6/01/2012

James Patterson in his Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas

Suzanne's Diary for NicholasSuzanne's Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I first find James Patterson's way of telling a love story in the movie version of Sundays at Tiffany's, where its story is very much different with Capote and Audrey Hepburn. It was about the spirit of a man taking into human shape, given a mission to make a woman happy, but fell in love eventually, torn between his mission for another and his mission for reaching happiness.

In my personal way of browsing the shelves of Book Sale in Market-Market, I was lucky to have found this book. Compromising the price of Php145 to the quality of the book not being in mint condition, I believed this is going to be a goodread.

And it was.

Crying is so refreshing, especially if you are uncontrollably sympathizing to the characters of the story.

The story started with Katie, knowing that she is irrevocably in love with Matt, questionably left her broken hearted. I tend to ask why as my way of participating as a reader, but the initial answer was open the package and read the diary, Katie. Matt never expected to fall in love with her, but he did.

The ink and the epistles that consist the entries of Suzanne to her Nicholas stung Katie. Who is Nicholas? Why Matt warned her that some entries are so hard to read? Why insist on reading it rather than explaining some things in her face?

And so me and Katie as the readers started turning the pages.

Review and Reflections:

The first entry started with simple introductions of Suzanne to his son, Nicholas. As a woman whose parents died of early age, she wanted to write a diary to her son to be reminded of her when he grew up. Suzanne wanted to be remembered as a mother. In this simple way of opening up to a kid full of innocence, this is her way for her kid to remember love. May it be not only with words and actions, but also with a keepsake.

Wouldn't you be grateful that your mother is by your side as you grew up? I was, and still I am. I remember her songs, her biblical parables, her sermons, life lessons, and girl talks. I remember her tips in shopping, her sense of direction, and her heart in explaining her disposition.

But it is not only a communication between Suzanne and Nicholas; it is also a heart-to-heart talk with Katie. That she feels the same. Moving along the diary entries we learned that Suzanne has a successful career, broken up with a career-driven man, changed her whole life and made new beginnings, and eventually fell in love - with a painter and a writer.

I also remember my mother's story of The Cat Race. When we complicate things, we become problematic, and at one point, we may experience a heart attack. Suzanne emphasized the story of five balls - where career is a bouncing ball, while the rest are glasses, breakable and vulnerable. I even remember telling this to a bookworm that career is just a career. LETSENG CAREER YAN, iinom na lang natin yan. hahaha

I won't go into details and twists of Suzanne's love story because this is part of the treat Patterson wanted you to read, especially if you are simply romantic. Just read them along. And let me point it out: it is not only the love story element that made the novel gripping, but also her simple language conveying lessons to Nicholas and eliciting memories with Matt.

There are quotable quotes in this book, and let me mention a few (together with my reflections).

Love between two people can last a long time if the people love themselves some and are ready to give love to another person. We are not here needing love, we are needing to be belonged. Before we love our lovers we should be whole and love ourselves first. We should feel the purity and intensity of it. After all, When it is true, when it is right, love can give you the kind of joy that you can't get from any other experience... Because to be without love is to be without grace, what matters most in life.

And as we see Suzanne's challenge in her workplace and in her own life, we see that Life doesn't go on forever. We are here to savor every moment of it, breathing it all in, feeling lucky and grateful.

In one of her sharing of an experience with her patient (and I will not disclose even there is a spoiler alert), we realize that we are fragile, and we are to remember how life can be like walking on a high wire. Falling seems a tiny misstep away.

The heaviest part of the story is where we all thought this is only a heart-to-heart talk between Katie, Suzanne, and the non-talking Nicholas. Life can be unforgiving sometimes. When I saw a leaf containing Matthew , my heart skipped a beat. WHY DID MATT MADE A DIARY ENTRY? It is for me as a reader to find out.

I WAS CRYING IN MY WORK DESK DURING MY DOWNTIME and my colleagues saw me. A laughing matter, yes, but I cannot control it. I felt betrayed.

Where was he? Why did he write that? What to do now? I asked with Katie. Katie made her move, grabbing the lessons of the five balls as her weapon, deserving her own happily ever after.

I don't wish to have a life like Suzanne's or Katie's, I wished to live it full or wishes and dreams coming into life. This emotional rollercoaster story made us realize that we a simply lucky to live each moment everyday, keeping these little things as our keepsakes, weaving our own bracelets, or writing our own diary entries.

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2 komento:

  1. James Patterson writing this kind of books? Amusing, in fact I never knew that he wrote love stories.

    TumugonBurahin
    Mga Tugon
    1. Yes dear, meron pa ngang other books. Like Sundays at Tiffany's that became a TV Movie in HBO. :D

      Burahin