Jem Kamran – The Lucky One

While I was reading The Lucky One I found that Nicolas Sparks introduces the lead male character, Logan Thibault, through his aimless pilgrimage. The introductions begins with an explaination that Logan had left Colorado and had voluntarily isolated himself for five months and walked across the country. He traveled with his dog Zeus. He survived on PowerBars and water. On his pilgrimage Logan encountered blizzards, hailstorms, rain, tornados, and intense heat. He just walked till he was tired and camped anywhere. Sparks explains that he was attempting to escape the structure of Marine Corps after his tour had ended.  How the author of the novel builds his character reminds me a lot of Victor Turners idea of liminal space, and pilgrimage. Logan Thibualt chooses to isolate himself from the culture of his society, entering into the threshold of his pilgrimage. Victors idea that pilgrimages’ provide anti-structure is evident in The Lucky One to some extent. I ‘m excited to see how this theme gets incorporated into this novel further as the plot develops.