The Longest Ride - Softcover

Sparks, Nicholas

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1455520632 ISBN 13: 9781455520633

Publisher: Grand Central Pub, 2014

Synopsis

From the dark days of WWII to present-day North Carolina, this New York Times bestseller shares the lives of two couples overcoming destructive secrets -- and finding joy together.

Ira Levinson is in trouble. Ninety-one years old and stranded and injured after a car crash, he struggles to retain consciousness until a blurry image materializes beside him: his beloved wife Ruth, who passed away nine years ago. Urging him to hang on, she forces him to remain alert by recounting the stories of their lifetime together - how they met, the precious paintings they collected together, the dark days of WWII and its effect on them and their families. Ira knows that Ruth can't possibly be in the car with him, but he clings to her words and his memories, reliving the sorrows and everyday joys that defined their marriage.

A few miles away, at a local bull-riding event, a Wake Forest College senior's life is about to change. Recovering from a recent break-up, Sophia Danko meets a young cowboy named Luke, who bears little resemblance to the privileged frat boys she has encountered at school. Through Luke, Sophia is introduced to a world in which the stakes of survival and success, ruin and reward -- even life and death - loom large in everyday life. As she and Luke fall in love, Sophia finds herself imagining a future far removed from her plans -- a future that Luke has the power to rewrite . . . if the secret he's keeping doesn't destroy it first.

Ira and Ruth. Sophia and Luke. Two couples who have little in common, and who are separated by years and experience. Yet their lives will converge with unexpected poignancy, reminding us all that even the most difficult decisions can yield extraordinary journeys: beyond despair, beyond death, to the farthest reaches of the human heart.

About this title

Review:

"Epic Sparks . . . showcases the author's most accomplished work to date . . . There are moments of perfection . . . Reaching not only young and old, the novel is commingled with enough cowboy action, literary flavor, and a maturing gift for dialogue to reach across the sexes."--Mountain Times (NC)

"Sparks is a poet . . . a master."--Philadelphia Inquirer

"These parallel love stories are each rich in their own right, but together, they tell a broader and more complicated tale of love's growth and evolution over time . . . some surprising twists right up until the very end."--BookReporter.com

Book Description:

* The bestselling novel behind the Hollywood blockbuster - in cinemas April 2015
* An epic love story in the tradition of his beloved first novel, The Notebook, Nicholas Sparks returns with this profound love story of two couples

About this edition

• Publisher: Grand Central Pub
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1455520632
• ISBN 13: 9781455520633
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 475