“A walk to remember” Nicholas Sparks
Traduction française: “A tout jamais” (livre) / “Le temps d’un automne” (film)
PARTIE A (10 min)
1/ Biographical detail : First, I’m going to give you some information about the author:
Author:
-Nicholas Sparks 1965 USA
-wife 5 children North Carolina
-his books: love stories best sellers cinema.
-Jamie Sullivan = Nicholas Sparks’ sister (who died in 2000)
2/ Plot outline: Now, I’m going to summarise the main elements of the story:
“A walk to remember”: -1999 -a best-seller -adapted to the cinema in 2002
in French: “Le temps d’un automne”(film) “A tout jamais”(book)
-a love story: Jamie and Landon
-North Carolina 1950s (in the fifties)
-at the beginning of the story: the 2 main characters don’t like each other
-then: they change their mind
-the end of the story: Jamie tells Landon she has Leukemia and she is dying.
3/ The main characters: Let’s talk about the main characters:
-Jamie and Landon -17 years old -same school -very different (appearance/character)
*at the beginning: Jamie: Bible/faith (foi), people make fun of her.
Landon: no respect for Jamie, he laughs at her.
*then: they go to a theatre club and they spend time together, Jamie: “Don’t love me!”
*at the end : they love each other, Jamie: “I’m ill, I’m dying”
4/ Process of characterizition: In this book, the characters come alive to us because…
-many details on feelings
-Landon=narrator=Jamie is mysterious
5/ Style, structure, imagery:Now, I’m going to speak about the style, the structure and imagery:
-Landon: narrator: his point of view (point de vue) and feelings (sentiments) are clear
-a long flashback
-suspense: Jamie has a secret
6/ Themes: There are 3 main subjects in this book:
-love -death -serious illness
-the message: loving without conditions
7/ My reaction on the book:
I have liked this book very much because there is suspense on Jamie’s situation. I felt sad at the end of the story because Jamie dies.
I’m not surprised that this book is a best seller because this story is absolutely exceptional. It’s about real life; it’s not like some love stories where everything goes well.
