Sparks, Nicholas. At First Sight. New York: Grand Central Publishing, 2005.
Nicholas Sparks is my latest favorite author. Everything I have read of his is wonderfully well written and takes you on an emotional roller coaster ride. His books are so good that I now buy any book written by him without reading what the book is about. Sparks is the only author that I don’t read the blurb first or check out the reviews before buying his books.
Although At First Sight is the sequel to the book True Believer it is not necessary to read the first book to totally get this book. Sparks starts by bringing the reader up to date with what has happened in the first pages of the book. Since I just read True Believer the night before starting At First Sight this made the start of the book slow for me. I wanted to hurry up and get to the new stuff. I re-read the first book before starting on the second book thinking it was the best thing to do. It wasn’t necessary.
The book covers five years and centers on the characters Jeremy Marsh and Lexie Darnell. They met in the first book when Jeremy flew down from New York City to investigate and write about spooky lights in a Boone Creek, North Carolina cemetery. Lexie is the local librarian where Jeremy spends lots of time researching to find some answers. This book begins with Jeremy moving to Boone to be with Lexie, who becomes his fiancé. Our couple has many personal issues that come up between them to solve; they both become frustrated with each other and with their situation. Some of the issues covered: Since he moved he did all the sacrificing (or did he) ; she want let him move into her house until they are married because of the gossipers, others try to interfere with their relationship ; finding & buying a new house; renovating the new house ; planning a wedding; having a baby ; he has writer’s block ; she keeps things from him ; and in general a failure to communicate with each other. Any one of these things is enough to aggravate anybody. These two lovebirds are put through the ringer. Do they make it? Well, read the book to find out.
There are many interesting characters in the book:
Alvin Bernstein: Jeremy’s best friend. He lives in New York City and is a highly rated cameraman. Wears leather, has many tattoos and has pierced his ears multiple times. He really stands out when he comes to Boone Creek.
Claire Marsh: Jeremy’s & Lexie’s little girl. She is the second female Jeremy falls in love with at first sight.
Doris McClellan: Lexie’s grandmother and the person who raised her after her parents died when she was three years old. She owns a diner called Herbs, and oh, she is psychic. Her gift is to predict with 100% accuracy the sex of a baby before it is born. Jeremy doesn’t like to hold hands with her because he has an uneasy feeling that she reads his mind when touching him.
Jed: Owns the local extremely rustic motel called the Greenleaf Cottages. He is also a taxidermist, serves on the local town council and is a licensed preacher. He stuffs the locked in time (1970s) rooms with his work. His animals tend to have a fierce look about them. Jed is huge, tall, and mute around Jeremy; he mostly wears overalls with plaid shirts. He and his taxidermy work scare Jeremy.
Mayor Tom Gherkin: The eccentric mayor of Boone Creek. He has a way of getting folks to do what he wants them to do (all for the good of the town, of course). He is described by Jeremy as “overweight and balding” and was “color blind when it came to clothing.” He tends to wear bright polyester clothing.
Rachel: Lexie’s best friend and is a waitress at Herbs. She is a flirty airhead whose heart is in the right place.
Rodney Hopper: Deputy Sheriff of Boone Creek and has had a crush on Lexie since they were kids. This causes problems between Jeremy & Lexie. Since he works out with weights, Rodney is bulked up; his size and his tendency to purposely intimate scares Jeremy. Lexie sees Rodney as the brother she never had and wishes he would focus on Rachel.
This is an extremely interesting book with characters that come to life and touch your soul. You are happy when they are happy and are dramatized with them when they have a tragedy. Please prepare yourself by placing a box of facial tissue in easy reach – you will need it.
I highly recommend reading this book and all of the other books by Sparks. He is the author of many works of fiction: The Notebook, Message in a Bottle, A Walk to Remember,The Rescue, A Bend in the Road, Nights in Rodanthe, The Guardian, The Wedding,True Believer, At First Sight, Dear John, and The Choice. Three Weeks with My Brother is the only nonfiction book Sparks has written. I am sure you recognize several of the titles, especially the ones made into movies.
