Two by Two

I have been a long time fan of Nicholas Sparks, ever since I read "Message in a Bottle" many years ago. Unfortunately, his latest book didn't have the same emotional appeal as most of his other books. I did like Russ' narration, and enjoyed watching his relationship develop with his young daughter as he struggled being a single father setting up his own business. However, the book was too descriptive and the plot slow, and I felt it was partly biographical. It also annoyed me how Russ allowed his ex-wife to push him around the way she did. I also never felt the chemistry between he and Emily.

My favourite character, by far, was Madge, Russ' older sister. She was funny, witty, outspoken and adored her brother. I loved the relationship show more between the two of them; it was poignant and heartwarming.

Overall, an okay read, but I missed the old Sparks' magic. show less

Every so often, I have to take a break from my usual fare of mysteries and suspense, and curl up with a book guaranteed to tug at the heartstrings. Nicholas Sparks books are a good choice for that. His latest release is Two By Two.

Russ is a man who seems to have it all - beautiful wife and daughter, successful career and a lovely home. Yes, things in the relationship aren't quite what they were in the beginning, but everyone's marriage goes through those up and down times, right? But for Russ, those down times take a further downward spiral when he finds himself without a wife, without a job and now the main carer for his daughter.

"When you start trying to figure out what went wrong - or, more specifically where you went wrong - it's show more like peeling an onion. there's always another layer, another mistake in the past or a painful memory that stands out, which then leads one back even further in time, and then even further, in search of the ultimate truth. I've reached the point where I've stopped trying to figure it out: The only thing that really matters now is learning enough to avoid making the same mistakes again."

Oh, my goodness, I don't know when I have had such a strong dislike for a character - and so early on in a book! I'm talking about Russ's wife Vivian. She's spoilt, obnoxious and oblivious to her own behavior. She may love her daughter, but she's not a great role model at all. I did enjoy Russ's transformation from weekend/after work parent to dad who does it all. His relationship with his daughter London changes and grows over the course of a year. Russ himself changes as well. I did find myself annoyed with him in the beginning of the book - for all that Vivian is a manipulator, Russ is an enabler. He kowtows to her every wish and whim, accepts her criticism and tries even harder to make her happy. I wanted him to stand up for himself - but Russ is a nice guy - to his own detriment. His obsequious behaviour isn't great role model material either.

Sparks excels at relationship exploration in his novels. The husband/wife, parent/child dynamic is explored in not just Russ's family unit, but also through the eyes of his parents, his sister and her partner and a longtime friend and her child. I quite enjoyed the cast of supporting characters - especially sister Marge and partner Liz. And yes, there has to be a romantic thread as well. I won't spoil things, but I liked the way Sparks wrote and handled this part of his plotting.

There's no doubt as to what direction the book is going to take - and I was right in my predictions. But, I'm not thrilled with the ending. 'Nuff said without spoilers. Two By Two is a slower paced book, taking it's time to reach the final pages. I think it probably could have been shortened up a wee bit. show less

4.5 "Putting Life & Love in Perspective" Stars for the story!

Please note this book will make you cry! And though there is a romance embedded in this story, this book should really be classified as fiction (like women's fiction but without any humor). Perhaps what struck me the most is that: although it's told from a man's perspective, it could equally apply to a woman.

To get the full benefit of this story, however, you must will yourself through what will inevitably feel like a very difficult story to stomach. There is a character that you will hate with all your being. And situations that seem palpably unfair (and yet could equally happen to any of us). In fact, this story made me so sad and depressed that I wanted to stop about a show more quarter of the way through. And though its hard to imagine, the story gets even sadder from there.

All that said, it's a book worth listening to to its end, as the power of its message really helps put everything in life in perspective. Sometimes what seems like the worst moment in our lives, is really just trivial and insignificant in the big scheme of things. In fact, it may be the impetus for a better life when we have been stuck in a life that is just ok (or perhaps worse, bad though we have been blind to see it). However, transition is never easy, though sometimes it is well worth it in the end.

Source: Library-loan. show less

Admittedly this book took me a while to get into, which happens sometimes, I would say a little over 100 pages. But after that there was mixed feelings throughout the reading that is much like the book itself. There were ups and downs, joy and frustration, happiness and a few strikes to my manly exterior that came in the form of tears, but all in all I really enjoyed this novel.

For the most part the main character Russell Green was at the core of this emotional roller coaster, which is understandable since he left his long time employer to create his own business and in the process of trying to build his business take care of his wife and child. Though he is a likable character he can easily be the most frustrating, calling him a show more doormat would be going light on him, to watch a character get so easily manipulated by his wife at times was very hard to read. Luckily his daughter, London, broke these moments of tension with her innocence and charm. Russel is the cliche of what people think is a woman's perfect man, he is kind, in-tune with his emotions, and very caring which all make him susceptible to the true villain of this story, Vivian.

With so many lovable characters like London, Marge, Liz, Emily, and even Russell's parents, there is one that I dislike immensely, Russell's wife Vivian. I'm convinced she is insane, she has to be to say the things she does. There were many attempts to make her seem "not that bad" but all of them failed in my opinion. From the beginning to the end I despised her. On the other end of the spectrum you have characters like Marge (Russell's sister), her partner Liz, and Russell's ex Emily who bring nothing but joy and laughter, they are great characters who gave perspective and guidance to Russell to the point where they deserve a medal just for keeping me (the reader) from giving up on Russell completely.

The story mostly was focused Russell's struggle to build his business, raise his daughter, and save his marriage. All of which was good but sometimes could get repetitive at lease until the last 40 -50 pages where to story took a sad and very emotional turn. At this point it was very hard to read not because it was bad but because it tugged on those heartstrings like no other piece of media I've ever seen or read before. Maybe it was the fact I read the book in big pieces or maybe the stars aligned perfectly but Nicholas Sparks you got me, you bastard.

Although I like this very much, I do think that the 40+ pages of backstory in the beginning was a bit much and also I still don't understand why Russell thought his father has an "inner sexist" because he said "women stuff".

Besides its small faults I highly recommend this book and commend Nicholas Sparks for writing a great piece of art. He told a beautiful father/daughter story while showing the pain of a broken marriage, an emphasis on the importance of family and the trials of building a business. But most importantly the display of human resilience, no matter how much bad life throws your way, getting through that bad and realizing that you may be a little scarred but overall you're okay. show less

Vivian reminds me so much of a woman I once knew. She, too, was a real POS. Not sure why this book needed to dwell on such an emotionally abusive person for that long. But the fact that she monopolized so much of this story is such a Vivian thing to do.

That, and the abundance of blatant grammatical mistakes that the editor somehow missed, made this one of my least favorite Sparks novels. The would-be impact of the last 80 pages got lost.

The Last book I read by Nicolas Sparks was Rescue Me and that one I liked, I dont count the notebook because I read that at least once a year. Russ Vivian and London will make you fall in love with Nicholas Sparks all over again. I found Russ Green a very good character although there is lots less on his looks and lots more on his personality I dont see why many of the reviewers complained. I found the story touching in parts I wanted to shake some sense into Vivian I found her selfish and self absorbed. The supporting cast of characters was AWESOME minus the fact that by the end of the book I wanted to forget the name Walter. All and all I loved this book my bestfriend said that it made me bipolar because my reactions are so all over show more the place but to me that just means I enjoyed the book show less

I am not a Nicholas Sparks fan as I have found several of his novels to be too romantic/drama/tearjerker stories. But when a close friend gave me this book asking me to give it a try, I did. For the first 2/3s of the book, I was disgusted by Russ and his inability to confront his wife Vivian and stand up for himself. He was portrayed as a people pleaser and weak person, accepting treatment that no-one deserves. It was hard to read but I kept on. So there must have been something compelling in the story to keep me reading.