At last, i read it! "Love Story" by Erich Segal. It's been almost three years since i read his "Doctors" and i became an instant fan of his ever since. Segal's wordplay and characterization did not disappoint me this time around too. Neither did the screenplay(or whatever the corresponding term is for books!). What came down as a disappointment to me was the story(as how it applies to the current era(a year can be an era too!))!, an integral part of the title...
This is the story- a wealthy college lad meets a middle-class college girl and falls in love with her almost instantly! The guy's dad doesnt approve it and so he leaves home and marries her with full support from her dad. They struggle initially and after some hardships, lead a happy life. She wants him to get back to his dad and to come to talking terms with his family. He wouldn't. Then one fine day, he learns that she has leukemia and is dying. He tries to please her in all possible ways. Then, she too learns from the doc that she is dying and then there's some senti. One day, she dies and then he hugs his father(who arrives at the scene) and cries and thus the story comes to an end!
I can understand this as being a novel story in the 70s(maybe not, actually). Rich guy-poor girl, family problems, one of them die....usual masala! But what comes to me as a surprise is the fact that people who are of my age(am 25 now) list this as their alltime favorite book! I am sure they know similar fictitious or real-life stories that are very similar to "Love Story". There are a handful of movies that have a similar plot! The only thing that can convince me is if "Love Story" was the first of it's kind...which i think is not quite likely.
If this book is an alltime favorite to someone who was born after the 1970s, i think Erich Segal's vocabulary and screenplay(duh!) deserve all the credit...the story? sorry Mr.Segal- i dont think so!
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4 comments:
looooooved the book....i guess it depends on when u read it...i prob read it in my teens..dont remember much of it except that it was one of my favs :) i dunno if i will have the patience to read it now...but...it will prob be nice for all those who read in that age...
I've got myself to blame then! I started late...only after i was 21.*sigh*
You gotta be specific.. Girls love the book. Every one of the girls I know have read this book adn the next thing they persuade you to do it.
Deii, this is B from Ork. Personally I havent had the inclination to read this.. I wanna read the atlas shrugged - by Ayn Rand.
Love Story doesnt take one more than an hour to read if one's an avid reader. Maybe u shud read it just for the heck of it! After all, it was the bestseller in the 1970s!!
and where am i not being specific? imho, it doesnt matter what ur sex is. The story is very fragile and absolete(even for the 70s)...but then there are millions who contradict my opinion. Better i keep my opinion to myself! :)
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