“’Wow!’ I can remember saying as soon as Vivian stepped out of the bathroom and showed me the positive result of the pregnancy test.”

From Nicholas Sparks’ Two by Two.

Russ lives the typical American life; he works for a large advertising company while his wife, Vivian, stays at home to take care of their almost-five-year-old daughter, London.   Even though work is terrible, Russ is content because he is married to a beautiful woman and his parents, sister (Marge), and her wife (Liz) all live close enough to be a part of London’s life.  However, when Russ senses that he is about to be fired from his highly competitive job, he decides to take the plunge and start his own advertising agency.  Things are slow at the start of Russ’ business with only one client (a personal injury lawyer) and Vivian’s spending as high as ever, so Vivian decides to go back to work, leaving Russ responsible for London’s care during the day.  As Russ struggles to get London to all her activities while trying desperately to gain more business, he begins to notice that Vivian’s part-time job is morphing into a bigger and bigger part of her life.  Left as London’s sole caregiver, it is all Russ can do to watch his wife steadily slip away from him as his life crumbles all around him with his only help coming from his family, an old friend (Emily), and the love of his daughter.

The book is slow to start with the foundation portion of the story dragging along until almost a third of the way into the book.  The width of the book is only enhanced by the thinness of the margins, and even then, almost all conflict is wrapped up with a months-later epilogue.  While there are some romantic moments, this book differs from the traditional Sparks love story with the focus mainly on a father’s love for his daughter.  Readers that stick with the book will find that even with the obvious foreshadowing, there are enough pleasant surprises to make Two by Two an overall endearing story.