At First Sight by Nicholas Sparks

From John M. Formy-Duval, for About.com

My high school English teacher used to give us two grades on each paper we wrote. One grade was for the ideas we presented; the other was for our grasp of grammatical niceties. At First Sight needs two grades. The first, 2.5 stars, is for its literary merit and its position on the continuum of Literary quality. The second, 4.0, is probably the more important, however, for it grades the novel's appeal to Sparks' legion of fans who dote on his every novel. Groans greeted his announcement at a recent appearance that he did not have to provide a new manuscript to his publisher until January, 2007.

At First Sight is part 2 of his previous book, True Believer, which introduced readers to Lexie Darnell of Boone Creek, NC and Jeremy Marsh of New York City. Of course, they fell in love. True Believer had an epilogue of 45 pages, which the editor said was too long and detracted from the linearity of the book. So, Sparks wrote a new book which extended and completed his original concept of the story.

Five years later Jeremy is living in Boone Creek and is the narrator who tells us what has happened over the previous five years with all their sorrow and joy. Like much of Elizabethan drama, the novel is over the top and melodramatic. Typical of that era, no matter how monstrous the tragedy, a brief, positive upswing comes about at the very end. At First Sight does not rely on use of sophisticated language and metaphor; nevertheless, to carry the Elizabethan drama metaphor a bit further, it does appeal to the groundlings.

"Skeptical by nature" Jeremy is a freelance writer who exposes "Frauds, hoaxes, and forgeries." He came originally to North Carolina to investigate mysterious lights in a graveyard. He has no idea how these lights will frame the story he tells us. And, these lights will come poignantly into play again. Whether it is the Brown Mountain Lights in Western North Carolina or the Maco Light in the swamps of Southeastern NC (Joe Baldwin has still not found his head in 150 years of looking.), this state is fertile ground for the unexplained. Yet, Jeremy, the ultimate skeptic, is about to leave the city he loves and move to a small town to marry a woman he hardly knows, as his best friend repeatedly points out to him.

Sparks captures the inevitable tension quite well. It is this tension of not knowing who Lexie is which drives the story. Is she what she seems to be "at first sight" or not? As his knowledge of Lexie unfolds, the inevitable doubts must arise, and they do - in spades. A strange email comes from a hidden source; then another email comes, and the tension escalates. Jeremy encounters a severe case of writer's block, and that creates more drama.

The story is certainly not Literature, but it is a story which fits its niche, which has been true of Sparks' work since his first novel, At First Sight. No one will argue that it is a work of great literary merit, but it is a well-told story which subtly latches onto one's emotions. And, it fits what his audience is looking for. Judging by the hundreds of devotees who turned out for a recent book event in Cary, North Carolina, that audience is 95% female and predominantly white with a smattering of Asians, African-Americans, and Hispanics. They encompass all ages.

At First Sight is a cliché in many ways. There is love at first sight. It provides one answer to the question of how we meet and cope with joy and tragedy. It moves along on the theme that what does not kill us makes us stronger. Life happens, and when it does, each of us needs a support system to bolster us and help us meet its vicissitudes head on and triumph in the face of disaster. Cliché or not, people are clamoring to read this novel, and should that not be the ultimate measure of popular contemporary literature?

Sparks is a writer who knows his audience and caters to them in a positive manner. Dressed in jeans, a polo shirt, and black weejuns, this Minnesota-born Californian fits right in with his audience and the people of his new hometown of New Bern, NC. A former track star at Notre Dame, he has donated $700,000 to the local high school and built a top of the line track, where he volunteers his time as an assistant coach. Just recently, he helped bring Karjuan Williams, the best high school 800 meter runner in the country, and his family to New Bern. They had been displaced by Hurricane Katrina. He genuinely feels for people.

In his two brief talks while we were present, Sparks noted that his appeal lies in the South, from Virginia and North Carolina through Tennessee and all points south. Poking fun at himself, he noted that at most stops, he signs books for 6 hours; in Seattle on a recent tour, six (6) people showed up; he was able to get in a lot of shopping for personal books. Yet, a number of his books have been made into successful television movies. In fact, At First Sight will be the next movie (big cheer!). The script, which he just read, is "too close to the book." The book was somewhat "somber," so some elements will need to be added to lighten its impact.

At this stop, he began signing books for stock about 2:15 in a back room, then moved out onto the floor about 3:30, where there was already a line. We arrived at 5:20 for what was billed as a 7:00 p.m. appearance. More than 200 were already in a line which wrapped, theme park style, nine layers deep, then snaked through the store. The crowd rivaled a recent appearance by Emeril. Sparks has a talent for making each person feel as if she is the only one in the line, and willingly takes time for pictures and signs every book. His fans so adore him that when he told them he could no longer take time to personalize books, they still cheered him. Many had 5 to 10 copies of this book, as well as previous books. Nearly every one it seemed had a camera, or a cell phone with a camera. Women were simply transfixed when they came around the first corner and were able to finally see Sparks no more than 10 feet away. They often just stood there, completely unaware that the line had moved away from them. But, no one hurried them; the people behind just waited patiently for their reverie to end so they could move on. We left the store about 7:45 and the line was significantly longer than when we came in.

Where do his ideas come from he was asked. "I have a tree in the backyard, and I just pick 'em." Really, he continued, "I have no idea where the ideas come from. After each novel, I've said, 'That's it. I'm out of ideas. No more.' I finished At First Sight on August 6. A few days later an image of a photo of a female came to me." Cheers were heard when he said the idea would result in a book in the fall of 2006. "I haven't written a word; I'll start when this tour ends in mid-November." It will take "3 - 4 months to write," the usual amount of time.

Do you ever cry when writing your books? "Yes. I'm not too manly to show my emotional core. The nonfiction book, Three Weeks With My Brother, brought up memories I'd prefer to have not made."

Are you as romantic in real life? "Yes, I am! (to great cheers) My wife loves flowers, a trip out of the blue; arrangements for a babysitter." (As he said this, one of the men there covered his ears as if he did not want to hear.)

Will you write a book about your wife? "Maybe. Lexie Darnell in Sight is very much like my wife. She's tough, caring, sensitive."

Do you have a say in scripts or movie locations? "I have no say in locations. Notebook, for example, while set in North Carolina, was filmed in New England, because our coast had been devastated by two hurricanes. I more say than most on scripts, but I am fortunate to work with good scriptwriters, so that is not a problem."

"My easiest book to write" was A Walk to Remember. "It just poured out of me - perfect on the first draft." The most difficult was The Guardian. "My editor didn't like the male character, or the female character, or the antagonist, and it lacked suspense. The editor said it would be okay if I rewrote the last 40%."

How do you choose where you do your book signings? "I always start at the Walden's in New Bern, then I go to Greenville, SC and Charlotte, NC. My books are released on Tuesdays and on the Friday of that week, my fourth stop is here at the Barnes and Noble in Cary. It worked with my first book, and I am not about to change that."

http://contemporarylit.about.com/od/fiction/fr/atFirstSight_2.htm