7 reviews for The Longest Ride
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The Longest Ride
by Nicholas Sparks
Description:
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.
About The Author
Nicholas Sparks is one of the world’s most beloved storytellers. All of his books have been New York Times bestsellers, with over 105 million copies sold worldwide, in more than 50 languages, including over 75 million copies in the United States alone.
Sparks wrote one of his best-known stories, The Notebook, over a period of six months at age 28. It was published in 1996 and he followed with the novels Message in a Bottle (1998), A Walk to Remember (1999), The Rescue (2000), A Bend in the Road (2001), Nights in Rodanthe (2002), The Guardian (2003), The Wedding (2003), True Believer (2005) and its sequel, At First Sight (2005), Dear John (2006), The Choice (2007), The Lucky One (2008), The Last Song (2009), Safe Haven (2010), The Best of Me (2011), and The Longest Ride (2013) as well as the 2004 non-fiction memoir Three Weeks With My Brother, co-written with his brother Micah. His eighteenth novel, See Me, published on October 12, 2015. His newest book, Two by Two, will be published on October 4, 2016.
Film adaptations of Nicholas Sparks novels, including The Choice, The Longest Ride, The Best of Me, Safe Haven (on all of which he served as a producer), The Lucky One, Message in a Bottle, A Walk to Remember, The Notebook, Nights in Rodanthe, Dear John and The Last Song, have had a cumulative worldwide gross of over three-quarters of a billion dollars.
In 2012, Sparks and his publishing agent and creative partner Theresa Park, launched Nicholas Sparks Productions, with Park as President of Production. A film version of The Guardian is currently in development, as is a film based on Football Hall of Famer Gale Sayers’s friendship with Chicago Bears teammate Brian Piccolo.
Sparks lives in North Carolina. He contributes to a variety of local and national charities, and is a major contributor to the Creative Writing Program (MFA) at the University of Notre Dame, where he provides scholarships, internships, and a fellowship annually. He co-founded The Epiphany School in New Bern, North Carolina in 2006. As a former full scholarship athlete (he still holds a track and field record at the University of Notre Dame) he also spent four years coaching track and field athletes at the local public high school. In 2009, the team he coached at New Bern High School set a World Junior Indoor Record in the 4 x400 meter, in New York. The record still stands. Click to watch the Runner’s World video with Nicholas.
The Nicholas Sparks Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit committed to improving cultural and international understanding through global education experiences for students of all ages was launched in 2011. Between the foundation, and the personal gifts of the Sparks family, more than $15 million dollars have been distributed to deserving charities, scholarship programs, and projects. Because the Sparks family covers all operational expenses of the foundation, 100% of donations are devoted to programs.
Skryf Review
“Amazing Book”
Khushi
I just finished this not too long ago and of course, like all of Nicholas Sparks’ books – I loved it. I really enjoyed both love stories and the way in which each were told, how one showed a lifetime of love and the other the beginning of love. It did feel like two completely different stories and I had no idea how their stories would intertwine although I had my predictions but loved how they eventually came together. It’s such a beautiful story
Kahaan
The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks is an epic tale of love spanning decades. As Ira Levinson crashes in a road accident, he begins to have visions of his deceased wife Ruth. Together they recollect their life together over the past decades. Like most other couples they recount their first meeting, moments of falling in love, eventual marriage, respective careers, trials and tribulations, their eclectic art collection, growing old and recuperation from a lost love. But interwoven in the hustles of everyday life is their extraordinary love – from the simple touches and the silences they share to the remarkable acceptance and passion for each other – a kind of love that is celebratory and rare.Alternating with Ira and Ruth’s story is the tale of Sophia and Luke. Sophia is a senior in college who comes across Luke during a chance meeting. He is a professional rodeo rider who runs a ranch along with his mother. This is also Luke and Sophia’s love story and how they come to terms with each other’s choices in life.As The Longest Ride reaches its stunning climax, these two touching love stories intersect in a way that will make you want to believe in miracles. The Longest Ride celebrates true love while also exploring the unexpected ways life can change in an instant. But through the ups and downs, if you have someone special who can ground you, it makes this long ride of life much more worthwhile. This was one remarkable read!
Navya
The Longest Ride is one of the most beautiful books I have read in a very long time and has earned every one if not more of the five stars I awarded it. It is the love story of two very different couples in North Carolina whose lives seemingly have nothing in common with one another.First, we have Ira and Ruth. The book starts right out with Ira who is 91 years old and has been in a car accident. He lost control of his car on a curve and has gone down a steep embankment and hit a tree and the weather forecast is for a very cold night with snow. His injuries are severe enough that he cannot move and he fears that no one will be able to find him. Ira’s wife passed away 9 years ago but as Ira sits in the car injured, his wife Ruth appears in the seat next to him, encouraging him, trying to keep him alive. They begin to relive their more than three quarters of a century together. Their love story was so beautiful. It was not all perfect. They had their share of obstacles to overcome. But I was so moved by them, what they endured over the years. The love Ira has for Ruth was just so beautiful. From their honeymoon on, they amassed a huge art collection. But, Ira tries to get across that it isn’t about the art or what it is now worth. It is the story behind each piece and what it meant to Ruth when it was purchased. I still am not sure whether Ruth being there with Ira in that car was his imagination or whether it was her spirit actually there with him but it doesn’t really matter. I had tears in my eyes more than once at the depth of their devotion.
Shrawan
I absolutely fell in love with this book since I issued it. Right from the cover of the book to the last page, it will keep you engrossed. It really didn’t let me sleep peacefully as the entire time I was concerned about what’s going to happen to Ira.The letters that Ira wrote for Ruth were so emotional that despite my efforts of controlling my emotions, but I gave in when I read the last letter that Sophia reads out to him. The way its written will surely make you feel the undying love that Ira felt for Ruth. Also the letter that Ruth wrote to Ira before she died was very emotional. I loved both the stories equally and also the end. It was a happy ending in true sense.The Longest Ride has a a lot of meanings in respect to the book, but for me The Longest Ride for Ira was his life as he happens to mention and for Luke it was riding Big Ugly Critter.I especially love this book because it really made me wonder that after living such a happy life together with your spouse, in the end when one out of the two of you remains, how painful it would be and trust me even after dying, I guess, you really can’t be at peace seeing your other half struggle!
Harnish
I can see why some people favour this book while the others don’t. I, for that matter, happen to fall into the third category – enjoyed the story but wasn’t entirely impressed by it. It was just an okay kind of story for me; sweet enough to leave you aching but doesn’t make you sugar-rushed, which is a tad disappointing to be honest. But then again, I don’t really know what to expect from Sparks’s books anymore. The last book of his I read was Safe Haven and that was only because I got it for cheap. Even then, I didn’t really enjoy it. It seems my days of enjoying Sparks’s stories are finally over.I may have made it sound interesting but in honesty The Longest Ride is just another typical, Nicholas Sparks’s type of love story. A bland one at that. If you’re a Sparks’s fan, rest assured you’ll find everything that you like about him in this book. His writing doesn’t change much. The plot, however, is a lot weaker as compared to his other works like The Notebook, The Choice and The Lucky One to name a few. I feel there aren’t enough conflicts in this book to leave a hollow in you. The couples are given life-altering news to face, they have misunderstandings and they fight but nothing that will really leave an impact to the readers. It wasn’t a satiable reading.
Skryf Review
Good Read
The one story is for Ira an old man, who had an accident,and he is recalling and retelling us about his life and his one love Ruth and the second story is about Luke, a bull rider who met Sophia, a New Jersey college girl. We follow them through the stages of their relationship as they try not to think too hard about what the future holds.
Ira’s and Ruth’s love story was intense! Ira love his wife so much!Sophia’s and Luke’s romance is slow and sweet. Both stories were very interesting and they were so realistic!
As The Longest Ride reaches its stunning climax, these two touching love stories intersect in a way that will make you want to believe in miracles. The Longest Ride celebrates true love while also exploring the unexpected ways life can change in an instant. But through the ups and downs, if you have someone special who can ground you, it makes this long ride of life much more worthwhile. This was one remarkable read!
A touching story. The best part are the letters from Ira and that of Ruth.Really touching , romantic and emotional story, which makes you smile and also leaves a sweet pain which you will relish.You will love this if you have fallen into love at least once in your life time. The plot of the book is engaging and worth reading.