The Notebook

Love is something magical, if only you ever felt that. It makes you go crazy about the other person. But sometimes people lose their beloved due to some reason and they end up losing faith in love. Apparently, many writers have told such stories, but the story of Noah and Allie is different. They do separate but eventually end up making The Notebook one of the emotional and beautiful stories I have read so far. Spoiler alert: this story might cause your emotions to unload themselves. 

The story begins with the narrator waking up to do his tasks for the day. He walks out of his room in the hospital and saunters along with the white tiles into a room. The atmosphere depicts that everyone knows him in that hospital. He sits in his chair in that room and desires for some miracle, and then he reads from his notebook. A guy named Noah Calhoun had restored some old house in New Bern, and this news had made its place in Raleigh's daily. Noah enjoys the evenings while sitting on his porch with his dog Clem, who had lost her leg in a car accident, and his guitar, remembering his father. He remembers his old days. He met a girl after his graduation at a festival, his friends, Fin and Sarah, made that happen. They grew fond of each other, talked about their dreams and made love. Three weeks later she left, taking a part of him with her. Ever since she left, her memories have been haunting him like a ghost. He is waiting for his present best friend Gus but to no avail. Somewhere far away, she was having second thoughts about her fiance, Lon. Allie was Noah's only girlfriend who made an everlasting impression on him. To forget her, he had left New Bern, worked at a scrapyard, made some new friends, and served at the war. When the war came to an end, he inherited the money from the sale of that scrapyard as his name was mentioned in that will, and then he bought the present house which appeared in the news. Allie got uncomfortable after reading the news, and for some reason, she wanted to know the answers to many of her questions, therefore, she left her house to meet Noah for one last time. When they meet, Noah treats her as if nothing has changed. He remembers every detail. They remember their good old times. Allie tells him about her engagement, and despite that, she keeps on seeing him and avoids calls from her husband at the inn. After going out on a date one afternoon, they return in wet clothes and relive their moment. Noah had expected a thunderstorm but Allie insisted on going there. Lon, her fiance, was an intelligent man and a lawyer. He is sceptical about something and finally discovers her reason behind that visit. He skips his ongoing case and leaves for her hotel to be acquainted with the truth. Meanwhile, Allie's mother visits Noah's home, knowing her daughter very well, but she carries those letters, sent by him years ago, she had secretly stored them away from her daughter. Allie leaves after her mother and Noah yet again feels broken. Allie goes back to her hotel with that bundle of letters, and before she leaves her car in the parking below, she reads that last letter of Noah from that bundle and with a cluster of thoughts, she leaves to confront her fiance. What will be her decision? Do you think she will have the courage to choose her first love? Like Gus suggested that you will always carry your first love with you, will this love make her stay with Noah?

The man who has been reading this story closes his notebook, creating suspense for his only audience, the lady. The lady, who seems to have trouble remembering this person in front of him, knows that this person is a regular visitor. She asks him how does the story end? He replies, 'you will know by the end of the day.'  

Nicholas Sparks writes tales that you could read in that winter evening on that couch placed near those fireworks with a hot cup of espresso. Many of his books have been directed into movies but reading his books has its own perks. Rather than watching its movie, you should read the book. His writing style for the romance genre is different. I appreciate the style with which the plot leads into the happy yet devastating ending. It is his style that keeps you engaged throughout, and I wouldn't be surprised if you read his books in one sitting. Mr Sparks has beautifully romanticized the reunion of our couple. You will be a part of their date amidst that picturesque landscape out in that thunder. Also, Sparks has mocked this society with their story as Allie's parents thought Noah wasn't part of their rich class, yet he bought the house in New Bern and got famous. This fiction discusses the madness and the repercussions of true love. It speaks about first love and those memories because 'no matter what you do, she(or he) will stay with you forever,' in your heart. In the words of the narrator, 'the romantics would call this a love story, the cynics would call it a tragedy. In my mind, it's a little bit of both.'   

The Diary Of My Love

Do you write a journal? Journal is a diary where you pen down your emotions and feelings comprising your routine life. Many times it is advised to write a journal as it helps you vent out your worries. Maintaining a journal lets you review your actions and improve yourself. Some people term it as a millionaire’s habit. In short, your journal keeps your mind fresh. The Diary of My Love by Deesha Sangani is written in the journal style. There are many novels written in the first-person narrative, but journal-narrative novels are very few. This is my first novel in this category.

The Diary of My Love is a story of a young girl, who is a resident of Pune, and aspires to be a writer someday. This is her journey from college love to corporate crush. In the beginning, we are introduced to our writer Anushkaa who wants to have moved on from some tragic incident. She tells us that she is prone to anxiety and panic attacks, and her family is unaware of the reason. We read about Ayush, probably her crush, whom she met on the first day of her office. Then she takes us back and tells us about her days in college from where all this started. She meets Sahil, who is charming and a perfect match for college love. They are too intimidated by each other and enter into a relationship too soon, therefore when they learn about each other’s plans for the future, they undergo few complications. Anushkaa believes when they are meant to be distant in the near future, why waste time dating now, it would only hurt them. In their final year, Anushkaa and a few of her friends get the job in Bangalore. Her best-friend, Karan is also there. Anushkaa meets Ayush and Riya on her first day. They brief her with her duties. Despite her distant relationship with Sahil, she is intimidated by Ayush. He, too, has a crush on her. Ayush had sent a secret note admiring her, which failed its sole purpose as she recognized his writing. She informed Riya about this without knowing that Riya and Ayush were going to get married soon. One day Sahil visits Anushkaa in Bangalore, and she opts for work from home for a week, and Ayush being worried, visits her apartment to check on her. Then he becomes distant to avoid any complications, and this was supposed to be good for both of them. Soon, Ayush and Riya announce their marriage. Ayush belonged to a wealthy family, while Riya came from a poor background. Karan thinks Riya is after his money. Soon Ayush and Riya leave their job. Anushkaa realizes the change in Riya’s behaviour. Meanwhile, Sahil and Anushkaa had started to grow apart. Anushkaa visits Pune for a project and ends up being sick. While resting back to health, she finds out that Ayush had deleted the pictures with Riya on his social media account. Many questions arrive at this moment, had they broken apart? Was Karan right about Riya? Will Ayush come back for Anushkaa? What will happen to Sahil and Anushkaa? What about Karan?

The plot is intriguing. It engages you to read more, and the book of such length is easy to read in one sitting. The journal kind is not easy to write. Being a budding author makes it difficult for them to write such styles, but this author has presented her work well. I do believe that the writing style could have been better, but if you are looking for ‘It’s complicated’ type romance, you should definitely try this book. She has mentioned actual excerpts from Anushkaa’s diary within the story, which enthrals your curiosity. The author has written six books so far and is widely active on social media. If you have read any book with the same writing style, do mention that in the comments.    

Many Lives Many Masters

Reincarnation means the rebirth of a soul in another body. Many saints speak about this, but a few of the religions removed this fact to limit the crimes that a human is capable of. If the humans know they have enough time to settle their debts, they might not realize the purpose of their existence and would go on without any fear. In the book Many Lives Many Masters by Dr Brian Weiss, the patient is stunned by the fact that her religion doesn’t support reincarnation, and she doubts this knowledge.

Many Lives Many Masters is a story of a patient named Catherine who struggles through anxiety, insomnia and other psychological disorders. She works in a hospital, where she is advised by her boss to visit Dr Brian Weiss for consultation. At first, she is hesitant, but as her condition deteriorates, she makes an appointment. The Doctor conducts normal sessions in the beginning, but it doesn’t have any effect on her. He advises her for hypnosis, but she is reluctant. During this time, she attends a medical conference in Chicago with her boyfriend, and there they visit an Egyptian exhibit. The guide present there informs them about the facts of some of the artifacts. She corrects him about a few, and to her surprise, she is right. When she comes back, she tells her doctor about this and agrees to hypnosis. Hypnosis is a focused concentration state. They visit memories of her young days and witness some terrible happenings. When people see their sufferings from a detached level, they understand them, and they tend to heal, but Catherine wasn’t improving. They have witnessed many experiences, but it wasn't helping her, so in the next session, he asks her to travel back to the time when her problems begin, and to his surprise, she travels back to 1863 B.C. The doctor experiences various timelines and connects with masters who tell him that a soul goes through various dimensions. He doesn’t tell anyone about his experience, rather he verifies them scientifically. Catherine has been in the physical state 86 times. He experiences the life and the death of Catherine in various lifetimes. They experience the trance like state where our soul rejuvenates and waits for the right time to come back into existence. It is during trance like state that he communicates with Masters. When he tells her about the happenings in her trance like state, she couldn’t accept it due to her present upbringing, and she is oblivious to those teachings. Doctor experiments and realizes that it is not made up by Catherine. Eventually, Catherine improves, and Masters tell the doctor to process the knowledge earned so far, for it isn’t easy to digest. After 4 years of this experience, he finds the confidence to tell everyone about this as Masters had told him that this knowledge was for him and not Catherine.

Many patients speak about close to death experiences, coma is one such time. During this state, a soul decides whether they need to go back to their physical state to complete their purpose or if they have learnt enough, they can begin their journey ahead.

The book discusses life and death and the extreme fears of humans. It acknowledges reincarnation. Those therapeutic sessions had a strong influence on Dr Brian Weiss, who has shared some of his dreams that provide some insightful messages. We shouldn’t step on other humans, ‘We all seem to be going to the same place ultimately, albeit at different speeds. No one is greater than other.’ We all are supposed to be driven with kindness. Our fight with different religions is useless as our soul doesn’t have any religion. The book is a kind of self-help as it lets you learn more about your physical existence. The Author has compiled the story very well. He relates many of his own experiences to let the readers acknowledge the gravity of such truth. He witnesses why he became a psychiatrist. I would always recommend this book because it helps in understanding life and our actions. The lessons will help you be a better person and acknowledge your emotions. This non-fiction won’t bore you.