Sparks novel tells of love and longing after 9/11

Dear John
By Nicholas Sparks
Warner, 276 pp., $24.95

"What does it mean to truly love another?"

Those are the opening words from the narrator in Nicholas Sparks 's most recent novel, "Dear John."

As the title suggests, this is a story of love found and lost -- and perhaps found again.

The narrator is John Tyree , a wandering rebel looking for meaning in his life. After bouncing from job to job, he enlists in the Army and finds the very things he lacked in North Carolina: camaraderie and a future.

But when John visits his Wilmington, N.C., hometown on a furlough, he realizes he can have much more outside the Army. He meets a college student named Savannah Lynn Curtis, who volunteers for Habitat for Humanity on summer breaks. In the space of a week, the two fall in love, and Savannah promises to wait for John until his tour of duty is up.

Characters easily fall in love in a Sparks novel, but they never seem to hold on to their love without some heartbreaking complications. In this case, it's 9/11 that keeps the lovers apart. In 2006, the novel's present, John seeks closure after Savannah, having fallen for another man, writes him a Dear John letter while he's in Iraq.

Sparks tells his story in simple and plain language, giving the book an easy flow. He knows how to gently tug at his readers' heartstrings by placing them inside an intimate romance, even though it's a bit of a cliche . Sparks writes with a chick-lit sensibility.

Diehard Sparks fans may find this novel echoing themes from his previous works. The endearing love letters remind the reader of "Message in a Bottle ." Falling in love within a few days calls to mind "Nights in Rodanthe " and "At First Sight. " A woman caught between two men she loves is reminiscent of the triangle in "The Notebook."

And as he does in each of those novels, Sparks follows what has become his standard formula: introducing two complete opposites who can't resist each other. John is a tattoo-covered Army guy who likes to surf, while Savannah is a churchgoer who wants to work with autistic kids. John also has to come to terms with a socially awkward father who seems to love his coin collection more than his son. That father-son subplot seems to distract from the heart of the story, the growing emotional and physical separation between the two lovebirds and the longing revealed in their correspondence.

After 9/11, Savannah pines for John, who wants to serve his country and fellow Army brothers. With that patriotism, Sparks tips his hat to today's American soldier. He describes soldiers' frustrations with trying to secure Baghdad, where at times they were "thrust into the roles of policeman and judge. As soldiers, we weren't trained for that."

But this story is more about true love than love of country. And if you can buy falling in love within a week, then hope that you never receive the kind of Dear John letter that Sparks knows so well how to deliver.

Johnny Diaz can be reached at jodiaz@globe.com.