Factual tidbits:
This novel was published in 1970. It was an
immediate sensation, ultimately selling more than
twenty-one million copies in thirty-three
languages. The phrase
"Love means never having
to say you're sorry" has since become proverbial and is
now listed in numerous books of quotations, including the canonical
Bartlett's.
The year it was published, President Nixon told a press conference that, although he liked the book, he objected to some of the vulgar language (this was before the Watergate tapes). Twenty years later, comedian Billy Crystal chose it as a Christmas present for President Bush. Officially banned in the Soviet Union as "decadent" and "counter-revolutionary." and a pirated edition of Love Story even appeared in China (for circulation among member of the Party).
Personal Stuff:
One of the few classics that I can
point to someone or something and say This is where
I learned about it, this is why I read it: Skimming
and old copy of Readers' Digest, they had a little
quiz, "Recognize these lines", first lines of
classic novels. I didn't recognize the line, but I had
it stuck in my head for the next few days, until I went
to the library and found the book:
What can you say about a twenty-five year old girl
who died? That she was beautiful. And brilliant. That
she loved Mozart and Bach. And the Beatles, and
me.
What can you say about a book, any book, other than
it touched you, you cried, it meant something? It
didn't necessarily mean more than any other book, but
it drew me through the emotions much smoother than, say,
Norma Klein's Sunshine did, and I cried through the
movie too, it has the same seamlessness.
Oliver Barrett IV is the last in a line of Olivers,
ashamed by his lineage, the money behind it, and the
little roman numerals after his name. He has a very
hard time communicating with his father, unsure of
his love, but sure of expectations. In college,
he meets Jenny Cavilleri, a poor girl of Italian
descent, smart, perky, alive.
The two fall in love, get married with his father's disapproval, although the lack of reconciliation is mostly Ollie's doing. They set up house alone, Oliver tries to find a job on his own merits as opposed to his name. Jenny teaches. They contemplate parenthood, and when meeting slight adversity to conception, discover that Jenny has a leukemia and not much longer to live.
The novel glances at issues like social/economic
status, young people maturing together, independence,
and fillial duties versus love. And pain, the
pain of fighting for something and learning and living,
loving, and then losing it.
Amusing Postscript:
I find the following hilarious. I just did a search on Google just to see what I'd come up with - this is by far the funniest book review I have ever read:
I think it's some sort of classic, a love story with a boy Oliver Barrett loving a
girl Jenny Cavilleri who dies. Don't worry, I read more than just love stories.
www.al-shia.com/html/eng/books/list_khati/engl0020.htm