Some call him cheesy. Or maudlin. Or even a misogynist (that was me). But even so, Nicholas Sparks remains one of our most gifted writers. His novels of love and loss are universal, embroidered with the kind of idiosyncratic details that make you feel like you're there. And his latest, The Wish, takes us on the most off-the-beaten-path journey yet. A frame story told through flashbacks and letters, The Wish jumps seamlessly between the mid '90s and the present to tell a tale that's old-fashioned yet timeless.
When sixteen-year-old Maggie Dawes ends up pregnant, her parents ship her from Seattle to the Outer Banks to live with her aunt, an ex-nun lesbian. Scared and sullen, Maggie finds Ocracoke rundown and boring. But then she gets to know her aunt -- and meets her tutor-to-be, Bryce Trickett. It's her relationships with both -- and seeing the world through Bryce's camera lens -- that transforms Ocracoke into a haven.
Inspired by Bryce's passion for photography, Maggie begins taking her own pictures. And it turns out to be a therapeutic outlet, helping her through her pregnancy the way that painting helped the teens in her aunt's convent:
"I imagined pregnant girls in a bright, airy room in the convent with wildflowers blooming outside. I thought about how they felt as they lifted a brush, adding color and wonder to a blank canvas and feeling -- if only for a brief moment -- that they were like other girls their age, unburdened by past mistakes. And I knew that they felt the same way I did when I stared through the lens, that finding and creating beauty could illuminate even the darkest periods." (229)
Photography evolves into Maggie's North Star, guiding her into the future. At the same time, the events that unfold for her and Bryce elevate coming-of-age angst to a new level. In telling their story, Sparks weaves his magic to celebrate life's fragility.
And although much of this story is indeed sad and dark, his metaphor of photography reminds us that pictures -- like life -- are all about catching the light.
