Message in a Bottle (novel)

Message in a Bottle

First edition cover
Author Nicholas Sparks
Country United States
Language English
Genre Romance
Publisher Warner Books
Publication date
April 1, 1998 (1998-04-01)
Media type Print (paperback)
Pages 352
ISBN 0-446-52356-9
OCLC 37878680
813/.54 21
LC Class PS3569.P363 M47 1998

Message in a Bottle is the second romance novel written by American author Nicholas Sparks. The story, which explores the romance theme of love after grief, is set in the mid-late 1990s, then-contemporary Wilmington, North Carolina. The 1999 film Message in a Bottle produced by and starring Kevin Costner, is based on this novel.

Plot summary

Divorced and disillusioned about romantic relationships, Theresa Osborne is jogging when she finds a bottle on the beach. Inside is a letter of love and belonging to "Catherine," signed simply "Garrett." Challenged by the mystery and pulled by emotions she doesn't fully understand, Theresa begins a search for this man that will change her life. What happens to her is unexpected, perhaps miraculous-an encounter that embraces all our hopes for finding someone special, for having a true and strong love that is timeless and everlasting. In a conference Nicholas Sparks held in a school, he said that this story was inspired by his parents.[1]

A letter from “Message in a Bottle” by Nicholas Sparks

September 25, 1995

Dear Catherine,

A month has passed since I have written, but it has seemed to pass much more slowly. Life passes by now like the scenery outside a car window. I breathe and eat and sleep as I always did, but there seems to be no great purpose in my life that requires active participation on my part. I simply drift along like the messages I write you. I do not know where I am going or when I will get there.

Even work does not take the pain away. I may be diving for my own pleasure or showing others how to do so, but when I return to the shop, it seems empty without you. I stock and order as I always did, but even now, I sometimes glance over my shoulder without thinking and call for you. As I write this note to you, I wonder when, or if, things like that will ever stop.

Without you in my arms, I feel an emptiness in my soul. I find myself searching the crowds for your face—I know it is an impossibility, but I cannot help myself. My search for you is a never-ending quest that is doomed to fail. You and I had talked about what would happen if we were forced apart by circumstance, but I cannot keep the promise I made to you that night. I am sorry, I am truly sorry, my darling, but there will never be another to replace you. The words I whispered to you were folly, and I should have realized it then. You—and you alone—have always been the only thing I wanted, and now that you are gone, I have no desire to find another. Till death do us part, we whispered in the church, and I have come to believe that the words will ring true until the day finally comes when I, too, am taken from this world.

Garrett

Characters

Notes

  1. Nicholas Sparks "Message in a Bottle", Barnes and Noble, accessed August 18, 2011.

External links

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