A beautiful love story
2014-11-28
After I read The Lucky One and some other novels written by Nicholas Sparks including The Guardian and At the First Sight, I found that maybe the books he wrote all had happy endings, and sometimes it seemed that they were too good to be true. However, when I finished reading Dear John, another multimillion international bestseller by Mr. Sparks, it totally blew my mind. The book was so eloquently written and the scenarios were so unpredictable that I felt no any other love stories could be this bittersweet and surprising.
It was a story about a soldier named John and a college student named Savannah. When John took time off from the army, and met Savannah at the beach, they fell crazily in love. Then what seemed meant to be turned out to be a game played by the Cupid. The story was well written and all the characters had strong personalities. The people the author tried to present us were just ordinary people with flaws, yet they were hard to forget.
The story began with John's narration of him as a nineteen year old teenager. From his words, I learned that John was a reserved and serious young man, a person with less words but greater responsibilities. Growing up in a single family, John didn't understand his father at all. Since John began to understand things, his father has never stopped talking about anything but coins. He didn't get why his dad had so much passion for collecting coins. It's like his father had no care in the world except his valuable collection. Finally, fedding up with no one caring about him, John chose to hung out with wrong group of people in high school and became a rebellious young man. However, one day near his graduation day, John suddenly started to think about what he should do in the future. It occurred to me that this introspection from John showed us he's a good kid after all, all this rebellion he showed before might just be the reason he wanted to get attention from his dad. Lucky for him, that day when he was at the beach, he saw two marines jogging passing him by, with the easy confidence on their faces, John thought he could not idle his life away by drinking and smoking any longer. Maybe at this moment, while he was contemplating his future,seeing these two marines was a sign for him and joining the army might be a good idea for him. Then John applied to join the army and was finally positioned in Germany.
Then on his one short leave at his hometown, Wilminton, he met Savannah. The story of how they met was very plain. At the beach bridge, Savannah's bag accidentally fell into the river and John jumped into the sea to get her bag back. A heroic move, I thought. Then a brunette and a handsome soldier boy began their love story. Savannah told John that she's a college student studying for special education. And John also got to know S had a good friend named Tim, and it's Tim's brother Alan, an autistic child living next door to her inspired her to be a teacher. S knew how to ride and said that riding can help autistic children open up their mind and recover. From John, S learned that John was living with his dad. And when S volunteered to visit John's father and later told john that his father might be autistic and she's willing to help him, John's furious. Later when John thought about why he would freaked out like this and he finally came to realize that S might be right and he was not mad about her but himself. When Savannah apologized to John and said she had no right to say such things, John forgave and very soon they made up. During the following days, when they both time, John taught S surfing, and they would also hang out having shrimp, etc. The settings were happy and romantic and I really wished it would never end.
Days came and go so quickly, two weeks were gone and John had to leave for Germany again. However amazing and happy days they've lived in the past two weeks, they knew they had to say good bye for now and they'd met again until John completed his service in the next 12 months. They promised to write to each other to get in touch. However, 911 Event happened. Seeing all his buddies asked permission to exend their services, John did the same thing. Year after year, things changed between him and S. When John went back, he found the letters S sent were less than usual and the tone has also changed. On one last letter, S told him that she was in love with someone else and she couldn't write to him anymore. Devastated, John was crushed by this news. However, there was nothing else he could do.
When John's father died, John flew back home to attend his funeral. And afterwards, he asked around and drove to the place where S's currently living. The setting about how they met again was beautiful, John helped S cleaning the horse hoof and prepared the dinner, it reminded me the scenes of them being together at the beach. While they were talking, he knew that she was married to Tim. And when S asked John to see Tim the next day, John realized that Tim has been diagnosed with skin cancer and his condition was very critical. After Tim fell into sleep, S invited John back to her home to have dinner. John didn't know what was going on and frankly I didn't know what was going on either. Why in one hand S said she loved Tim and broke up with J, and in the other hand, when they met agian, she started talking about the old days she had with John? S kept talking she had to get energy everyday to face the life she's living now. When S accidently smashed the wine glass on the floor, and the wine spilled on them and they had to change in the bathroom, John saw S being naked in front him. When S stared into J's eyes, they both knew that they wanted each other so badly. However, senses came to them and John realized that S was vulnerable and she wasn't in the right place. The next day, when J visited Tim again in the hospital, Tim told J to take care of S and be there for him. Feeling guilty, J got out of the hospital. And when he met S again in the parking lot, John told S that he should never see her again. He said that Tim would get better and S's married to him and it meant that they shall never see each other again.
To John, love meant happiness. But the love between him and S would only bring guilt to them, and would only break Tim's heart. So he and S had to let it go. The part touched me the most was when John sold the coins his dad left him and donated the money anonymously to S, helping Tim get the medical device and treatment he needed. To our relief, Tim's getting better. And the most beautiful scene is the last time John looked at the full moon far from s house and hoping S would come out to see the full moon as well. Not to his disappointment, S stepped out of the house and stared at the full moon like the old days. For them, they both haven't forgotten the promise they had made when they met at the beach. Though they couldn't be together forever, they found a way to miss each other.
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