The Longest Ride is about two couples: Ira and Ruth Levinson, and Luke and Sophia. The novel begins with Ira, a World War II veteran, who married his childhood sweetheart Ruth, talking in the first person about his life.
He has been grievously injured in a car accident and hallucinates about his wife, Ruth, who is long dead. As he drifts in and out of consciousness, he recalls how he met her and their love story.
Two in one
Ira’s story is interspersed with a narrator talking about Sophia’s and Luke’s life from their own angles. Sophia, an arts student, has recently broken up with her cheating boyfriend and meets the handsome Luke who is a bull-rider.
The usual rom-com equation — Girl meets boy + obstacle = everything goes wrong + separation + moments spent by themselves thinking = back together — is applied here.
As usual, Nicholas Spark’s obstacles almost always seem to be illnesses — Ira has lung cancer and Luke has … well, no spoilers here. As you read further, you begin to wonder why the author chose to tell these two stories together.
Both stories are from different times and are different experiences. Ira talks about his life with Ruth playing the most influential role, while Luke and Sophia are just getting to know each other. But about half way into the story, you begin to connect the dots.
Ira and Ruth’s love story is sepia tinted; the kind of love story you expect your grandparents to have and wish you have too. Luke and Sophia’s love story is new age but tries hard to match the other story; unfortunately it borders on boring.
In my opinion, Ira’s story alone would have made a beautiful love story. Having Luke and Sophia’s story interspersed leaves me with mixed feelings. The Longest Ride is truly a long ride.
Title : The Longest Ride
Author : Nicholas Spark
Publisher : Hachette India
Price : Rs. 350
