Two By Two is a phenomenal novel written by Nicholas Sparks. In Two by Two, the main character Russell Green has a perfect life. He’s happily-married to Vivian, has a six-year-old daughter named London, a job in advertising, a beautiful home, and a loving and supportive family. Unfortunately, his life quickly falls apart. He has to navigate being a single father, losing his job, and the terrible news of his sister and her diagnosis among other things. While learning to cope with all of the changes, he finds himself with an old flame more than once and navigating his new business. This story gives a different point of view to single parenting, from Russell’s side as a father.
This is the first Nicholas Sparks book I’ve read (yes, I’m serious), and it was a unique point of view. Most books that I’ve read have had the point of view of a single mother. This book turned the tables, providing the point of view of a single father. I was fascinated by this story and how his life flipped upside down in such a short amount of time. Though it was difficult at times, Russ was able to find ways of coping. He flipped the negatives in his life around and was able to create new positives for himself and his daughter. You can tell that his heart is full of unconditional love for his young daughter and his family, even his ex-wife though things are rocky with her.
I appreciated the amount of love shown by the characters in this novel. Russ loves unconditionally, so does his daughter, and so does his family who remain by his side through everything he’s facing. He’s very involved with his daughter now that his ex-wife is out of the picture, and you can really see how much he enjoys spending time with her. His family is supportive and feels for him through his struggles being thrown at him.
Seeing how someone is able to change their life around for the better is inspiring. Russ loses his job early on in the novel. He takes this as his chance to start up his own advertising company. He faces issues at the beginning, such as not being able to get any clients. The reader sees how he’s grown in his company. You can tell he loves his job and taking it to a new level by starting his own company is inspiring.
I highly recommend this novel. Though it can be repetitive and dry at times, it really is a great read. It’s full of life changes, positive changes, support, and an insurmountable amount of unconditional love. I’ll be honest, I cried at times for Russ. Seeing how he was able to change his life around is amazing.