The Longest Ride (Standalone)
Written by Nicholas Sparks
Published September, 2013 by Grand Central Publishing
398 Pages
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Rating: ★★★★★
Synopsis:
Ira Levinson is in trouble. At ninety-one years old, in poor health and alone in the world, he finds himself stranded on an isolated embankment after a car crash. Suffering multiple injuries, he struggles to retain consciousness until a blurry image materializes and comes into focus 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 rodeo, 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.
Review:
There are times when I don’t know what exact words to put on my review because I’m afraid that my lame words would ruin the perfection of the book. Today is one of them.
As the cover said, you follow two separate worlds, the youth with Sophia and Luke and then the very old, Ira. Both have emotional stories to tell but I have to say I could have happily read a whole book just about Ira and Ruth. Elements of their story was so engaging and yet so tragic.
At first I thought I’d be more drown to Luke and Sophia’s story but it turned out that Ira and Ruth’s were so damn beautiful as well, even more beautiful to be honest.
The more I read about Ira, the more I realized that it’s the little things in life that are more important. This is probably the reason why Ira was one of my favourite Characters. The relationship he had with Ruth seemed real, not some fairytale romance. Yes, there were ups and downs but both of them managed to worked it through even the toughest times.
Those letters Ira wrote for Ruth were so damn emotional that despite my efforts of pushing back tears, but I gave in when I read the last letter that Ira wrote for Ruth the one that Sophia reads out to him. The way it was written will surely make you feel the undying love that Ira felt for Ruth.
The longest Ride has a lot of meanings in respect to the book, but for Ira The longest Ride was his life as he happens to mention and for Luke it was riding Big Ugly Critter.
I had no complaints whatsoever about this book.
The longest ride is perfection.
