The Choice - Nicholas Sparks
The Notebook, A Walk to Remember Author Returns with New Novel
How far would you go to keep love alive? Best selling author Nicholas Sparks explores this question in the novel The Choice.
Travis Parker had it all -- a nice house on the water, good friends, a fulfilling job. He thought nothing could improve his bachelor lifestyle until Gabby Holland moved into the house next door in the small town of Beaufort, NC. He welcomed her in typical Southern style -- he brought her a basket of cheese and wine to welcome her to the neighborhood. She wasn’t home, so he left it on the porch. When he didn't get any sort of response from her, he shrugged it off.
Then one night, after a gathering of his friends for a backyard party had dissipated, Gabby had had enough. She blamed it on the loud music that was coming from his back deck (not that she minded the music – it was the type she enjoyed herself), but the real reason for her anger was that she suspected his dog had impregnated her dog, Molly. She stormed through the hedges that separated their property ... and was promptly knocked over by his dog, Moby, who was fetching a tennis ball. Dazed and confused, she woke to find Travis smiling over her and temporarily forgot why she was visiting. She quickly came to, and began a tirade of complaints to Travis, most notably that her dog Molly seemed to be pregnant and that she suspected Moby was to blame. Travis politely listened, then suggested that she take her dog to the vet to be checked out.
On her lunch break the next day, she quickly shuttled Molly to the town vet, who turned out to be Travis. He confirmed that the dog was pregnant, but that Moby was not at fault because he had been neutered. Gabby took her dog home and wiped Travis from her mind until a few days later, when Molly went into labor and things went wrong. Travis rushed over and helped Molly, and a relationship began.
The novel is told in two parts, in 1996 and 2007 – when Travis and Gabby first meet, and again 11 years into their relationship when Travis is faced with the decision of a lifetime. The backstory and present-day parts help to give a clear picture of the characters and the relationship that they build together. At first, Gabby is portrayed as a Southern belle from Savannah, daughter of a society family and destined to live the life they wish on her. Travis is a modern day playboy who wants nothing to do with commitment. Together, they learn that they aren’t who others might assume them to be, and that together they are stronger than they ever were alone.
Sparks, Nicholas
The Choice
New York, Grand Central Publishing, September 24, 2007
