The Notebook, Week 3

Welcome to Week 3 of the Online Book Club discussion of The Notebook. 

How did this section treat you? Did the drama and tension go the way you thought it would? Were you surprised by anything that happened in this section? I wasn't—I knew that Allie's family and Lon had to make more of an appearance in the story. 

When this section starts, Lon is trying to call Allie, but he can't get an answer. Lon was immediately suspicious, which I thought was interesting. I was surprised how quickly he guessed Allie was visiting Noah. It seemed pretty convenient that he was able to recall all the details he had heard about Allie and was able to deduce that she was in New Bern. Were you surprised that Allie's mom had mentioned Noah to Lon? 

Even when Allie learns that Lon has been calling, she doesn't seem concerned. She doesn't call him back, and she doesn't think there's any way that he could figure out where she is. Why do you think she underestimated Lon so much? How could she change her feelings for Lon so quickly? 

Noah takes Allie to see swans. That isn't what I was expecting, but it sounded like an incredibly beautiful place. The iconic scene in the movie was not shot in New Bern, however. The scene was filmed at Cypress Gardens in South Carolina. It looks like an incredibly beautiful place, and they offer swamp boat tours of the gardens and backdrops from the movie. This article from Trivago Magazine tells how you can visit other locations from the movie. 

Right after we read about Noah and Allie spending the night together, Lon postpones a trial to come to New Bern. From that short Lon chapter, we know that Noah and Allie aren't going to just be able to be together easily. And then, Allie's mom Anne shows up on the scene. Did you expect her to show up? Did you think it was going to be Lon at the door? 

Before she leaves, Anne gives Allie all of Noah's letters. How do you think the letters are going to affect Allie's future decisions? This section ends with Allie driving away from Noah, but there are still several chapters left, so I'm sure this isn't the end for the pair. How do you think the story is going to come together? Do you think there will be a showdown between Noah and Lon? Will we see Lon and Allie fight about the future? 

If you've seen the movie version, you probably can't imagine anyone other than Ryan Gosling playing Noah. The movie studio wasn't too sure about him at first, however. Check out this article from Vanity Fair to learn how he got the part. 

Are you curious how Nicholas Sparks got his start with writing and publishing? In this interview clip, Sparks discusses how surprisingly easy it was for him to get his first book published.

I hope you enjoyed this section and are excited to finish the book for next week. Make sure to leave me a comment to let me know your thoughts. I can't wait to talk about the ending with you all next week!