31 pages 1 hour read

Nicholas Sparks

The Notebook

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1996

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics.

Chapters 1-3

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 1 Summary: “Miracles”

The first lines of the book are: “Who am I? And how, I wonder, will this story end?” (2). The 80-year-old narrator describes the room of the nursing home he is in and then says that his life has had more good than bad. “I am nothing special. Of this I am sure” (3), but because he loved someone else, everything has been worth it. The story he is about to tell is, in his opinion, both a love story and a tragedy. He coughs frequently and says that “there is a sickness rolling through my body” (4).

Someone is crying in a room down the hall. He talks with two other residents briefly, then goes into the room with the crying woman and sits in his regular chair. The orderlies have just finished dressing her. Noah knows that “[s]he doesn’t know who I am. I’m a stranger to her” (5). He takes out a notebook so he can read to her. He says he does this because he believes in miracles: “There is always a moment right before I begin to read the story when my mind churns, and I wonder, ‘Will it happen today?’” (6).

Related Titles

By Nicholas Sparks

Plot Summary

logo

A Bend in the Road

Nicholas Sparks

A Bend in the Road

Nicholas Sparks

Study Guide

logo

Counting Miracles

Nicholas Sparks

Counting Miracles

Nicholas Sparks

Study Guide

logo

Dear John

Nicholas Sparks

Dear John

Nicholas Sparks

Study Guide

logo

Dreamland

Nicholas Sparks

Dreamland

Nicholas Sparks

Plot Summary

logo

Message In A Bottle

Nicholas Sparks

Message In A Bottle

Nicholas Sparks

Plot Summary

logo

Nights in Rodanthe

Nicholas Sparks

Nights in Rodanthe

Nicholas Sparks

Study Guide

logo

Safe Haven

Nicholas Sparks

Safe Haven

Nicholas Sparks

Study Guide

logo

The Best of Me

Nicholas Sparks

The Best of Me

Nicholas Sparks

Study Guide

logo

The Choice

Nicholas Sparks

The Choice

Nicholas Sparks

Plot Summary

logo

The Last Song

Nicholas Sparks

The Last Song

Nicholas Sparks

Study Guide

logo

The Longest Ride

Nicholas Sparks

The Longest Ride

Nicholas Sparks

Plot Summary

logo

The Rescue

Nicholas Sparks

The Rescue

Nicholas Sparks

Plot Summary

logo

The Wedding

Nicholas Sparks

The Wedding

Nicholas Sparks