CityView Magazine

44 | Februar y 2020 "Dr. Zhivago" by Boris Pasternak Oh those Russians again! Can they ever tell a love story. e novel is named aer its protagonist, Yuri Zhivago, a physician and poet, and events take place between the Russian Revolution of 1905 and World War II. ose who saw the movie and were brought to tears will shed a few more with the book. Just listening to the music and "Lara's eme" can do it to me. But just as interesting is the back story about how it eventually got published. Pasternak's position on certain events led to embarrassment for the Communist Party and they refused to allow the book to be published. When it was eventually published in Italy, Pasternak received the Nobel Prize for Literature, which naturally infuriated the Russian government even more! Aer it was published worldwide, the American CIA helped get Russian language copies printed and smuggled into Russia. Authors are still writing to create another perfect love story, and here are a few contemporary ones that will compete to get your heart racing and the tears flowing. "Me Before You" by Jojo Moyes e main character, Louisa Clark, loses her job at a café and to help her family through some tough financial times, she takes the best job she can get – caretaker to a quadriplegic man. Will Traynor, a successful London businessman, was injured in a serious accident and is struggling with his physical limitations. He is bitter and has lost his will to live. He and Louisa don't hit it off at first, but slowly they begin to connect. Louisa is able to help Will overcome some of his depression, and he is able to help her see more for herself in life. Eventually love blossoms! "Outlander" by Diane Galbaldon If you yearn for a bit of a different type of love story with a mix of historical fiction, romance, adventure and science fiction/fantasy, "Outlander" will fill the bill. With eight books in the series, you had better get started now. e series begins with WWII nurse, Claire Randall time-traveling, to 18th century Scotland, where she finds adventure and romance with the dashing Jamie Fraser. My heart be still! "Call Me By Your Name" by André Aciman Many will remember the 2017 movie based on the book, and it's quite a book! It centers on a blossoming romantic relationship between an intellectually precocious and curious 17-year-old American-Italian Jewish boy, Elio, and a visiting 24-year-old American scholar Oliver during the 1980s in Italy. First loves can be beautiful and awakening for boys too. "Novel Women" by the Between Friends Book Club Five members of the BFBC worked together to write this fictional story about friendship, relationships, acceptance and love (all the things besides books, that bring many of us together for book club). But when middle age hits this fictional book club, they take a break for the summer. Couples are experiencing difficulties in their marriage, children leave for college, and jobs disappear. What these women do during this brief break will make for the most interesting of stories. Maybe even a little more romance than I promised! "Love Story" by Erich Segal What could be more appropriate for this list of love stories than this contemporary classic that was actually based on the screenplay by the author? Anyone old enough will remember the movie with Ryan O'Neal and Ali McGraw. e theme song, "Where Do I Begin?" was one of the most popular love songs of its time, sung by Andy Williams and many other famous artists. e movie won several Golden Globes, including Best Drama, and an Oscar for Best Musical Score. For those too young to remember, this is truly the love story to read. e novel was the top-selling work of fiction for all of 1970. We will close out this list of love stories for Valentine's Day by celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the release of this unforgettable novel. I know there are dozens more and some that may be on your favorites' list. But these are a few to add to that list and to touch your heartstrings. Read for love and love to read.

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