Oliver's Story (English, Paperback, Professor of Classics Erich Segal)

Oliver Barrett sincerely believes that he will never fall in love again, when he loses the love of his life, Jenny, to leukemia. However, when the vivacious and beautiful Marcie enters his life, things begin to change.

Summary Of The Book

In this stunning sequel to the bestselling romance novel, Love Story, Erich Segal makes his readers fall in love again. The story kicks off two years after Oliver Barrett IV loses his wife, the only woman he’s ever loved, to leukemia. Oliver genuinely believes that his heart will never open to another woman again, and he’s unable to entertain the idea of letting go of Jenny.

Enter Marcie Bonwit - young, ravishing, and successful. Soon, Oliver finds himself being pulled by her magnetic charm and falls in love again, and Marcie reciprocates his feelings. 

As the clouds of grief and loneliness subside, the future doesn’t look so bleak anymore. Before they know it, they begin to spend quite a lot of time together, and their relationship starts to grow. However, problems arise between the happy couple, and the rosy tint of new love begins to fade. Oliver’s inability to let go of his past (Jenny) creates a rift between him and Marcie.

Oliver’s Story was first published in the year 1977, and made it to The New York Times bestsellers list, just like its prequel, Love Story. Though not as famous as the first book, it garnered positive reviews from critics and readers alike. A movie adaptation of the book was released in the year 1978. The movie was directed by John Korty.

About Erich Segal

Erich Wolf Segal was an author, screen-writer, and educator. He was best known for his novel, Love Story, which is considered to be a milestone in American literature.

Though Erich Segal wrote only a few novels in his lifetime, they were all widely acclaimed, and it is an often acknowledged regret on the part of his readers that he never wrote more. Some of his other books include Love Story, Man, Woman and Child, The Class, Doctors, Prizes, and Only Love.

Erich Segal has been equally criticised and acclaimed for his writing style. His prose is emotional, deep, and natural. His writing is seldom forced and very humorous.

Segal was the son of a rabbi, and was born in New York and lived in Brooklyn, where he went to school with the renowned filmmaker Woody Allen. Having been interested in languages from early on, he was fluent in French, Latin, German, and Greek. He attended Harvard University, and was the class poet and Latin salutatorian. At Harvard, he received a bachelor’s degree in 1958, a master’s degree in Classics in 1959, and a PhD in Comparative Literature in 1965. He then served as a professor of Comparative Literature at the University of Yale, and also as a visiting professor at Dartmouth and Princeton. Karen James was Segal’s wife, and he is survived by two daughters, Francesca and Miranda Segal. After a successful career as an author, screenwriter, and academic, Segal died on 17 January, 2010, from a heart attack. He was suffering from Parkinson’s disease for the last 20 years of his life.