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The Choice
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Product Description
Set amid the austere beauty of the North Carolina coast, Nicholas Sparks tells the story of Travis Parker, a small-town veterinarian who's perfectly content with the active and exciting life he leads. Since he uses his spare time bungee jumping and swimming with the dolphins, he can't shake the belief that a woman would simply slow him down. That is, until Gabby Holland enters his life.
Gabby, Travis's new neighbor, is in love with her boyfriend of three years, and wants nothing more than to start planning the wedding she's always dreamed about. However, there is a story within a story and the connection between Travis and Gabby is just a beginning. As their tale unfolds, their relationship becomes something different--with much higher stakes. With echoes of THE NOTE BOOK abound, listeners everywhere will fall in love.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #1151333 in Books
- Published on: 2007-09-24
- Released on: 2007-09-24
- Formats: Abridged, Audiobook
- Original language: English
- Binding: Audio CD
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
In his 13th book, bestselling Sparks (At First Sight, etc.) limns the far-reaching implications of several seemingly ordinary choices made by Beaufort, N.C. veterinarian Travis Parker and his next-door neighbor Gabrielle Holland, a physician's assistant and recent arrival. After an inauspicious first meeting where Gabby accuses Travis's boxer of impregnating her purebred collie, the two fall hard for each other. Already dating someone else seriously, Gabby is faced with a dilemma: whether to stick with longtime boyfriend Kevin, or get involved with Travis. The first part of the tale paints a vivid picture of her decision-making process and its effects on Travis and Gabby's lives. That sets up Part II, which takes place 11 years later when Travis faces a life and death decision following a car accident. A tender and moving love story and a quick read, Sparks's latest does not disappoint.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From AudioFile
Holter Graham gives a polished performance with his versatile skills and vocal range as he embraces the roles of Travis Parker, local veterinarian, and Gabby Holland, physicianÕs assistant. In Part One, Graham captures the exquisite story of their attraction, love, and marriage with a warmth and rhythm that breathes life into the characters. Ten years later in Part Two, Graham portrays TravisÕs torment when Gabby falls into a coma after a car accident that is his fault. As Gabby fails to recover, Graham captures TravisÕs conflict over a decision he must make--a decision based on a promise Gabby extracted from him before her life took its tragic turn. A compelling story. G.D.W. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
About the Author
Nicholas Sparks is the author of the #1 New York Times bestsellers The Rescue and Nights in Rodanthe, as well as The Notebook, Message in a Bottle, A Walk to Remember, A Bend in the Road, The Guardian, The Wedding, and his moving memoir, Three Weeks with My Brother, written with his brother, Micah. All his books were New York Times and international bestsellers translated into more than thirty languages, and Message in a Bottle, A Walk to Remember, and The Notebook were adapted into major motion pictures. Nicholas Sparks lives in North Carolina with his wife and family.
Customer Reviews
Ho-hum, ho-hum...
What ever was Nicholas Sparks thinking when he wrote this novel? I have read and cherished many of Spark's previous novels, including Message in a Bottle, The Guardian, The Notebook, Nights in Rodanthe, The Wedding and Dear John; however, this one falls flat.
The main characters, Travis and Gabby, are predictable while the plot is melodramatic, sappy and reads like an overdramatic soap opera. The plot is basically one that can be found in many other novels - man meets woman, they fall in love, she has an accident, goes into a coma, comes out of a coma and the two live happily ever after - nothing unique about that.
Gabby's dog gets pregnant, Travis's dog Moby seems to be the father, and it all seems to be Travis's fault. If Gabby didn't want her precious collie, Molly, to get pregnant, why didn't she do what any responsible pet owner would do - spay or keep the dog in her own yard? At times, it was difficult to tell if the primary focus of this book was a romance between Travis and Gabby or the unplanned mating of two dogs.
The dialogue also came across as amateurish and juvenile. Sorry, Mr. Sparks, some of your other novels rate high on my list of favourites but this one simply fizzled out for me before the end of the first chapter.
Facile Weekend Romance Followed by a Marital Challenge
Travis Parker is a good-hearted man with lots of friends, but he's never found the right woman. His complaint? They all depend on him too much for choices.
Life quickly changes for Travis when irate Gabby Holland, his next-door neighbor, barges into his life to complain about his dog. One thing leads to another, and the two spend an increasingly compatible weekend together that leads to mutual appreciation.
Many years later, something unexpected happens that forces Travis to make one of those decisions that none of us ever want to make. I can't tell you more without spoiling the story.
It's a very bizarre book in terms of structure . . . less than bare bones. You spend most of the book on having two people become acquainted in a few days and then fast forward into one point in the future. It's like reading two acts of a five act play (the first and last). I would have enjoyed the book a lot more if it had covered more ground in the book, rather than in my head.
I also didn't like the ending all that much. I won't say more.
If you are a big Nicholas Sparks fan, you'll probably enjoy the book . . . but don't expect anything special except in terms of the ways he describes Travis as a model for men to emulate . . . and women to appreciate.
Be patient, kind, and considerate . . . always.
