# Nicholas Sparks



## OliverCrommer (May 17, 2010)

What do people think of him? Honestly, my personal opinion is that he's not a good writer. He tells too much, and doesn't show nearly enough. I tried reading The Wedding (which I got at a book fair for 25 cents) and I couldn't finish it.

His stuff is a little too sentimental and sweet for me, like having a chocolate sundae topped with syrup, brown sugar, m&m's, condensed milk. It sounds good, but leaves you with a toothache after.

It's also kind of formulaic. I noticed that in all his novels, boy meets girl, they fall in love, and one of them dies in the end. Doesn't leave much for the imagination, does it?

That being said, his stuff does sell and sells well. He also has movies adapted from his novels. I think the secret of his mass appeal is that he appeals to the romantic side of us. He focuses on the really big love affairs, the kinds that can happen only in fiction.

Check out this site here. Even though it's trying to be funny, I think it has a point.

http://www.cracked.com/funny-4725-nicholas-sparks/


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## Neekeebee (Jan 10, 2009)

I tried reading one of his most popular books a few years ago.  It was one of those books that I purchased because I was sure I would like it, but wound up not being able to get past the first 50 pages.  I never saw the movie based on the book, either (can't recall the title at the moment)--I figured if I didn't like the book, there was no chance I'd like the film.  I haven't tried to read any of his books since.

That being said, there must be something people really love about his books; they keep recommending them to me!

N


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## OliverCrommer (May 17, 2010)

Neekeebee said:


> I tried reading one of his most popular books a few years ago. It was one of those books that I purchased because I was sure I would like it, but wound up not being able to get past the first 50 pages. I never saw the movie based on the book, either (can't recall the title at the moment)--I figured if I didn't like the book, there was no chance I'd like the film. I haven't tried to read any of his books since.
> 
> That being said, there must be something people really love about his books; they keep recommending them to me!
> 
> N


It was likely The Notebook or A Walk to Remember.


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## Sandpiper (Oct 28, 2008)

I think I've read only one of his books.  Maybe.  Correctly or not, I've always thought of Bridges of Madison County as the first (and best?) of its kind.  All others by Weller and Sparks are basically same thing with names, dates, settings changed.  Read (and saw) Bridges of Madison County -- read 'em all.


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## OliverCrommer (May 17, 2010)

Sandpiper said:


> I think I've read only one of his books. Maybe. Correctly or not, I've always thought of Bridges of Madison County as the first (and best?) of its kind. All others by Weller and Sparks are basically same thing with names, dates, settings changed. Read (and saw) Bridges of Madison County -- read 'em all.


Yeah, it is basically the same thing. Very formulaic.


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## MLPMom (Nov 27, 2009)

I actually really like his writing style and not all of the main characters die nor do all the books end in heart ache, just a vast majority of them. 

Have you read his book Three Weeks With My Brother? It actually explains his life story and why he writes the stories he does. Even though the book will make you cry, it will also make you laugh out loud. He had a very entertaining childhood. Actually most of his characters and stories are from either people he knows or life experiences. 
After reading it I had a whole new perspective and appreciation for his novels and the stories behind them. 

I suggest you give it a try.


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## OliverCrommer (May 17, 2010)

Yes, that sounds good. I will give it a try. It's not that I don't like romances. It's just that from what I've read, I was quite disappointed with his work. But, I'll take a look at that book.


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## MLPMom (Nov 27, 2009)

JasonWChan said:


> Yes, that sounds good. I will give it a try. It's not that I don't like romances. It's just that from what I've read, I was quite disappointed with his work. But, I'll take a look at that book.


I completely understand, romance isn't for everyone. 

I on the other hand am a hopeless romantic, which, is probably why they appeal to me.


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

I'm not a fan myself. I read so many reviews on how great his books are and I just read them and think "meh". 

I feel the same way about Jodi Picoult.


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

I have only read one, and I think it was The Notebook.  A friend went to a lecture he gave about getting his books made into movies, and she loaned me her copy and recommended it.  Luckily it was a quick read, very syrupy, sentimental romance.  When the movie was on TV and I watched, I was just plain annoyed.  I think this was the one where the guy lay down on the street to impress the girl and later did some acrobatics on a ferris wheel to get her attention.  I thought it was silly.

I realize there are some fans on KB, and I'm surprised they haven't reacted in this thread.


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## OliverCrommer (May 17, 2010)

mlewis78 said:


> I realize there are some fans on KB and I'm surprised they haven't reacted in this thread.


Lol. Just wait. They'll come.


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## purplepen79 (May 6, 2010)

@JasonWChan

I agree with your assessment of his writing (the cracked link says it all, I think--thanks for sharing).

As you said, I think the appeal is the big love story that "can only happen in fiction." Yes, _The Notebook _ was syrupy--but I found my eyes glued to the screen when I watched the equally syrupy movie. There's a big sloppy romantic in me somewhere that secretly enjoys such things and hopes no one is looking over my shoulder.

In B.R. Myers _A Reader's Manifesto_ Myers cites (on page 86) a beautifully written scene of a man falling in love with a woman from the Saul Bellow novel _The Victim_. It's descriptive, yet restrained, the emotion shown with powerful images, not told to the reader. Myers goes on to write "Scenes that show why a character falls in love are rarely convincing in novels. This one works perfectly, and with none of the 'evocative' metaphor hunting or postmodern snickering that tends to accompany such scenes today."

It's unfortunate that romance in writing nowadays is often relegated to overly sentimental pens and not seen as a worthy genre for more talented writers. Perhaps then we would get big love stories that could actually happen in real life (even it's only the 'real' life of a well-written fantasy/paranormal romance, the kind of books I like most to read--Alice Hoffman, anyone?)


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## melissa6705 (Mar 30, 2010)

MLPMom said:


> I completely understand, romance isn't for everyone.
> 
> I on the other hand am a hopeless romantic, which, is probably why they appeal to me.


I agree with you! I love his writing style but I am a hopeless romantic and it appeals to me.


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## cheerio (May 16, 2009)

not really a huge fan, cant stay with his novels too long


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## OliverCrommer (May 17, 2010)

I find his stuff overblown and melodramatic. His plots always seem forced and contrived, even manipulative. It always seems that he's spraying tear gas at the reader, to get them to cry.


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## PG4003 (Patricia) (Jan 30, 2010)

I've read some of his books and enjoyed them.  I would have loved them when I was a teenager.


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## purplepen79 (May 6, 2010)

JasonWChan said:


> It always seems that he's spraying tear gas at the reader, to get them to cry.


That's a great metaphor.


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## OliverCrommer (May 17, 2010)

purplepen79 said:


> That's a great metaphor.


lol


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

The one I read and saw the movie of on TV had the guy just doing overkill to get the girl.  He acted like an idiot.


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## OliverCrommer (May 17, 2010)

mlewis78 said:


> The one I read and saw the movie of on TV had the guy just doing overkill to get the girl. He acted like an idiot.


Yeah, that was the Notebook.


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## Shandril19 (Aug 18, 2009)

luvmy4brats said:


> I feel the same way about Jodi Picoult.


Haven't read any Nicholas Sparks, but I agree about Picoult. I think her writing is good, but her books are manipulative.


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

JasonWChan said:


> What do people think of him? Honestly, my personal opinion is that he's not a good writer. He tells too much, and doesn't show nearly enough. I tried reading The Wedding (which I got at a book fair for 25 cents) and I couldn't finish it.
> 
> His stuff is a little too sentimental and sweet for me, like having a chocolate sundae topped with syrup, brown sugar, m&m's, condensed milk. It sounds good, but leaves you with a toothache after.
> 
> It's also kind of formulaic. I noticed that in all his novels, boy meets girl, they fall in love, and one of them dies in the end. Doesn't leave much for the imagination, does it?


You should've finished The Wedding, then....

I've read a few of his books - a lot of them are formulaic, but not all. I wouldn't call myself a huge fan, he's not one of my "must read" authors, but I've liked the ones I've read. The Notebook was definitely my favorite, and I really liked The Wedding too.


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## OliverCrommer (May 17, 2010)

Really? The writing in the Wedding was so bad, I couldn't finish it. All he wrote was "My daughter is like this, my wife is like this, my marriage is falling apart, boo-hoo, woe is me!" 

You don't think it's formulaic? Did you check out that link? http://www.cracked.com/funny-4725-nicholas-sparks/

Let's analyze his more well-known works.

1. A Walk to Remember - Boy meets girl, they fall in love, girl dies in the end.
2. Nights in Rodanthe - Boy meets girl, they fall in love, boy dies in the end
3. The Notebook - Boy meets girl, they fall in love, *both* die in the end
4. The Last Song - Girl meets boy, they fall in love, the girl's father dies in the end.

If that's not formulaic, I don't know what is.


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

I think that all of his books are written for the screen, for the sake of the money.  They aren't well-written, but they sell and apparently the movies do well.


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## OliverCrommer (May 17, 2010)

They do well financially, but he'll never win a Pulitzer, or an Oscar. 

Anyway, I'm thinking I should start writing more like him, if I want to sell.


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## PhillipA82 (Dec 20, 2009)

I enjoy his books personally.


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

if you oversimplify you can make every book in a genre sound formulaic:

*Mystery:* stumble on dead body....ask a lot of questions..implicate a lot of people...surprise reveal of murderer in last chapter

*Bodice Ripper: * Young innocent lady falls under the control of a powerful, angry man hiding heart of gold....He pursues in forceful manner and she flees though her heart races when she sees him. They kiss...they fight and separate....they meet again and kiss more.....more stuff happens....they live happily ever after

When I have more time I'll come up with more for the other genres but you get the point...the devil (and the fun) is in the details

*disclaimer* I have never read a Sparks book, I've just seen the reduction of a plot to three sentences technique before


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

I've also not read any Nicholas Sparks. . . .but maybe Jason's point is that those _are_ the details.


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## OliverCrommer (May 17, 2010)

Ann in Arlington said:


> I've also not read any Nicholas Sparks. . . .but maybe Jason's point is that those _are_ the details.


Exactly. That is my point. Those _are_ the details.


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## PG4003 (Patricia) (Jan 30, 2010)

I have to admit I read Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas  and cried for an hour.


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## OliverCrommer (May 17, 2010)

Well, Sparks novels have their place in the world. I guess we could all enjoy a good cry once in a while.


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

JasonWChan said:


> Really? The writing in the Wedding was so bad, I couldn't finish it. All he wrote was "My daughter is like this, my wife is like this, my marriage is falling apart, boo-hoo, woe is me!"
> 
> You don't think it's formulaic? Did you check out that link? http://www.cracked.com/funny-4725-nicholas-sparks/
> 
> ...


Well, my point was that *The Wedding* doesn't follow that formula (and to be fair, that wasn't all he wrote - that was all you read because you stopped reading  - did you read any of his other books?), and I suspect there are others that don't - not all of his books have been made into movies. No, I don't think he's writing great literature, but I enjoy a lot of books that aren't great literature - and there's a lot of great literature that I don't particularly enjoy. I've read *Nights in Rodanthe*, *The Notebook* and *The Wedding*. Saw the movie versions of A *Walk to Remember* & *Message in a Bottle* so don't really need to read those, guess I don't need to read or see *The Last Song* now either (not that I was planning to ). I did check out the link - I doubt that many writers would want to be judged by the movie version of their books, by the way - especially if you're going to complain about the "details" - the details are in the book. That's why books are better 99% of the time.

Maybe I'm not so bothered by "formulaic" writing since I'm a mystery lover and they tend to be formulaic by nature. And I used to read a LOT of extremely formulaic trashy (historical bodice-ripper) romances back in the day - before I grew weary of the formula.

We all like what we like, and don't like what we don't like - both in story lines & writing styles. Let's face it - one man's well-written is another man's dreck. We're all different, which is a good thing for all the writers out there, or a lot less of them would be selling books. 

Now having said all of that - I've only read part of one Nora Roberts book and I'll probably never read another - I just didn't like her writing style in that book. Now, when she's writing as JD Robb it's a completely different thing, I enjoy those books. But I'm not beyond judging an author based on part of one book!


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## OliverCrommer (May 17, 2010)

That's interesting. Even though Nora Robert's stuff is equally as formulaic, I enjoy her writing style a lot more than Sparks...haha. I guess it's a good thing that people have different preferences, or else only one kind of novel would sell.


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## daveconifer (Oct 20, 2009)

Chad Winters (#102) said:


> if you oversimplify you can make every book in a genre sound formulaic:


One hundred percent true in my opinion. I can be sarcastic and make the Flintstones sound like Shakespeare, and make Shakespeare sound like the Flintstones.

Some people like Sparks, some don't, same with all authors...


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## RoxyLyz (Aug 11, 2009)

Has anybody here read his books??

I've already had:

The Choice
Dear John (My Fav)
Message in a Bottle (currently reading)

-Sasha Lyz


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## MLPMom (Nov 27, 2009)

I have read the first two and saw the movie for Message in a Bottle.

I loved the Choice, one of my favorites. Dear John was good but not one of my favorites.


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## CNDudley (May 14, 2010)

I've only read TRUE BELIEVER and seen A WALK TO REMEMBER and THE NOTEBOOK. 

Question: does someone ALWAYS die at the end of his books, or did I just hit a run of three? It made me wonder if I should start trying to guess at the outset who is going to get it by the end...


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## MLPMom (Nov 27, 2009)

No someone doesn't always die at the end of his books, I can name a few at least where they don't but it is pretty dominate in a lot of his books.


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## CNDudley (May 14, 2010)

Thanks, MLPMom!


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## RoxyLyz (Aug 11, 2009)

CNDudley said:


> I've only read TRUE BELIEVER and seen A WALK TO REMEMBER and THE NOTEBOOK.
> 
> Question: does someone ALWAYS die at the end of his books, or did I just hit a run of three? It made me wonder if I should start trying to guess at the outset who is going to get it by the end...


So far from the 3 I've read someone dies at the end....


Spoiler



In Message in a Bottle, Garret dies....


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## PhillipA82 (Dec 20, 2009)

The Choice was a really good read for me.


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## Lyndl (Apr 2, 2010)

The only one I’ve read is The Rescue. I wasn’t overly impressed.


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## MLPMom (Nov 27, 2009)

Like I mentioned before, death is a prominent occurrence in his books, it isn't always the main characters that die. Sometimes the villain, sometimes one of the main characters parents or husband, that sort of thing. 

If you want ones that have happy endings at the end I would try The Rescue, True Believer, The Choice, Bend in the Road, The Wedding, Lucky One....um, that is all I can think of off the top of my head. And like I mentioned, the main characters may not die but it doesn't mean that someone, somewhere in the book didn't die.


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## LCEvans (Mar 29, 2009)

I have several of his books that someone recently gave me, but haven't gotten to them yet. I just realized, I'm currently reading 6 books. What is *wrong* with me?


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## lvoynich (Jun 5, 2010)

I recommend _The Guardian_. And yes someone dies at the end (at the beginning too).


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## Kristan Hoffman (Aug 6, 2009)

If you don't mind spoilers, this is HILARIOUS:

How to write a Nicholas Sparks movie - http://www.cracked.com/funny-4725-nicholas-sparks/

That said, I like his stories, even if they are formulaic. I probably just wouldn't read them all in a row. I read A Walk to Remember (much better than the movie) and The Notebook (movie's great) years ago and loved them both. Then The Rescue, which I liked a lot (although another reader here didn't). Don't think I've read anything of his since then, but I watched Dear John and Last Song and enjoyed both of those well enough (DJ better than LS).

Kristan


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## mrjeffrivera (Jun 24, 2010)

JasonWChan said:


> What do people think of him? Honestly, my personal opinion is that he's not a good writer. He tells too much, and doesn't show nearly enough. I tried reading The Wedding (which I got at a book fair for 25 cents) and I couldn't finish it.


Hi Jason, nice to meet you. Nice to meet another guy who writes love story. I'm reading one of your novels now. As far as Nicholas Sparks. Some people say he's a stronger story-teller than writer but he has a formula but he knows what his audience wants and he gives it to them. I really admire that.


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## OliverCrommer (May 17, 2010)

mrjeffrivera said:


> Hi Jason, nice to meet you. Nice to meet another guy who writes love story. I'm reading one of your novels now. As far as Nicholas Sparks. Some people say he's a stronger story-teller than writer but he has a formula but he knows what his audience wants and he gives it to them. I really admire that.


Good point, Mr. Jeff Rivera. And which novel are you reading, if I may ask?


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## OliverCrommer (May 17, 2010)

Kristan Hoffman said:


> If you don't mind spoilers, this is HILARIOUS:
> 
> How to write a Nicholas Sparks movie - http://www.cracked.com/funny-4725-nicholas-sparks/
> 
> ...


Lol, Kristan. I found that link too, in another thread about Nicholas Sparks.

About him, I think his stuff have a place in the market. They sell for a reason. I enjoy a good cry once in a while.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Hi, folks, I've merged the two Nicholas Sparks threads...

Betsy


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## beckyj20 (Jun 12, 2010)

I am a hopeless romantic too, but I think his books are only ok. I think they lack depth and you don't really get to know the characters. However, I think his books make pretty good movies. Maybe its because his stories lack depth so it makes them perfect for a two hour movie.


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## Magenta (Jun 6, 2009)

I saw him speak at a NY Times Author event last year.  He said nothing to inspire me to read his books.  Much too sentimental and mushy for my taste. He personally turned me off in that he ooozed a kind of 'I'm perfect' attitude.  Ugh...


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## Kristan Hoffman (Aug 6, 2009)

Magenta said:


> I saw him speak at a NY Times Author event last year. He said nothing to inspire me to read his books. Much too sentimental and mushy for my taste. He personally turned me off in that he ooozed a kind of 'I'm perfect' attitude. Ugh...


He has certainly come off as arrogant in some of his recent interviews... And received a lot of flack for it in the publishing/writing community.

Kristan


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## Tyler Nunnally (Jun 30, 2010)

beckyj20 said:


> I am a hopeless romantic too, but I think his books are only ok. I think they lack depth and you don't really get to know the characters. However, I think his books make pretty good movies. Maybe its because his stories lack depth so it makes them perfect for a two hour movie.


I totally agree! I still can't figure out how I get pulled into his books (because I have read a handful of them and enjoyed them...after wiping away the tears of course ;-) ) but the writing is just OK. I don't think there's anything literary about them, but despite this...I'm on the edge of my seat reading.


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## CDChristian (Jun 4, 2010)

For years I refused to read anything by him. I guess it's the anti-establishment chick in me.   My mother-in-law, however, collects all his books. She finally pressed upon me to read..."The Wedding."

I enjoyed it, felt I could relate after being in a relationship for almost 16 years, and have read a few more of his titles. (It's surprising considering how much dark fiction I read and write.)

Even so, I see it for what is to me. Quick reads that entertain but don't require me to question my thoughts, beliefs, etc. A radical departure from the type of fiction I do enjoy.

Do I see Nicholas Sparks as a daring writer? No. Is he formulaic? Yes. 

By the way, after several books I can say this phrase is a peeve for me: "He nursed his beer." It's constant! In every book I've read of his, Nicholas always writes this or some variation. It causes my eye to twitch whenever I see it now.


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## OliverCrommer (May 17, 2010)

I agree, CD. The writing is horrible, and the plots are formulaic. However, what I (and any other else who reads him) like about his stuff is the story, and the emotion it evokes in readers, however inauthentic and manipulative.


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