mark had always been planned, it wasn't. In fact, I struggled with what to do for a few days, until the obvious came to mind.
Reviews
Ladies and Gentlemen, start your tear ducts. . . Sparks doesn't stray too far from his bittersweet, lost-love formula. . . but you'll cry in spite in yourself.
-- People Magazine
The intense yet short-lived romance in Nicholas Sparks's novel, Nights in Rodanthe. . . offers a story that is just as passionate and memorable. . . Sparks's smooth, sensitive writing and simple story line that doesn't end with every wish coming true make this a novel that can hold its own."
-- Associated Press
Sparks ... logs more miles on the winding high road of romance with the story of two middle-aged people who meet by chance in the small North Carolina coastal town of Rodanthe. . . Sparks builds a taut, plausible relationship between his protagonists. . .
-- Publisher's Weekly
Sparks ... is back at it with his latest mix of love story and pathos. He doesn't disappoint. . . in the story of two shattered people badly scarred by past experiences. . . Sparks has a very solid fan base, and they will be clamoring for his latest.
-- Booklist
FAQ
Is there really an Inn at Rodanthe, like the one described in the novel?
No, there isn't. There are a number of bed and breakfasts in other towns in the Outer Banks that are similar, but I moved it to Rodanthe for the story. Why? I loved the name Rodanthe ... it conjures up a mixture of mystery and sensuality, and I've always wanted to set a story there.
Is Rodanthe described accurately?
Yes. Rodanthe is, in reality, a tiny village on the Outer Banks. It is located on the beach, weathered and isolated.
Were you influenced by The Bridges of Madison County in the creation and writing of this story?
Some critics have made this assumption, but in reality, I was guided more by The Notebook than The Bridges of Madison County. Yes, the characters were roughly the same age in both Nights and Bridges, and yes, the rela ...
Where did you get the names for the characters in this novel?
The names came from my in-laws: Paul and Adrienne. Flanner, Paul's last name, was the name of the dormitory where I lived in college. Willis, Adrienne's last name, came from someone in the town where I live. The children's names were taken from my cousins.
What inspired you to write this story? Is there any parallel in your own life?
Yes, parts came from my own life, though less than in my previous novels. See Background Information for Nights in Rodanthe.
Was Robert Torrelson based on someone you know?
No, Robert Torrelson was created wholly from my imagination. So was the love story with his wife.
Have the film rights been sold?
Yes. A major motion picture, starring Richard Gere and Diane Lane, was released in the fall of 2008. The movie is now widely available on DVD.
Book Club/Discussion Questions
1. In the opening scene, Adrienne decides to tell her daughter a story from her past about Paul Flanner, a relationship that had obviously ended. How would the novel have been different had the author decided not to let the reader know the ending in advance? Could the story have been told in another way, as simply a remembrance for instance, and still had the same impact?
2. Amanda lost her husband to cancer, and Adrienne lost Paul to an accident. Adrienne also lost her husband to a younger woman. Yet Adrienne found a way to heal, despite her losses, while Amanda has not. Is this difference a function of age and maturity, or simply the passage of time? If it’s both, do you believe that Amanda will eventually fall in love again? Is that important to her?
3. Rodanthe is described in detail. How does the setting play a role in the story? Could this story have occurred in a larger city? Why or why not?
4. The novel deals with the themes of love and sacrifice. How did the major characters -- Adrienne, Paul, Amanda and Robert Torrelson -- sacrifice? How did love play a role? What else played a role?
5. In this novel, as in Message in a Bottle, there are scenes that take place on the beach. What is the significance of the beach in this story? How does it play into the theme of the novel?
6. There is a storm in this novel, just as there was in The Notebook. What is the significance of the storm? How does it play into the theme of the novel?
7. Adrienne never told her children about Paul in the year that followed their relationship in Rodanthe. Why wouldn’t she tell the children about him? Is that believable? How do her children remember her from that time? How does Amanda see her mother now, knowing that she’d kept a secret?
8. Paul is a wounded character when the novel opens because he feels that all the sacrifices in his life haven’t been worth it. How does Robert Torrelson influence the relationship between Paul and Adrienne? Would you like to read a novel based on the love story between Robert and his wife?
9. What do you make of the relationship that develops between Paul and Adrienne? Was it love at first sight? Do you think it’s possible to have such an intense connection with someone you’ve only just met?
10. Mark plays a central role in letting us get to know Paul Flanner. He also writes a letter that lets Adrienne know what had happened. Why did the author choose to use the epistolary method for describing these things? Is the letter more effective than a conversation? Why or why not?
11. What is the relationship between Mark and Paul like in the final moments of Paul’s life? How do you think Mark views Paul now? Is this typical of father/son relationships?
12. The inn is described in the opening paragraph of the novel. Why did the author start the novel with a description of an inn? How does the inn play a role in all that happens?
Resource
No Text Found
Foreign Sales
- Brazil / Novo Conceito
- Bulgaria / ERA
- Czech Republic / Euromedia
- Estonia / Pilgram
- Finland / WSOY
- Germany / Heyne
- Indonesia / PT Gramedia
- Israel / Modan Publishing
- Italy / Sperling & Kupfer/
- Japan / Softbank Creative
- Korea / Magic House
- Netherlands / ECI/House of Books
- Norway / Damm
- Poland / Albatros
- Portugal / Presen�a
- Romania / RAO
- Russia / AST
- Serbia / Naroda Knijiga
- Slovakia / Ikar
- Slovenia / Zalozba Mladinska Knija
- Spain / Roca
- Spain (Catalan) / Enciclopedia Catalana
- Sweden / Wahlstrom & Widstrand
- Taiwan / Ten Points
- Thailand / Matichon
- Turkey / Artemis
- UK / Time Warner