Author: Erich Segal
Publisher: Harper Collins
Year: 2002
ISBN: 9780380017607
Rating:
Read book reviews from other readers

Sugar, spice and everything nice, is the variety of life… well… companionship, compromise and memories, are the varieties of love! Every love story will give you a bit of tragedy and plenty of romance. But Erich Segal’s Love Story gives you an additional bonus of how an actual romantic relationship should be.

First published in 1977, Love Story could easily be classified as a typical love story – Rich boy meets poor girl, they fall in love, boys’ parents oppose and he gets banished from his family’s heritage, girls’ parents put up a good enough fight. But their love is stronger than any obstacles in their path, it stands all the tests of time! They get married and live happily ever after… Except… That the happily ever after is not so very happy! The circumstances that one faced in the 1970’s, and some still continue to, Love Story has them all!

As a first person narrative, the Love Story revolves around Oliver Barrett IV (the name itself suggests a rich lineage) a Harward student studying Law, and Jennifer Cavilleri (fondly known as Jenny), a middle class student of Music, at Radcliffe University; England.

Apart from being an innocent story of love between two people, from distinguished backgrounds of social strata, Love Story brings to you, two characters who unintentionally creep into your conscience and make a place for themselves. Oliver & Jenny make you laugh with them, cry with them and simply want to be with them all the time!

The first conversation itself is very intriguing. Their first meeting occurs in a library, where Jenny’s first impression is of a bespectacled mouse and Oliver’s – a stupid rich brat! There you are making assumptions about the two characters, trying to predict their future together, when Erich Segal decides to thrash them all!

Love happens when you least expect it to and the first impressions dissolve into sweet feelings of love. Oliver and Jenny graduate from college and get married, only to be faced with the problem of living independently without any financial aid. But then, and yet again, their love fights back! Oliver lands a good job in a reputed law firm, and Jenny starts teaching in a private school. Until they discover, that their time together is limited…

Erich Segal’s style of writing is very simplistic. Every scene has its own charm, and leaves a sweet little smile on your face. Love Story is a story that remains close to my heart across time! Once you pick it up, you simply HAVE to finish it at one stretch, and at the end, you will definitely want more of Oliver & Jenny!

A line that will always stay with me – “Love means never having to say you’re sorry…”