#The notebook book how to#

But then you come across passages like the one below that should be exploding with emotions of one sort or another. No “words that define feelings.” Keep “to the faithful description of facts.” Much of the time, these strictures are largely invisible as you read about their daily activities, when you don’t expect to see much emotion intrude. The rules that the brothers define for their own writing are the same rules that Agota Kristof must obey in writing The Notebook. The Big Notebook they reference is, of course, the very book we are reading, Agota Kristof’s The Notebook. Words that define feelings are very vague it is better to avoid using them and to stick to the description of objects, human beings and oneself that is to say, to the faithful description of facts.

We must describe what is, what we see, what we hear, what we do.įor example, it is forbidden to write: ‘The Little Town is beautiful’, because the Little Town may be beautiful for us and ugly for someone else. To decide whether it is ‘Good’ or ‘Not good’, we have a very simple rule: the composition must be true. If it’s ‘Good’, we can copy out the composition into the Big Notebook. If it’s ‘Not good’, we throw the composition in the fire and try to write about the same subject in the next lesson. The way that they teach themselves composition is to write every day on sheets of paper for two hours about a designated topic and then make a judgement on the result.

But their training quickly escalates and in no time they have the skills to steal, to blackmail, and to kill people. Imagine a pair of ten-year olds creating an amateur Navy SEAL training course and you’ve got the idea. Then they they begin a process of deliberately hardening their bodies and teaching their minds.

#The notebook book how to#

They begin by learning how to find food for themselves in the forest, how to forage and how to fish, so that they no longer need to be dependent on their grandmother’s terrible and scant offerings. The brothers commit to each other that they will do whatever it will takes to survive-and survive together. Of course, she doesn’t do it in the house. When she wants to urinate, she just stops wherever she happens to be, spreads her legs and pisses on the ground under her skirt. She wipes her mouth with the corner of her shawl when she has finished eating or drinking. The boys immediately resent having to live in a crude, backward place with a woman known locally as “the witch,” a grandmother who they have never even met before. As fate draws them together, they will each be forced to question whether the dream of a better life can ever overcome the weight of the past.Somewhere near a war-torn European border that is never specified, a mother packs off her twin boys to live with their grandmother in a small, isolated village called Little Town, hoping that it is a safer place for them to live than near the fighting. In the course of a single unforgettable week, three very different people will have their own ideas of love put to the test. Danger is never far and her money is fast running out. Fleeing an abusive husband with her six-year-old son, she is trying to piece together a new life in a small town far off the beaten track. While they are falling headlong in love, Beverly is on a heart-pounding journey of another kind.

Morgan is on her way to Nashville with plans to become a star and she wants Colby to come with her. Now the dust has settled, he spontaneously takes a gig playing at a bar in Florida, seeking a rare break from his duties at home.īut when he meets Morgan Lee, his world is turned upside-down, and Colby can't help but wonder if the responsibilities he has shouldered need dictate his life forever. but will their dreams tear them apart?Ĭolby Mills once felt destined for a musical career, but tragedy grounded his dreams. Brand new captivating love story by the internationally bestselling and beloved author of The Notebook.įrom the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Wish comes a poignant love story about risking everything for a dream - and whether it's possible to leave the past behind.įate drew them together.