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Love Story

Erich Segal was born 1937 in New York as the son of a rabbi. He was a graduate of Harvard and wrote
texts for musicals. Today he lives in New Haven and is a professor for literature in New York.

When the "Love Story" was published it became a Number 1 bestseller. The film with Ali Mac Graw and
Ryan O' Neil tempted more than three million people into the cinemas.

The main Characters z

Oliver Barett IV. û a student at Harvard University and one of the best players in the ice hockey team. His
family is rich and noble, but Oliver doesn't like his family's richness and he hates his father, because he
suppresses him.

Jenny Cavilleri û a student at Radcliff University and she is of Italian descent. Her family is very different
from Oliver's, they are neither rich nor noble.

Jenny and Oliver first meet in the library at Radcliff University and it seems that they hate each other, but
they arrange a meeting. While they drink coffee they get to know each other and Oliver invites her to his
next ice hockey game. Jenny comes and Oliver doesn't even look in her direction, but he thinks that she
believes he glances to her. While Oliver has to sit on the penalty bench, Jenny comes to him and speaks
with him, but he ignores her and spurs on his friends, but still he talks with Jenny. Then she disappears
and Oliver loses sight of her. After the game they go for a walk and Oliver brings her to her hall of
residence. They talk on the phone for hours and they meet every day. One day Oliver confesses her that
he loves her.

Some months later they visit Oliver's parents. Jenny is very nervous, because it all seems so luxurious
and she is afraid of the first meeting with Oliver's parents but there are no problems. At dinner Oliver and
his father start a discussion and as usual it ends up in a quarrel. At the next date with his father they talk
about Jenny and their marriage plans. His father says Oliver should postpone the marriage, but Oliver
replies that he will not wait and so Oliver walks out of his father's life and starts his own.

One Saturday they visit Jenny's father Phil and he receives Oliver friendly. At dinner they talk about the
marriage, because he and Jenny are not religious but Jenny's father is. A chaplain from the university will
marry them after both award their degrees.

A single word can describe Jenny and Oliver's daily life during the first years best, it is "scrounge". Every
waking moment they concentrate on how they could get enough money to get by and there's nothing
romantic about it.

After Oliver has finished the Harvard Law School they have to move to New York, because Oliver gets a
new job in a prestigious office. Oliver earns a lot of money and so they have no financial problems. They
also think about having a baby and they try hard to make one, but they are not successful. Therefore they
consult an expert and they are examined quite often. Some days later the doctor calls Oliver and says that
he wants to see him in his office. Oliver is sure that Jenny can't have a baby and that's right, but it isn't
only that. Jenny has a form of leukemia and she will die. The doctor says that Jenny doesn't know it and
tells him to act as normal as possible. Oliver starts to think about God and religion and he thanks God for
every moment with Jenny. But one evening he comes home from work and Jenny is ineffably sad. Oliver
knows that the doctor has told her the truth. They enjoy each day and try to live normal.

One month later, right after dinner, Oliver cleans up while Jenny plays on the piano. Suddenly she stops
and Oliver looks in her direction. She is just sitting there and asks him if he is rich enough to pay her a
taxi. Oliver knows that this is the end. Jenny will walk out of the apartment and will never come back. In
the hospital Jenny's arrival is not unexpected. She is supervised by doctor Ackerman, a leukemia
specialist. He explains Oliver the situation and Oliver tells him he should do what he can to make it not
hurt.