That said, after reading his memoir, I can now understand why he only publishes only once a year, and appreciate his work that much more. His family comes first, and although he loves to write and is honored by his readers' attention & devotion, he simply does not want to spend any less time with his family than he absolutely must. In order to fulfill this need, we as readers must savor the books we are given, and anxiously await his next delicious read.

I was deeply touched by the relationship Nicholas has with his brother. Being the only surviving members of the Sparks family, they have a deep bond, and their admiration and love for one another is obvious in the words on the pages, and even in the smallest of photos in the book. It most certainly deserves the attention this book calls to it, and I can only imagine that some of the readers whose views are printed here must be envious of this bond, lacking the love & support of their families, which the Sparks brothers so deeply cherish.

If you know anything about Nicholas Sparks and read the book's jacket, you must certainly know that this is NOT a travel book! The trip around the world only serves as a setting for the brothers to reminisce and share the stories of their childhood and the roads they led, and how the effects of these events shaped their lives & made them into the successful, respected men they have grown to be. The trip around the world was a celebration of sorts, for these two brothers who have shared the most painful experiences two brothers can share, yet carried on and persevered. The book was not written to describe the places they saw and encourage others to visit these places. The trip served as inspiration for Nicholas to share HIS STORY, demonstrating to others that you can survive life's most painful experiences with the love & support of family.

If you knew anything about this book beforehand, you also know that the book was written entirely by Nicholas, and Micah was included because of his inspiration, and how Nicholas' admiration for his brother led him to share their story!! Although Nicholas did all the writing, this story is as much Micah's as it is Nicholas', and both brothers are deserving of its credit.

Although the book is a memoir, Mr. Sparks remains true to his craft, and at times, you may think you are reading his next novel, and forget that these events actually happened to one family. It is because of these events, we as readers have been treated to wonderful, endearing stories of love, courage, strength and the bonds of family. We can truly appreciate the love & connection of Noah & Allie, understand why Jamie was so forgiving, strong & courageous, and see just how difficult is must have been for Denise to bring words to the lips of Kyle. The characters of Sparks' novels have been mostly inspired by members of his family, and it because of the tragic events of his life, we as readers have been treated, and come to love novels like THE NOTEBOOK, MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE, A WALK TO REMEMBER, THE RESCUE and THE WEDDING.

I anxiously await the release of Sparks' newest novel this fall, and while I'm still disappointed that I will again have to wait an entire year for his next book, I can now understand why I have to wait, and it only makes me more appreciative of his work, and treasure all of his stories that much more.

Thank you Nicholas - for opening your heart, inviting us in, and sharing your life. You will always be my favorite, and your memoir has only made me cherish your writing that much more!


Oh brother!   July 27, 2006
 41 out of 60 found this review helpful

If you have ever wondered why Americans have such a bad reputation as tourists, this book gives an amazingly detailed account of narcissistic and vulgar behaviour while traveling abroad. The picture on the back cover shows two suntanned Americans with teeth whiter than the sclera of their eyes smiling as if on a photo shoot for L.L Bean (hm, I wonder who their target audience might be?) - yes, they are definitely ready to explore the world (having read up on their Jules Verne of course)...

It almost felt as if I were reading a satire - surely this could not be written as a serious account? It comes across as extremely insulting and condescending, and I happen to be one of "these Norwegians" that the author claims to be "among the friendliest on earth"... As with most of his "observations", he bases his said conclusion on his interactions with the locals that happen to entertain them while out touring away from the hotel. His succint insights on traveling can be summed up in his own words: "Over the years, I've visited numerous countries, and I've learned that until you meet the people in a relaxed setting, doing what they normally do, you haven't actually experienced what the country is all about". Wow...

It would mostly be a laughable account suitable for a Christopher Guest mockumentary if it hadn't been for the sheer vulgarity. They shock the natives by pulling selfish pranks on sacred sites, they mock the aborigines and find "this stuff boring", they make fun of the poor guides who are there to "entertain them", they are flabbergasted when a bar in Peru can't find a channel that shows the Super Bowl in English, they make fun of anyone who actually finds interest in architectural details beyond the brochure blurbs and resent their "lecturing", they are bored with ruins if they don't look like a good movie set, they get "museumed out", they call on their cell phones to their spouses back home on top of temples to tell them how incredible it all is...

The irony, of course, is that they see themselves as adventure and culture seekers and acute descriptions such as "awesome", "amazing", "unbelievable" and "breathtaking" are littered throughout the text. For a feel of the complexity of the narrattion, sample these nuggets of travelogue speak:

"I never believed I could get so excited about seeing a pile of dirt".

"There were trillions of flies".

"Entire books have been written on the subject of the carvings alone, and it's far beyond the scope of this volume to even attempt to comment on them".

"As they say, you must see it to believe it".

"Architectually, it's amazing, and I can see why it took decades to build it".

"All we could do was stare out the window (of the bus), wondering how on earth people survived like this".

"This looks...boring. How long are we supposed to be here?"

"Saying that you went dogsledding in Norway with a team that once competed in the Iditarod is more fun than the sledding itself"

In between the travel diary, we get a presentation of the family history. There are musings about their childhood, the trauma of their parent's deaths (which happened after they were grown up), the sad story about their little sister battling a brain tumor, and some rather bland religious ponderings. Some of their childhood memories are quite touching, like all childhood memories are. However, the story about how the brothers took pride in destroying all their cousins' toys (and still seemingly think this is funny) is ironic since it is completely believable.
Also, the author has an almost pathological need to impress his readers with, well, himself...His only seeming fault seems to be that he tries to accomplish too much. After a tirade on how a devoted dad and husband he is, he offers this humble passage: "Somehow, despite all that, I squeezed in time to earn a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, lift weights, and jog daily. I continued to read a hundred books a year. I slept less that five hours a night". Wow - poor superman...By the way, if you go to his website (which is complete with a glossy photo shoot, and where you can read that he has been voted "the sexiest author"), the first thing you get to read is whether you knew if he had a black belt in Tae Kwon Do! I almost feel sorry for the guy...

Finally, the passage that lingers in my mind is the author's claim that when he grew up "they were desperately poor" because they were fed powdered milk, oatmeal and potatoes and only received toys for birthdays and Christmas...
How anyone can actually write that after visiting some of the places they did (albeit in the comfort of guided tours, air-conditioned buses, and endless cocktail parties) is a sad commentary in itself.



Down memory lane as two brothers travel!   June 5, 2004
 33 out of 44 found this review helpful

While on a three week journey with his brother and last surviving member of his immediate family, the bestselling author of The Notebook and The Wedding, Nicholas Saprks and his co-atuhor Micah Sparks relate in this latest novel, Three Weeks with My Brother, the trip of a lifetime as they travel to some very exotic spots. While describing this trip they also focuse on being raised along with their sister being raised by two rather unusual and rather eccentric parents.

While this book gave me some insight into Spark's themes and his motivation for writing the books that he did, I felt the parts concerning the actual trip had me thinking they were Ugly Americans considering some of their behavior as well as a rather simplistic travel journal.

I rated this title a bit higher than I originally thought I would because there were some very poignant moments when Nicholas wrote about the loss of his parents and younger sister, life in ahousehodo with 5 children, oen who suffers from an unconfirmed learning syndrome and the strains of traveling on book tours around the country while leaving his wife and family at home.

Unfortunately, I don't think this book will necessarily make me a lover of Sparks's books anymore than I have in the past. I seem to have this love/hate relationship with most of what I've read by him but it still doesn't stop me from reading every new books he writes just to make sure of what I think. In the final analysis I find him a rather mediocre author who appeals to the readers that he does because of his themes and not because of hsi fine writing skills, That said I am glad I read this book and despite these criticisms I did find both his and Micha's soul searching while traveling about life and loss both inspiring and hopeful for their futures.


Self-absorbed, talentless author with a special knack for bad writing here   August 21, 2005
 26 out of 41 found this review helpful

memoir (mmwaer, -wor)
n.

1. An account of the personal experiences of an author.



If the personal experience documented by the author is mostly contrived and phony, can we determine that this book isn't actually a memoir? Granted, it's not an all-out fake in the way that BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE was, but when you're left amused at how artificial and akward each situation is, we should deem this book to be a work of fiction. How believable is the rest of his story when we can witness so easily just how fraudulent and self-conscious Sparks is?

It took exactly 5 pages for Sparks' high-handed and smug comments about himself and his family to really get to me. The life he claims he lead as a child--growing up in a family where they had nothing--seems to be far-fetched now in the way he acts as a millionaire author. He never forgets to remind the reader of the type of house he lives in, the type of author he believes he is, the college he went to, and how great of a husband and father he is.

Surpringly, this sort of attitude he portrays about himself isn't the worst thing about the book. It's the dialogue between he and... well, anyone he appears to be talking to. Starting with page 5, there is an instance where he has miraculously retrieved the mail and he is nearly struck in awe with how great of a helper he is, as is his wife. They exchange back and forth just how great of a man he is. There are many instances of this, where you simply cannot believe the situation or what you're reading. It just makes you want to throw up, honestly.

So, basically, he and his brother Micah go on a 3-week trip around the world, leaving behind a total of 7 children--including a newborn--for their wives to take care of by themselves. Let's not forget that prior to this trip, the two housewives felt their husbands were gone from the home too much as it was. Ah well.

Nicholas and Micah feel the need to say how amazing everyone in their family is on this trip. It's so unbelievably ridiculous to hear how they speak in this book. I am convinced that 90 percent of the dialogue from this book was entirely made up. Another fun example is between pages 112-114 where Micah and Nicholas have a debate on what makes their marriages work. Of course, Nicholas overpowerS his brother and made him concede that indeed, commitment is number one. (Shocking revelation, really) but as Nicholas explains why commitment is indeed paramount to a loving relationship, Micah listens intently and says, "Like you and Cat?", and Nicholas whispers, "Like me and Cat."

That's how the dialogue in this book is. Everything is right out of a made-for-tv movie. I wonder if Nicholas, while writing this book, thought that he would have duped this many of his readers. Just look at these reviews. Approx. 90 percent of the reviewers thought this was an amazing book and rated it 5-stars. Nicholas may actually be a genius in a book genre where sit-at-home mom's or teenage girls will believe just about anything.

There are real readers here at Amazon, however, one said that Sparks' latest reminded him of a 7th graders diary.

That's an understatement. Recollection of their trip around the world reminded me of a 12-year old girl writing a Xanga entry. "...And then we were at Machu Piccu, where we arose from this hill, and we walked up a street and then we were amazed at the beauty of the cobblestone streets outside of the city, and then we we stared at this statue and Micah turned to me and said, "Nicholas, younger brother, wouldn't it be great to climb that?"... "Yeeeeah! Cowabunga!"

It's disgusting to see them on the trip, as they interfere with customs, and lie on sacred burial tombs so that they can both get photos of the other being an idiot. (Those poor tour guides who had to continually tell these fools to stop whatever it is they were doing at that moment.) I just don't understand why people in the world view Americans as uncultered and ignorant of their surroundings? Oh, that's right...

Nearing the middle and end portions of the trip, Nicholas decides to preach to his brother and subsequently, his readers about how important church and prayer are, and how it's the only way to reach his sort of prosperity. Love is also apparently unattainable without God. I was slightly surprised to see this attitude didn't come from an old-testament thumping fundamentalist, however. Nicholas is a catholic who just can't stand to see anyone else believe something different from himself. And Micah, who was indicated as being the most stubborn, apparently can agree with Nicholas on everything he tells him. Micah agrees church is of the utmost importance, even after not going to said church for the past 4 years. This book is simply laughable.

A big problem I have with Mr. Sparks, he never indicates just how thankful he is to have such a great life and how lucky many would be to have half of his wealth, he simply whines the entire trip about his past and how unfortunate things have been. The book is entirely just how bad his life has been and how he has overcame so much adversity to be the millionaire that he is today. He apparently doesn't get it.

And let me just say that the man really didn't lose that much. There are plenty of people in the world who lose their parents before they're even old enough to understand why or how it happened to them. This man lost his parents well after he was an adult. He lost his sister two weeks after he married "his amazing wife". I'm sorry, Mr. Sparks, but you didn't overcome that much. Your life wasn't that bad. And you should write another book dedicated to young children who actually lost their parents or loved ones at such an age where they barely survived their own childhood.

I would ask that you donate all of the proceeds from this book to go to charities that help young children who had to face adversities much worse than yours in this schmaltzy, insipid book. I am shocked that trees were destroyed for the making of such.


Perfect for mass consumption   August 19, 2004
 17 out of 20 found this review helpful

I really wanted to like this book, but "what you want, and what you get are usually two completely different things" - to quote the pseudo-wisdom of the book. This story is shallow and contrived. I'm sure it was a really nice way to get a tax write off for a trip around the world. About half way through I had to ask myself what the point was to all the unconnectd anecdotes. I continued reading out of disbelief. How could it be that bad on so many levels? The author seems truly dazzled by his own life story. Unfortunately, even after his belabored description of his struggles and achievements, I was still left wondering why I was reading about his average boaring life instead of living my own. I don't mean that there is anything wrong with Sparks himself or his family or their story of growing up. It is all just so incredibly irrelevant to me or to his vacation trip around the world. There is no point. No deep revalations or even really engaging stories. Several times throughout the reading I even had the impression that the some of the childhood stories were made up or exagerated. I'm not saying they were, but they just didn't come across as believable. Then the ones that did seem real, were presented with such drama without any perspective that one might expect a person to gain traveling around the world. How can someone stand in the killing fields of Pol Pot, where entire families had their heads bashed in for no reason, and then in the next paragraph whine about how one member of his successful and prosperous family may one day die from a brain condition? I'm sure it was tough on his family, but I think we all have our own family tragedies to sort through. We don't need to be bathed in his.
To wrap it up: The language he used was cliche and often times forced. Many phrases seemed to be taken out of a how-to-be-a-popular-writer book. His travels sounded about as adventurous as walking through the various departments at Wal Mart - with about the same reverence. From monument to bus, hotel to hotel, and tour to tour with the sattelite phone in hand, who cares?
My advice to potential readers: save your money for your own trip around the world, and save your own stories to pass own to your kids. Skip this book unless you like being irritated.