Meh ( )

Che cosa si può dire di una ragazza morta a venticinque anni?
Che era bella. E simpatica. Che amava Mozart e Bach. E i Beatles. E me. Una volta che mi aveva messo specificamente nel mucchio con tutti quei tizi musicali, le chiesi l'ordine di preferenza, e lei rispose sorridendo: «Alfabetico.» Sul momento sorrisi anch'io. ( )

My first favorite book, I read it when I was less than 10 years old
I still
Remember: love means never having to say you’re sorry ( )

Love makes the universe go around, makes life worth living, and provides the strength to handle the tragedies that all of us have to endure sooner or later. The novel portrayed a beautiful relationship between a man and a woman. These two individuals formed their universe and were happy in it until death tears them apart. Should we consider it a tragedy or just a norm of life? Because death has to separate us sooner or later.

I particularly enjoyed the short dialogue that conveyed so much in few words.

Eric Segal presented himself as a master storyteller in this tale of two people. ( )

I reread this classic love story that begins, "What can you say about a twenty-five-year-old-girl who died?" for the first time since I was a kid when when I wore out the paperback by reading it repeatedly. It's a short novel; a fast but powerful read. Oliver Barrett IV, a star hockey player/law student, descends from a line of high achieving, old money Harvard alumni, and is struggling to define himself away from the constraints of his judgmental, micromanaging father. Jennifer Cavilleri, who attends Radcliffe on a music scholarship, is the only child of a loving father, a widower who owns a small bakery in Rhode Island. She calls her father Phil. These two, Jennifer and Oliver, (nicknamed Preppie by Jenny), couldn't be more different. The book is in part heavy on dialogue and sparse on descriptive text. Erich Segal makes brilliant use of the verbal volleyball between the two main characters. I like the wit in their flirting. It's that age old tale of boy meets girl, they experience conflict, and then they fall in love. This story turns tragic when Jennifer is diagnosed with leukemia. That part of the story seems to have some logical problems with the doctor not telling her of her diagnosis at first, and then very quickly it seems she's dying. Segal does his best work showing how this couple from such disparate social and emotional backgrounds come together in love. He also shows what a profound impact these two had on each other and their respective families in the limited years they were together. This book struck a chord with me as a kid because my father died young. Also, the relationships feel absolutely authentic to me. Love Story is a masterpiece. ( )