Only Love

Rating:
Summary: Predictable? Quite!
Review: A very easy read if you just want to pass the hours. A rather predictable story, with one man in love with two women - who shall he choose? In between, he is a cross between a musical wonder and a miraculous surgeon, all the while playing the humble pie routine. Rather an unlikely story, but as fiction goes, (yawn) it was alright...

Rating:
Summary: Publishers Weekly Review
Review: Already slated for a 1998 Hallmark Entertainment miniseries, this tale of older-and-wiser deathbed romance from the popular Segal (Love Story, Oliver's Story, etc.) sacrifices grand passion to pleasantly formulaic plotting and self-satisfied resignation. Narrator Dr. Matthew Hiller's past and present collide when beautiful, rich Silvia Rinaldi turns to the world-renowned physician to cure a malignant brain tumor. Silvia is not just any patient; 18 years earlier, she and Matt were colleagues, idealistic young Medicine Internationale doctors in Africa, where they saved lives and became lovers. After an accident nearly killed Matt, Silvia mysteriously disappeared from his life, only to resurface as the wife of a wealthy Italian Industrialist. Devastated, Matt buried himself in work, first in Africa, later in Boston and New York, where he married a childhood friend and became the top specialist in his field. Can he save his doomed lost love? Will they have a second chance at happiness? Segal handles this hackneyed yet entertaining plot with a light touch, adding a classical music subtext (Matthew is also a gifted pianist) to flesh out the fastpaced story. To say the least, the novel lacks the emotional intensity of the grand Italian opera scores reduced to a Muzak-like echo in these pages, and it's hard to care about any love affair involving Segal's smug protagonist--even one that nearly destroys his marriage. Nevertheless, the graying boomers who first made Segal a hit are likely to take whatever he dishes out, as he proves once again that Only Love means never having to say you're sorry. Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club main selections.

Rating:
Summary: More pedestrian than his other works
Review: Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed "Only Love," and in fact sped through it, but it didn't even come close to his masterpieces like "Love Story" and "The Class." I found the plot predictable and correctly guessed how it would end about a third of the way through it.

Rating:
Summary: Sometimes you do have to say you're sorry
Review: Especially if you write a novel this bad. Segal is one of my favorite authors. If I'm stranded on a deserted island and can only bring two books, one of them would probably be "Doctors". That's why "Only Love" makes me real mad. What was he thinking? There is absolutely nothing new, everything is so predictable and corny. Did he write it only to fulfill his obligation to his publisher ?

Rating:
Summary: Sometimes you do have to say you're sorry
Review: Especially if you write a novel this bad. Segal is one of my favorite authors. If I'm stranded on a deserted island and can only bring two books, one of them would probably be "Doctors". That's why "Only Love" makes me real mad. What was he thinking? There is absolutely nothing new, everything is so predictable and corny. Did he write it only to fulfill his obligation to his publisher ?

Rating:
Summary: A boring trite read
Review: Fast-paced empty narrative written on a grammar school level. This is one book, that upon completion, ended up in my trash can instead of my library. Mr. Segal might best confine his future literary pursuits to the subjects he has taught . . Greek and Latin.

Rating:
Summary: Majestic and Amazing!!!!!!!!!
Review: Honestly speaking this Book is the best I've read by Erich Segal and the pain illustrated in the story surpasses Love Story by all means. I read the entire book in 2 sittings and was left spell bound by it.
A Must to any Love Story collector !

Rating:
Summary: Tugs at the heartstrings
Review: I have never read a straight romance novel before. I saw the TV miniseries and loved it. The book is so much better! I love that it's told from the man's point-of-view (being a man myself). It was warm, touching and sad. Music lovers will love the metaphors Segal uses to compare different classical works to points in the book. There is some sex, but that shouldn't scare you away. It's told in minimal detail. I hope Segal writes a sequel to this. The story of Matthew and Evie ended way too early. It nearly brought tears to my eyes.

Rating:
Summary: More pedestrian than his other works
Review: I have only read Love Story and after reading Only Love and becoming familiar with Seagal's other books I am looking forward to purchasing more of his books. This latest novel is a must-read. Much of the emotions felt by the main character were dramatic and honest. I felt as though I was experiencing the story myself. Seagal has the skill to put into words what many feel, but are unable to express into words or are unable to recognize. Many times one sentence alone captured a human's scale of emotions hitting it right on the head of the nail...True revelations of the inner-heart and thoughts of love and relationships. I loved it! I thought it wouldn't compare to Love Story and now I don't know which is better.

Rating:
Summary: Powerful and captivating!
Review: I have only read Love Story and after reading Only Love and becoming familiar with Seagal's other books I am looking forward to purchasing more of his books. This latest novel is a must-read. Much of the emotions felt by the main character were dramatic and honest. I felt as though I was experiencing the story myself. Seagal has the skill to put into words what many feel, but are unable to express into words or are unable to recognize. Many times one sentence alone captured a human's scale of emotions hitting it right on the head of the nail...True revelations of the inner-heart and thoughts of love and relationships. I loved it! I thought it wouldn't compare to Love Story and now I don't know which is better.