Widening My Narrow Gaze

It was just my luck.  I was spending a Friday night at home because the roads were too deeply covered in snow to even think about being able to go anywhere.  I wanted to read, but the library was closed and the bookstore was too far away.  After searching through every shelf in my house, I had difficulty finding anything that I hadn’t already read.  Just when I thought I would find nothing, I opened a drawer to find Nights in Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks.  After reading the description, I was skeptical.  My interest never quite fell into the realm of the wistful flings of our current generation.  I typically find modern love stories to be lacking in devotion and constancy while chasing passionate desires and immediate gratification.  However, with few options and a desire to read, I reluctantly decided on at least reading the first 150 pages.  After all, Nicholas Sparks is a best-selling author of our time; I thought it only right that I broaden my horizons and sample the work of a popular author and main stream book.  It was almost a way to participate in the movement and culture of our day and age.
The book was well written.  Sparks has mastered the use of imagery and similes.  His description catered to almost every sense.

“No longer were there echoes of quiet conversations, or the sound of water rushing through the pipes, or the rhythm of footfalls as he moved about in his room.  Gone was the roar of waves and the persistent drumming of the storm, the crackling of the fire.”

The plot was slightly stretched, but the basic idea was simple and satisfying.  The idea that a man and woman both recently divorced and about the same age would be the only ones staying at an inn in a remote fishing town in the middle of nowhere on the Atlantic coast seemed a bit far fetched.  However, the basic idea that two broken people could help each other heal, learn, and grow while getting to know each other was decent and agreeable storyline that allowed me to excuse the unlikely circumstances.  Although the story was not exactly to my taste, Spark’s beautiful diction and style just made the story flow like a lullaby.