Integrite Fall 2012

70 IntÊgritÊ: A F aith and Learning Journal DQG HYHQ RQ WKDW ILUVW QLJKW VKH NQHZ KHœG HQG XS EHLQJ VXFFHVVIXO DW ZKDWHYHU KH FKRVH WR GR ,W ZDV HQRXJK WR JHW WKLQJV VWDUWHG´ 6KH WHOOV 'DZVRQ VKH loves her husband, but the text does not say she initially married Frank for love.

Another issue for discussion is whether The Best of Me LV WUXO\ ³IDPLO\IULHQGO\ ´ $OWKRXJK IUHH IURP SURIDQLW\ DQG REVFHQLW\ WKH QRYHO GURSV VRPH KLQWV RI HURWLFLVP WRR )RU LQVWDQFH $PDQGD ³EUXVK>HV@ DJDLQVW KLP ´ their ILQJHUV >EUXVK@´ DV 'DZVRQ KDQGV KHU WHD VKH ³>IHHOV@ KLV H\HV RQ KHU ´ $PDQGD ³QRWLFH>V@ WKH JHQWOH ULVH DQG IDOO RI KLV FKHVW DV KH >VWDQGV@ EHVLGH KHU ´ DQG VKH ³QXGJ>HV@ KLP ZLWK KHU VKRXOGHU´ 0RUHRYHU $PDQGD DQG Dawson dance together, kiss and caress each other, and eventually sleep together.

7KH RQH ZKR OHDGV WKH RWKHU WR WKH EHGURRP LV $PDQGD ³6KH FRXOG IHHO KLV GHVLUH as well, and with a movement that seemed almost preordained, she kissed him once more before leadinJ KLP WR WKH EHGURRP´ 7KXV WKH WZR PDLQ FKDUDFWHUVœ HPRWLRQDO LQWLPDF\ JLYHV ZD\ WR WKHLU SK\VLFDO LQWLPDF\ $PDQGDœV watchful mother guesses with whom she spent the night, but Frank does not know the secret rendezvous between his wife and her old sweetheart.

In the novel, Tuck serves as the catalyst for a reunion between Amanda and Dawson. The deceased mechanic has only good intentions for the two. However, one could argue that all the pain and confusion that assail the two main characters results from his naïve motive²to get the two people together so WKDW $PDQGD FDQ ³ILQG KHU ZD\ RXW RI WKH GDUNQHVV ZKDWHYHU WKDW PLJKW PHDQ´ (192). Amanda is already married with children, and amidst a midlife crisis, she does not seem to need an added emotional burden. She loves Frank as a husband, but Dawson has been her true love. Unless she is clearly willing to leave her family behind (she is not and would probably never be), her best course of action should be not to play with fire. (Dawson dies at the end of the story, which is a deus ex machina , so she does not have to waver between Frank and Dawson DQ\PRUH 2Q KLV SDUW 'DZVRQ VKDUHV VRPH RI WKH EODPH IRU PDNLQJ $PDQGDœV difficult life even more difficult. If he truly loved her, he would not have asked her to desert her family. It also does not sound healthy for a single man in his forties to be preoccupied with a married woman from twenty-five years ago.

Some of the scenes in this novel come alive. Sparks superbly portrays the way Amanda wavers between the two men, as well as the generational conflict between Amanda and her overbearing mother. As a popular novel, however, The Best of Me includes its share of flat characters: They are either truly good or truly evil. $PRQJ ³WKH EDG JX\V´ DUH 7ed and Abee, both of whom possess no redeeming qualities. 'DZVRQœV IDWKHU ZKR UHFDOOV +XFNOHEHUU\ )LQQœV IDWKHU LQ 7ZDLQœV QRYHO DOVR DSSHDUV XQUHDOLVWLFDOO\ KDUVK $FFRPSDQLHG E\ 7HG DQG Abee, who are armed with baseball bats and a knife, he robs Dawson of his hardearned money. His robbery continues until Dawson leaves town for good. 'DZVRQœV IDWKHU VHHPV WR KDWH 'DZVRQ VLPSO\ IRU EHLQJ D JRRG man. Another unconvincing character in the novel is Frank, a dentist with degrees from top-notch universities. An intelligent, ambitious man, he becomes DQ DOFRKROLF DIWHU %HDœV GHDWK Anyone can become addicted to alcohol, but some readers may feel that Sparks makes him an alcoholic for the sake of the plot²so