Love Story (novel)
Love
Story is a 1970
romance novel
by American
writer Erich Segal.
The book's origins lay in a screenplay that Segal wrote, and that was subsequently
approved for production by Paramount Pictures.
Paramount requested that Segal adapt the story into novel form as a preview of
sorts for the film. The novel was released on February 14, 1970, Valentine's
Day. Portions of the story originally
appeared in The Ladies' Home Journal.[1] Love Story became the top-selling work of fiction for all of 1970 in the United States, and was translated into more than 20 languages.[2] The novel stayed for 41 weeks in The New York Times
Best Seller list, reaching the top spot. A sequel, Oliver's Story, was published in 1977. A film adaptation
was released on December 16, 1970.[3]
Summary
Love
Story is romantic and funny, yet tragic.
It is the tale of two college students whose love enables them to overcome the
adversities they encounter in life: Oliver Barrett IV, a Harvard jock and heir to the Barrett fortune and legacy, and Jennifer
Cavilleri, the quick-witted daughter of a Rhode Island baker. Oliver (Ollie)
was expected to assume control of his father's business empire, while Jennifer
(Jenny) was a music major studying at Radcliffe
College and planning to study in Paris. From very different worlds, Oliver and Jenny are
immediately attracted to each other and their love deepens. The story of Jenny
and Ollie is a story of two young people who come from two separate worlds and
are brought together in the unlikeliest of ways.
Upon
graduation from college, the two decide to marry, against the wishes of
Oliver's father, who promptly severs all ties with his son. Without financial
support, the couple struggles to pay Oliver's way through Harvard's Law School,
with Jenny working as a private school teacher. Graduating third in his class,
Oliver gets several job offers and takes up a position at a respectable New
York law firm. The couple move to New York City, excited to spend more time
together, rather than working and studying. The pair decide to have a child.
After Jenny fails to conceive, they consult a medical specialist, who after
repeated tests, informs Oliver that Jenny is suffering from leukemia, making it
clear that "she's dying".
As
instructed by his doctor, Oliver attempts to live a normal life without telling
Jenny of her condition. Jenny nevertheless discovers her ailment after
confronting her doctor about it. With their days together numbered, Oliver is
desperate and seeks financial relief from his father. Instead of telling his
father what the money is truly for, Oliver misleads him. From her hospital bed,
Jenny speaks with her father about funeral arrangements, and then asks for
Oliver. She tells him to avoid blaming himself, and asks him to hold her
tightly before she dies. When Mr. Barrett realizes that Jenny is ill and that
his son borrowed the money for her, he immediately sets out for New York. By
the time he reaches the hospital, Jenny has died. Mr. Barrett apologizes
to his son, who replies with something Jenny had once told him: "Love means never
having to say you're sorry..."
and breaks down in his arms.
Sources
New York
in 1971 stated that Jenny resembled the "myopic, athletic, brisk
princess" Brenda Patimkin in Philip
Roth's Goodbye,
Columbus.[4] It is sometimes said that Al
Gore falsely claimed that the plot is
based on his life at Harvard. In fact, Al Gore mentioned, correctly, that he
had read that the characters were based on him and his wife. In 1997, Segal confirmed
Gore's account, explaining that he had been inaccurately quoted in the Nashville
Tennessean and that "only the emotional family baggage of the romantic
hero... was inspired by a young Al Gore.
But it was Gore's Harvard roommate, Tommy
Lee Jones, who inspired the half of the
character that was a sensitive stud, a macho athlete with the heart of a
poet". Erich Segal had met both Jones and Gore at Harvard in 1968, when he
was there on sabbatical.[5]
Reception
The
novel was an instant commercial success despite scathing reviews. It was
nominated for a National Book Award,
but withdrawn when the judges threatened to resign. William
Styron, the head judge for fiction that
year, called it "a banal book which simply doesn't qualify as
literature" and suggested that even by being nominated it would have "demeaned"
all the other novels under consideration.[6]
Influences
- Ankhiyon Ke Jharokhon Se, a 1978 Hindi film, was based on this novel.
- Madanolsavam, a 1978 Malayalam film, was inspired from this novel.
- Mujhse Dosti Karoge! mentions the novel a few times.
- Sanam Teri Kasam, is a 2016 Hindi film based on this novel.
- Manjal kumkumam, a 1973 Tamil film, was based on this novel.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Story_(novel)
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