"When do we really know that it's over? When you stop feeling butterflies whenever you see each other? When you do things out of habit and not because you really want to spend time with that person? When do you really know that love no longer exist between two people? When, where and how? I guess no one would really know the answer to that."
My Thoughts:
Two by two showed various form of love and all the struggles that comes with each form. It showed the struggles of a man giving everything to keep his wife, a father doing his best to make his daughter happy and loved, a brother trying to show his sister that he's brave enough even if he always end up asking for her advise anyway, and a son who'll always and forever care for his parents as long as he lives. All of which he did while he struggle to keep his business going and all the emotional baggage that his past and present brought, while the fear of future baggage crept in.
I can say that this story of Nicholas Sparks is something that happens nowadays. It is something that is real and could happen to anybody. It was too realistic that the pain it gave you while reading it stays with you even after closing the book. It made me feel the fear of losing someone- a lover, a daughter or a sister. It made me question a lot of things about love and the sacrifices you have to make in order to fight and protect that love. It taught me that letting go of someone you love will never be easy but sometimes necessary even if it will hurt you in ways you could never imagine. For if you become brave enough to let go, that's when you start to know yourself more and in that moment you'll realize that the pain you went through was definitely worth it.
Russel Green found himself in that kind of pain when he was confronted with a sad reality- his wife wants a divorce. Truth be told, it shouldn't come as a surprise to him. He knew that their marriage was about to lead in that direction. The problem is why did it happen? He knew he did what he was supposed to do. He worked hard to provide for his family. He made sure that Vivien, his wife would still continue to live the life that she always wanted. She stopped going to work to focus on raising London, their daughter. Everything was fine from his point of view, until he decided to quit his job (a job he knew he'll lose eventually) and start his own business. Without a steady source if income, he came to realize that his wife will not put up with his decision. Only then did he find out that there was never a partnership between them after all. As always, he never thought about it. Convincing himself that it as because of him not having a job that is causing his wife to act that way. Always in denial to the fact that she was like that long before- distant, controlling and hard to please, yet he always worked hard to get her approval. He thought it will always work out if he did things according to what his wife wanted but relationships weren't designed to be that way. They were bound not to last and yet he wanted to try otherwise, only to get his heart broken into tiny pieces when he found out that his wife, the woman he worked really hard to please, is in love with someone else.
Without a job and a business that barely begun, he found himself without a wife and a daughter to take care of. His story showed the answer to the ultimate question - how much are you willing to sacrifice for what really matters to you?
My Favorite Lines
"Where does one begin when trying to make sense of a story that makes little sense at all? At the beginning? And where is the beginning?"
"The strength to be who you are without fear of rejection from others was something I respected, if only because it was something I aspired to myself."
"Those moments have stayed with me forever, partly because of their simplicity, but also because they were revelatory."
"I am, however, of the opinion that something has been lost in the process: the simple joy of waking in morning and have nothing whatsoever to do."
"You worry too much about things you shouldn't"
"Guilt is a wasted emotion."
"Guilt, in other words, isn't always wasted. It can keep us from making the same mistake twice."
"That the feeling might be a fleeting one. I was old enough to know that much- it was as real as the sun."
"Despite the years we'd been together, she'd become a stranger to me."
"It's just that relationships are hard, and both people have to want them to work."
"Too many people think that suppressing emotions- or avoiding them is healthy. And sometimes it can be, especially after the passage of time. But in the immediate aftermath of a traumatizing event, it's often better to simply allow the feelings to surface and to experience them fully, while reminding yourself that the feeling will pass. Remind yourself that you're not your emotions."
"You have a gift. You feel so deeply and you care so much. And that's a wonderful thing."
"Friendship isn't about how long you know someone. It's about who walks into your life, says 'I'm here for you', and then proves it."
"Nothing remains the same for long; his life, like mine, was moving forward. I just wished I knew where mine was heading."
"You know me: the maestro of grand romantic gestures, of candlelit dinners and flowers on date night. But what I didn't understand until recently was that those tender, orchestrated moments mean nothing unless they occur with someone who loves you just the way you are."
"For too long, I was in a relationship in which love always felt conditional- I was forever trying, and failing, to become someone worthy of true love."
My Favorite Part
Every part where Russel is with his sister Marge will always have the greatest impact to me. You can really feel how blood is always thicker than water and how their relationship can withstand everything that life throws at them. That no matter what happens, they will always be there to help one another.
My Least Favorite Part
I'm so not into having Emily, Russel's ex girlfriend, in the picture. Maybe I was just feeling so much pain from the story that it failed to bring out my perspective of romance between the two of them. I think their love for each other was not built up in the story (based on my preferences) for me to actually root for them.
My Verdict
I do recommend "Two by Two" to those who wants to read a mature and realistic love story, not just for lovers but for everything worth loving.
