(Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme brought to you by The Broke and the Bookish. Want to make your own list? Clicking the image will take you to this week’s post. Happy listing!)
Apparently it’s a love-themed week here at Bookzilla. Yesterday I shared some quotes about love, Wednesday is going to be a review of a love story, and today’s top ten list is all about the best love stories.
1. Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy (Pride and Prejudice) – Let’s get the cliché one out of the way, shall we? Pride and Prejudice was the first love story I read, and I haven’t stopped obsessing over it since. They both make mistakes, but they realize it and try to correct them and become better people. Let’s face it: this is one of the best-known love stories of all time, and I bet it will be on lots of peoples’ lists.
2. Serena and Darien (“Sailor Moon”) – Don’t you judge me! A forbidden love, and they’re willing to die for each other. They also pick on each other constantly, which is what should happen in any relationship as much as possible (as long as it’s done with love).
3. Eros and Psyche (Metamorphoses) – I started thinking about this play (adapted by Mary Zimmerman from the original work by Ovid) after yesterday’s Notable Quotables, and now it’s stuck in my head. Love and Soul are meant to be together, no matter the obstacles. Many of the Greek gods annoy me, but Eros has always been one of my favorites. I love the…inevitability of love.
4. Vivian Bearing and Susie Monahan (Wit) – I first read Margaret Edson’s play in high school, and must have watched the 2001 film adaptation (starring Emma Thompson) about a million times. Vivian, an elitist English professor, is diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer. Wit, narrated by Vivian, chronicles the woman’s fight, as well as the individuals around her. Vivian’s nurse, Susie, is the only hospital employee who sees Vivian as a person, rather than a disease. Although at first Vivian rejects Susie’s attempts at friendship, soon the women grow to care for each other, and it is Susie who respects Vivian’s final wishes, and forces the doctors to as well.
5. Beatrice and Benedick (Much Ado About Nothing) – They really kind of like each other, but they’re both too stubborn to admit it. Their verbal sparring makes for great foreplay, and I love that their friends conspire to get them together.
6. The Boy and Elfie (I’ll Always Love You) – A beautiful, heart wrenching story of a little boy and his dachshund, Elfie. The two grow up together, and every night the boy tells Elfie, “I’ll always love you.” A bittersweet ending, but a wonderful testimony to the love between humans and dogs.
7. A and J (“Our Story”) – After ‘A’ participated in a group conversation of which ‘J’ was a part, she found herself wishing ‘J’ would sit next to her on the group’s bus. She doesn’t even remember answering when ‘J’ came up and asked, “Is this seat taken?” but she must have said no, because there ‘J’ sat. ‘A’ had a book with her, but she kept finding herself drawn into conversations with ‘J,’ who was intelligent, funny, and interesting. ‘A’ wanted to spend more time with ‘J,’ but she had just been through a bad breakup and was trying to take a break from relationships. If only ‘A’ had known that ‘J’ was about to find his way into her heart…
Other than Pride and Prejudice, I tried not to be cliché. Love stories can be about more than romantic love, and can happen between a man and a woman, two women, two men, and even a boy and his dog.
Although I love reading about epic romances, I think I prefer my own story the best. I’m almost sure that no one will write a best-selling novel or play about it, but that’s okay — I love Best Friend, and he loves me. What better story is there?
What are your favorite love stories?
Curious about Sailor Moon…is it a graphic novel? I also like how #6 is about a love for a pet…have only seen that on a few other lists.
Sailor Moon is a manga series by Naoko Takeuchi. It was made into a television series in Japan in the early/mid-1990s, and soon after it was released in the US (dubbed in English). There’s lots of typical manga silliness, as well as some interesting issues with the space-time continuum, but it’s a fun series.
I wish that more people’s lists had included stories that weren’t “man and woman.” Not only are there lots of non-hetero-normative love stories, there’s lots of stories that involve family, friendships, and cute puppies. 🙂
I think “Our Story” is still my favorite.
My favorite quote from that one is , “Called it!”
Have you read the sequel, “Their Story”? It’s got some characters from the first one, and involves a similar quote.
Thanks for stopping by! I need to read more man & dog love stories but they always make me cry!
I know the feeling, Danielle. I can’t even touch Where the Red Fern Grows, and I hate sad books. Whenever I watch a movie for the first time, if there’s a pet of any kind (especially a dog) I always ask, “Does the dog die? Does he get hurt?” If the answer is yes, then I don’t watch it. I just can’t handle it. 🙁