This Is a Love Story

A Novel

De: Jessica Soffer

Narrado por: Marin Ireland

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER | READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK AS FEATURED ON TODAY

“This may be the most epic love story I’ve ever, ever read.”—Jenna Bush Hager on TODAY

An intimate and lyrical celebration of great love, great art, and the sacrifices we make for both

For fifty years, Abe and Jane have been coming to Central Park, as starry-eyed young lovers, as frustrated and exhausted parents, as artists watching their careers take flight. They came alone when they needed to get away from each other, and together when they had something important to discuss. The Park has been their witness for half a century of love. Until now.

Jane is dying, and Abe is recounting their life together as a way of keeping them going: the parts they knew—their courtship and early marriage, their blossoming creative lives—and the parts they didn’t always want to know—the determined young student of Abe’s looking for a love story of her own, and their son, Max, who believes his mother chose art over parenthood, and who has avoided love and intimacy at all costs. Told in various points of view, even in conversation with Central Park, these voices weave in and out to paint a portrait as complicated and essential as love itself.

An homage to New York City, to romance, and even to loss, This Is a Love Story tenderly and suspensefully captures deep truths about life and marriage in radiant prose. It is about love that endures despite what life throws at us, or perhaps even because of it.

©2025 Jessica Soffer (P)2025 Penguin Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Just in time for Valentine's Day, Soffer’s unapologetically romantic novel includes many tales that tug at the heartstrings. First and foremost is the long marriage of Abe and Jane, a writer and an artist whose complicated, colorful life together is winding down as she lays dying. While he runs through a litany of their memories together . . . we catch glimpses of other great loves: their son’s connection with his grandmother, Jane’s mind meld with an old friend, Abe’s affinity for the march of words on a page and New Yorkers’ devotion to Central Park. Soffer’s saga goes down like bittersweet chocolate, with a hint of sugar to soften the sharp edge of loss."—Elisabeth Egan, The New York Times (Book of the Week)

“[An] undeniably effective love story. . . Ms. Soffer opens the novel to different perspectives to explore these crises, but, touchingly, she always returns to the couple’s resilient connection. Thinking of the craft of storytelling, Abe worries that too much happiness 'writes white' on the page. In this book, though, it’s the joyful moments that stand out.”—The Wall Street Journal

"I can't stop thinking about This is a Love Story by Jessica Soffer . . . In New York City, but perhaps in any place, there are moments between the hustle and bustle when you look up to the sky and breathe, grateful to just be for another day. Reading This is a Love Story feels a little like that. Love stories may be far from perfect, but how lucky are we?"—USA Today

A Masterpiece!!

An incredible and compelling portrait of love, life and loss. The story is an absolute work of art. The characters are so real and relatable you feel like you’ve known them forever. The narration is also perfection. Highly recommend this beautiful novel!!! Beautiful work Jessica Soffer!
reviewed by: Katie Kaizer

Heartbreaker

beautifully written ..and great characters...could have been a bit long at end..but enjoyed the listen.

Truth,honesty, reality

Boring and yet you can’t stop listening and then hearing…it’s about fun and failing, it’s about disappointment and keeping on and caring and mistakes and do overs and not being able to do over and living to forgive.. it’s about being there and sometimes not.. and being sorry you weren’t..it’s about life and living…it’s really just about love…

Poetically written

This beautifully written novel is one that you wish would never end. I’ll listen to it again no doubt.

This is more of a life story than a love story

I listened to this on audio and the narrator was amazing, excellent job for sure . This author has great writing skills and I would definitely recommend and read more from her . With that send this book is more of a life story over love . It was heartbreaking and not just for the loss of the main character in the end of her life but for all the very reasons that make a life story very complex,sad and difficult at times. I think the writer showcased too much of the lows in this couple life and the results of those hard times and didn’t touch enough on the beautiful times in life . The beautiful times were skimmed and the hard times were showcased. More balance would have been such a better way to go,just my humble opinion. If you call a book a love story then show it more . Life is hard and complicated but if you only focus on those moments it can be a bit depressing. The read had a bit too much “ depress “ to it .

The love rather through good or bad times it’s always there

This book was so emotionally good it teaches you to remember the good and bad in life as eventually it all comes to an end. I can’t explain the love that runs through this book with the good as well as the bad. It makes you take a good hard look at life and the way you live it will r don’t.

Read it like poetry

I got this book because it was the Barnes & Noble book club book for February. I was not sure what to expect. This is not a book. That is not what you would call a page turner. You need to read this like poetry, where you read it slowly and try to digest and savor each word. At first, i almost abandoned the book during page after page of “You remember….” Fillowed by “I remember…”. I felt like I couldn’t “find the narrative.” A few days later I tried again…and really focused…thus time with both the hardcover book AND the audiobook. The audiobook saved me. The performance is great and helped me to find and track the narrative. In the end, the reader/listener must remember that this is literary fiction and is not so much about plot as much as it is about character development. As a son who lost my mother a couple of years ago, the relationship between Jane and her son Max was of particular interest to me. This really is a love story both about the love shared between husband and wife, but also between mother and son.

It IS a love story and love stories have rough edges at times

Incredible narration and style - Soffer grabs you in a hug with the melodic opening and maintains that hold throughout. The hairpin turns were pitched against the gentle tour through Jane and Abe’s love and commitment. Just Beautiful!

The narrative writing.

The way they talked about what they remembered about each other, you got to know the character’s

Love story with a real heart

This book took me a few minutes to feel the intent and then i could not stop listening. This one is a keeper.