Book Club Discussion Questions
Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!
- In the first letter, Garrett Blake mentions a dream he has
of his deceased wife Catherine, in which he longs to be with
her, but cannot join her. Is such a dream realistic? Have
you ever had dreams that seem to carry such symbolic meaning
in your own life?
- The sailboat that Garrett Blake restores is an important
setting for many of the major scenes in the novel. He'd been
restoring it with Catherine, it was there she first told him
she was pregnant, it was also the scene of Garrett and
Theresa's first date and Garrett's death. What does the
sailboat represent? Could another setting have worked as
well? Does the destruction of the sailboat at the end of the
novel say anything important to you?
- Garrett Blake is plagued by memories of his deceased wife
throughout his courtship of Theresa. In the end, we learn
that Catherine was pregnant when she died. How did this
affect Garrett's relationship with Kevin?
- When Theresa comes down to "meet" Garrett Blake
for the first time, was she secretly hoping to fall in love
with him, or was it as she implied, simply because she
wanted to meet someone "who could love like that?"
Was it right or wrong for her not to have told him about the
messages she'd found right away? What would you have done in
that situation?
- When asked by his father, Garrett tries to deny his new
feelings for Theresa, but his father doesn't accept his
answer. Do you think he did this because he thought Garrett
was lying, or because he wanted to believe that Garrett was
lying? Is there a difference between the two? Was he
speaking as a father or friend, or both?
- Theresa regrets hiding the letters and knows she has to
tell Garrett about them eventually. But Garrett learns about
their existence before she does so and he storms out of the
house, thinking that she's lied to him from the beginning.
Why does Garrett change his mind about Theresa in the days
following their argument? Did that discovery lead to
Garrett's death, or would he have sent the final letter
anyway? Did Garrett's discovery make him love Theresa more
or less? Why?
- Were you surprised when Garrett took the boat out, knowing
that a storm was coming? What does this say about Garrett
Blake? Had he not died, would he and Theresa have gotten
married? If so, where would they have lived?
- Garrett loved Catherine with all his heart. Had his love
been romanticized by her loss? Did he love Theresa with the
same intensity? Knowing that Catherine had been pregnant
when she died, did Theresa's son Kevin add to their
relationship or detract from it?
- Was the fact that Theresa Osborne was able to find
evidence of three letters plausible? Why or why not? What
role does coincidence play in their relationship?
Copyright © 2002 Nicholas Sparks Enterprises, Inc. All Rights
reserved.
Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Vision.
Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.
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