Sparks, with his plain'n simple, meat 'n potatoes prose, is the Cry-Master General of best-sellerdom..........with his heartfelt tales of romance gone awry, he knows what moves his faithful readers........and plays them like a symphony conductor.........sometimes gifting them with happy endings, sometimes leaving them blubbering in hopeless sorrow.......
He may not possess any stylistic writing talent, but when he hits on all cylinders in his storytelling, the man could coax tears from a stone........(and contrary to what his detractors may say, that takes considerable skill.)
The good news here for Sparks-O-Philes.......there's no uncomfortable dabbling in other genres that Sparks has previously tried to wrestle with (the supernatural, suspense thrills, etc, etc)
"Every Breath", from first to last page, remains, pure, undiluted 100% Sparks, with all the expected tropes, including a wrap-up guaranteed to leave readers diving for their tissue boxes. (His finish here staggered us in its deft ability to combine the varied emotions and climaxes of all his previous books....)
Plot details? Do you really need any.......other than it's about two wayward souls, at personal crossroads in their lives, who fall deeply in love......and whom fate and cruel circumstance conspire against. (That's all you'll get from us.....)
Are these characters and their romance so picture perfect as to defy reality? Of course they are........who do you think wrote this?
Despite the rivers of shmaltz, do you find yourself completely sucked in anyway? Of course you do.......who do you think wrote this?
We have no defense against those who would mock Sparks as a purveyor of manipulative pablum for a mass readership. He is what he is......... but unlike his many imitators, we've never detected any insincerity or blatant pandering in his writing. To borrow the title of one of his books, the man's a True Believer in what he writes. And that's what sets him apart and keeps him pumping out the Weepies every two years or so.......
As BQ readers may have already guessed, we inherited this book from our favorite, most adored Sparks fan, Beloved Daughter.........and we have to admit, for loyal Sparkians, the author has presented you with one of his best......on that basis, we'll give 4 tissue boxes (****)
No comments:
Post a Comment