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The Longest Ride Audiobook
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Publisher Description
From the dark days of WWII to present-day North Carolina, this New York Times bestseller shares the lives of two couples overcoming destructive secrets -- and finding joy together.
Ira Levinson is in trouble. Ninety-one years old and stranded and injured after a car crash, he struggles to retain consciousness until a blurry image materializes beside him: his beloved wife Ruth, who passed away nine years ago. Urging him to hang on, she forces him to remain alert by recounting the stories of their lifetime together - how they met, the precious paintings they collected together, the dark days of WWII and its effect on them and their families. Ira knows that Ruth can't possibly be in the car with him, but he clings to her words and his memories, reliving the sorrows and everyday joys that defined their marriage.
A few miles away, at a local bull-riding event, a Wake Forest College senior's life is about to change. Recovering from a recent break-up, Sophia Danko meets a young cowboy named Luke, who bears little resemblance to the privileged frat boys she has encountered at school. Through Luke, Sophia is introduced to a world in which the stakes of survival and success, ruin and reward -- even life and death - loom large in everyday life. As she and Luke fall in love, Sophia finds herself imagining a future far removed from her plans -- a future that Luke has the power to rewrite . . . if the secret he's keeping doesn't destroy it first.
Ira and Ruth. Sophia and Luke. Two couples who have little in common, and who are separated by years and experience. Yet their lives will converge with unexpected poignancy, reminding us all that even the most difficult decisions can yield extraordinary journeys: beyond despair, beyond death, to the farthest reaches of the human heart.
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“The two couples could not be more unlike, especially in their present situations. Ira Levinson is ninety-one years old, injured, and stranded, perhaps forever, after a car crash; yet comforted by visions of his beloved wife Ruth, who died nine years before. Not far away is Wake Forest senior Sophia Danko, enraptured head over heels with an equally enthralled cowboy named Luke. In this cinematic novel, Nicholas Sparks weaves together the stories of these two starkly different pairs as only he could…(P.S. Read it now; see it later: The Longest Ride is slated to be a film, due to be release on Valentine’s Day weekend 2015).”
— Barnes & Noble, editorial review
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“Nicholas Sparks’ redemptive, emotionally charged novel is an enjoyable change of pace for fans. Thanks to nuanced performances by Ron McLarty and January LaVoy, it’s also an instantly engrossing listening experience…LaVoy provides a steady, bright narration and compassionate characterizations that complement McLarty’s work beautifully, highlighting the differences in these character’s experiences even as they grow inexorably closer together.”
— AudioFile -
“Love means never having to say you're dead. Sparks (The Best of Me, 2011, etc.) fans know the drill: sweetness and light, darkness and despair, kissing and making up. And always, always, intertwining storylines…Just the sort of thing for Sparks buffs.”
— Kirkus Reviews -
Sparks is a poet . . . a master.
— Philadelphia Inquirer -
Epic Sparks . . . showcases the author's most accomplished work to date . . . There are moments of perfection . . . Reaching not only young and old, the novel is commingled with enough cowboy action, literary flavor, and a maturing gift for dialogue to reach across the sexes.
— Mountain Times (NC) -
These parallel love stories are each rich in their own right, but together, they tell a broader and more complicated tale of love's growth and evolution over time . . . some surprising twists right up until the very end.
— BookReporter.com
Awards
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A #1 USA Today bestseller
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A #1 New York Times bestseller
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A #1 Publishers Weekly bestseller
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A Los Angeles Times bestseller
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A Washington Post bestseller
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Winner of the 2014 Audie Award for Romance
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About Nicholas Sparks
Nicholas Sparks is the author of twenty-five books, all of which have been New York Times bestsellers. His books have been published across more than fifty languages with over 150 million copies sold worldwide, and eleven have been adapted into films. He is also the founder of the Nicholas Sparks Foundation, a nonprofit committed to improving cultural and international understanding through global education experiences.
About the Narrators
Ron McLarty is a veteran actor of television, film, and stage as well as an award-winning audiobook narrator. He has more than 100 television appearances to his credit, including as a series regular on Spencer for Hire and Law & Order. His film career began in 1977 with a performance in The Sentinel and continued with such films as The Postman, Flamingo Kid, and, most recently, How Do You Know? His stage credits include Broadway and other productions. He has narrated more than 100 audiobooks, earning nine Earphones Awards and recognition by AudioFile magazine as a Best Voice in Mystery & Suspense in 2009 and 2010. He has twice been a finalist for the prestigious Audie Awards and then won the award in 2001 for Best Mystery Narration. He is also an accomplished playwright and an acclaimed novelist.
January LaVoy, winner of numerous awards for narration, was named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine in 2019. She is an American actress best known for her character Noelle Ortiz on the ABC daytime drama One Life to Live. In addition to working extensively in narration and television, including roles on Law & Order and All My Children, she has worked on and off Broadway as well as in regional theater.