Quote Originally Posted by Arctic Cyclist View Post

Hypothetically. But I admit it took me trying to console a friend after a bad breakup to move past my bewilderment at the inclusion of Damian's pearl in the 2nd annual with him being entirely removed from the story in favor of Jean Paul to notice that it's bordering on plagiarism of The Notebook. So who am I to judge? I'm just a reader who's used to the lit world where people pay close attention to things and writers talk about how their characters are their own people with only vague similarities to themselves instead of cookie cutter cardboard creations and self inserts. But this is an appreciation thread, not an analysis thread, so I will back off of it.
I’m not sure the literary establishment is with you there on Nicholas Sparks inventing the concept of a split narrative detailing love and death. Isabel Allende exists for one. And Evelyn Waugh. And Somerset Maughm. And Orsen Welles. And Gabriel García Márquez. To name a few.