A dad's trying times

Two by Two
Nicholas Sparks
Hachette
2016, pp 602, Rs 399

Nicholas Sparks has a gift for portraying human emotions in words like no other. His latest, Two by Two, is no exception. It leaves you misty-eyed, but definitely with a smile on your face, and a sense of reassurance that unconditional love rules.

His protagonist, Russell Green, has it all. A successful career in advertising, a stunning wife, an adorable six-year-old daughter, loving parents, and a supportive elder sister. Life’s good for him, till the day he decides to quit his job and start out on his own. With no clients in hand, and the absence of a regular income, there’s trouble in paradise as his wife Vivian decides to take up a job in the firm owned by Walter Spannerman, a wealthy man known for his craze for beautiful women.

Overnight, Russ finds himself saddled with not just the extra responsibility of taking care of his daughter London single-handedly, but also dealing with the fact that Vivian is growing distant by the day. Even as he tries his best to build a clientele for his new agency with endless presentations, he finds himself overwhelmed by the experience of it all — a wife who travels for most part of the week in her rich employer’s private jet, ferrying his daughter from one class to another, and coming to terms with the fact that the perfect life he till recently enjoyed is crumbling away. Through all the troubles he is experiencing, his only aim is to shield his innocent daughter from the consequences of these sudden changes.

Even as we feel our hearts going out to Russ, we are introduced to his elder sister Marge, and her partner Liz, who turn out to be his pillars of strength. However, if you think it’s just a sob story with no hope whatsoever, then you are mistaken. After all, it’s Nicholas Sparks, and he will not leave us, readers, feeling let down, right? So, in comes Emily, Russ’s old flame, who’s recently divorced her Australian husband for his cheating ways. The best part of the story is, Emily’s son Bodhi is London’s best friend in school, and they go to the same art school. So they keep bumping into each other quite often, and re-bond over cups of coffee.

Even as Russ is processing all the unexpected changes in his life, Vivian drops a bombshell — that she wants a divorce. Russ is shattered. Though Vivian had dropped enough hints of wanting a separation from him, he had willingly refused to acknowledge them. He now finds himself with an uncertain future as he fears Vivian would fight for the custody of his daughter. She is the only ray of hope in his otherwise bleak world, and the very thought of losing London’s custody to Vivian drags him down. To add to his woes, Marge is diagnosed with cancer, shattering him further. And the child custody battle gets ugly.

Fortunately for him, through the emotional roller-coaster he is on, he manages to land a few good clients, and his advertising firm gains a solid footing. He tries to channelise his sadness and frustration into his work. But, Vivian’s repeated unreasonable demands are beyond his comprehension...

The story proceeds so on and so forth, with the book, at some point, becoming almost unputdownable. Russ’s journey through his heartbreak, Vivian’s demanding ways, London’s innocence, Marge’s unconditional support for her younger brother, Emily’s comforting presence — it’s a complete package to tug at your heartstrings. Especially the emotional bond between the father and the daughter.

The most commendable part of the book, of course, is the charm and strength of character the author has lent to each of the main characters — it lingers in our minds long after we have closed the book. Especially Russ’s, who seems to be consumed by the very dilemmas he seeks to resolve, and Marge’s, who leaves you wanting an elder sister just like her.

Even as we follow closely the progress of the story, it ends as a journey begins, on the path of love, devoid of any baggage, and in a happy space. Yet again, like many of his previous books that have seen the big screen, it will not be a surprise if Two by Two too makes the cut with its Made-For-Hollywood storyline. Remember The Notebook, A Walk to Remember and Nights in Rodanthe? Well, if you have enjoyed reading them and watching them on the big screen, then it’s high time you picked up Two by Two too, which happens to be Nicholas Sparks’s 20th book!

Singer-songwriter JD Eicher has even written the original song ‘Two by Two’, inspired by this novel. This exclusive track, within a special collection of remastered songs, is now available on YouTube.