SUMMARY: In the wake of personal tragedy, two people meet on a humanitarian mission in Peru. Christine is a shy, unadventurous woman whose fiancé broke off the engagement only a week before the wedding, and Paul is a former emergency room doctor whose glamorous lifestyle, stellar reputation, and beautiful fiancée are cruelly snatched from him one fateful, snowy Christmas Eve. Deep in the Amazon jungle, against a backdrop of poverty and heartbreak, they must confront their deepest fears and, together, learn to trust and love again.REVIEW: Richard Paul Evans has become one of my favorite authors. The sweetness and depth of his novels that are filled with realistic characters just trying to cope with every day life really appeals to me. They are filled with gems of thoughts that stick in your mind for a long time. All of his books carry a message and a lesson. The Sunflower teaches that less is often more in terms of love and compassion. The detail in the setting descriptions adds greatly to this story and the reader can almost feel themselves one of the group. The characters are unique and contribute in different ways to the story line. I especially loved Pablo and Roxana and how they both represented the "street children of Peru" and their tragedy. Knowing that Mr. Evans himself is immersed in helping orphans lets you know this is a story penned from within his heart. FAVORITE QUOTES: I had so many from this book that it was hard to choose just 2 or 3:"American culture is a curious thing. We fret over a sport start's twisted ankle or the ill-fated marriage of celebrities, yet los no sleep over a hundred million children living in the streets.""The surest way to minimize your own burdens is to carry someone else's.""There are non so impoverished as those who do not acknowledge the abundance of their lives.""The secret of success in this life is to realize that the crisis on our planet is much larger than just deciding what to do with your own life. The only work that will ultimately bring any good to any of us is the work of contributing to the healing of the world." (Marianne Williamson quoted in The Sunflower.""When love is right, things work out.""I have come to believe that the only true way we can serve God is to serve His children.""We carry around in our heads these pictures of what our lives are supposed to look like, painted by the brush of our intentions. It's the great deep secret of humanity that in the end none of our lives look the way we thought they would. As much as we wish to believe otherwise, most of life is a reaction to circumstances.""But the truth is, every relationship is a journey. And no journey is safe. The best you can do is find a companion you care to make the trip with.
Es un libro muy fácil de leer, y que te engancha al instante de empezar a leer, es simple, y nos cuenta una historia muy muy linda que en mi opinón pudo haber sido muchisimo mejor. Esperaba mas, si, pero creo que era porque yo esperaba otro tipo de historia, algo mas tirando a una novela romántica y si bien nos habla del amor está mucho mas enfocada en otras cuestiones que también se hacen con mucho amor.Me enamoré un poco mas de Cuzco, lugar que no conozco pero ansio conocer, y de su gente, sobre todo del trabajo de todos en EL GIRASOL, un orfanato, en donde transcurre casi toda la historia.Me hubiera gustado conocer un poco mas a Paul y Christine y su vida juntos, le falto romance, mas momentos intimos, y desarrollar un poco mas su historia, es como que todo se da muy rápido.Pero si tengo que decir si me gusto o no, sin dudas y mas allá de todos los peros es un Si. Es el primer libro que leo de este autor a pesar de que tiene una larga bibliografía, yo no lo conocía y supongo que en algún momento volvere a leer algo de El.
What do You think about The Sunflower (2005)?
Summary: In the wake of personal tragedy, two people meet on a humanitarian mission in Peru. Christine is a shy, unadventurous woman whose fiancé broke off the engagement only a week before the wedding, and Paul is a former emergency room doctor whose glamorous lifestyle, stellar reputation, and beautiful fiancée are cruelly snatched from him one fateful, snowy Christmas Eve. Deep in the Amazon jungle, against a backdrop of poverty and heartbreak, they must confront their deepest fears and, together, learn to trust and love again.This was a simple book. Nothing particularly overwhelming or underwhelming. His novellas (because I have a hard time categorizing them as novels), are thin on substance -- he has enough material to hold your attention for one afternoon, but not for any extended period of time. His characters are likeable, but not very three dimensional. And some of the plot twists seem contrived. One problem I had with this particular story was his use of food. The characters are in the jungle, mountains and cities of Peru, but they seem to be eating very American food – pizza, spaghetti, garlic bread. I want to trust the writer and believe that the Peruvians really eat these things – but it was a stretch for me. This is the second Richard Paul Evans’ book that I have read, and I don’t think I need to read another.
—Melissa
The SunflowerThis Book is about Christine who's fiancé dumps her a week before the wedding which sends her into depression. To get her out of this 'funk' Jessica, her best friend, signs them up for a humanitarian trip to Peru where she falls in love with Paul. Along the trails of Peru, Christine has to decide what to do about her new love and old love. When Martin her ex, shows up she has to make a decision. In the end she has to choose between a safe ride through life or a dangerous yet loving journey. I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone! I love this book! I love the characters and how they act and react in different situations. I love the element of adventure and how they don't mean to fall in love but they do! I love his writing style because he is so fluent and smooth. The story flows together and makes you think and feel along the way. He also makes sure that the story isn't just about the romance, but also the children and people they help. This book helps me focus my mind and energy somewhere else. I am so glad I read it!!
—Rebecca Shaffer
I really enjoyed this book, very easy to read and get into. It is about two people that go away from lost love to find it in the craziest place. Yet it is not really a love story. I like the adventure that they go on and I think it based on a true story. Most of the story takes place in south america and the amazon where you learn about orphans and at one point it made me want to go on an exhibition to help an orphanage. This story has a great message and one of the coolest parts was the quotes at the beginning of each chapter. I recommend this one to anyone.
—Sabrina
