Engrossing romantic tragedy?

By Dr Vaidehi Nathan?

The Best of Me, Nicholas Sparks, Sphere, an imprint of Little, Brown Book Group,(Hachette) Pp 292 (PB), Rs 350

The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks is a tragic romance. The protagonists Amanda and Dawson deeply in love, get separated when Dawson is arrested for the death of a doctor in a road accident. He was twenty-two. Amanda comes from a socially higher family and Dawson’s is a branded family. After his release he goes to work in oil rigs and after a series of accidents takes the pay-out. Eaten by guilt he sends money to the doctor’s family and visits his grave regularly. He has only one friend — Tuck. Dawson receives the news of death of Tuck and goes to the funeral. He meets Amanda there. Tuck has left a letter for Dawson and also instruction that his ashes should be sprinkled by Amanda and Dawson together in a place special to them all.

Amanda by then is married with three children. She finds out that Dawson had not even dated another girl because he was in love with her. She also realises her own unchanged feelings towards him.

Do they get back together? Or does fate intervene once again? The Best of Me is a sweet love story, of an ordinary boy and a girl. The author has written love novels such as The Notebook and The Last Song.

(Sphere, an imprint of Little, Brown Book Group,100 Victoria Embankment, London EC4Y 0DY)