- intimacy/connection/interconnection
- the human need for purpose/meaning
- what is community?how do political structures and power impact our sense of community?
- Information--how is information used to empower or disempower individuals and collective/communities/societies?
- How do we construct a meaningful narrative in service of an idea and/or community?
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Text Reflection Prompt for Super Sad True Love Story
In the novel Super Sad True Love Story examine one of these large course themes:
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Intimacy is a major theme in Super Sad, True Love Story, by Gary Shteyngart. Lenny Abramov, the main character of the novel, seems to be looking for an intimate relationship from the very start of the novel. First, he is involved with a woman named Fabrizia, who is a native of Italy. At one of Fabrizia’s parties he meets Eunice Park, which is his main love interest throughout the novel. Constantly, it seems that Lenny and Eunice were seeking to be intimate and just wanting to feel connected to someone. At times, Lenny seems increasingly desperate for intimacy/connectedness. For example, once he meets Eunice, Lenny keeps sending her messages over GlobalTeens asking her to come to his place in New York. Although both characters really want to be connected to someone else and to be intimate with someone else, they are also scared of that at the same time.
ReplyDeleteThe world that Lenny and Eunice live in is focused on technology. Everyone communicates through technology and it seems that his or her very existence depends on technology. In this technology driven world, Lenny feels that he can’t keep up and Eunice feels disconnected from people around her. If I were living in a world like this, I also would probably feel disconnected from people around me. Like Eunice, I would try to connect with people, but I would probably be really awkward and feel really vulnerable in social situations.
I think that Lenny’s diary entries are more effective at communicating, explaining, and encompass the theme of intimacy more than Eunice’s messages on GlobalTeens do. One quote that I really like from the beginning of the book is on page 21. “Fabrizia. The softest woman I had ever touched. But maybe I no longer needed softness. Fabrizia. Her body conquered by small armies of hair, her curves fixed by carbohydrates, nothing but the Old World and its dying nonelectronic corporeality. And in front of me, Eunice Park. A nano-sized woman who had likely never known the tickle of her own pubic hair, who lacked both breast and scent, who existed as easily on an apparat screen as on the street before me”. This is when Lenny mentally decides to leave Fabrizia and to try to connect with Eunice. From his writings in his diary, I am able to imagine what Fabrizia and Eunice look and act like, which is something that I don’t really get from the GlobalTeen entries. Another diary entry from Lenny reads, “I just wanted to hold her. She was wearing an oatmeal sweatshirt, beneath which I could espy the twin straps of a bra she did not need…Was she trying to protect herself from my roving hands? Or was she just very cold at the center? (page 102). Lastly, there is a quote from the end of the novel that I also like. “We kissed, two mouths, coffee breath. Her eyes were closed but I had opened mine…I pressed my nose into the galaxy of freckles, some orange, some brown, some planet-sized, others the fine floating detritus of space” (page 312). Lenny’s diaries are written in so much more depth than GlobalTeen messages. The diary entries offer a lot more to the reader, but I personally, would not spend the time writing into a diary. I could definitely read the GlobalTeen messages easier and they were more interesting to me, but the diary entries were far more effective.
The Search for Love
ReplyDeleteThe novel Super Sad True Love story written by Gary Shteyngart is a wonderful story encompassing many themes. The theme about intimacy and the need for a connection really stood out to me the most. When reading this book you can't help but feel bad for Lenny Abramov, a 39 year old man just trying to find his way in this technology driven world while still trying to stay true to himself. From the beginning Lenny is trying desperately to connect with people, he is constantly trying to please people. He first finds comfort with a woman named Fabrizia, who satisfies him in a physical way. He then reconnects with his "American mama", Nettie Fine, who practically raised him and helped his family adapt to the America culture. Another example of Lenny's need for intimacy and need for a connection is his head-over-heals love for Eunice Park. His is obsessed with her youth and the need to help her. Lenny also is always trying to impress his "father figure" boss, Joshie. However, Lenny is not the only example of a need for intimacy in this book, Eunice Park is also trying to feel connected or loved in some way as well. She expresses this need for her sister and mother because she is constantly trying to protect them. She too is trying to help Lenny, they share share this mutual need to help each other.
I personally found Eunice Parks GlobalTeens post the most engaging because they were easier to relate to. However on the subject of conveying intimacy as the theme I think Lenny's Diary did a better job because Lenny expresses his feelings much more than Eunice does. He is much more in tune with his feeling unlike Eunice who is still trying to figure out who she is. "But this temperate bird of a woman had shown me nothing but unconditional love, the kind of love that rushed me in waves and left me feeling weak and depleted, battling an undertow whose source could not be placed" (page 11). This quote shows Lenny's need for love and intimacy with his "American mama" which bloomed from a young age. "He put his hand on the side of my neck and squeezed lightly. I leaned in to him a little, hoping for more of his touch...Still, I soaked in his warmth and believed it was only for me" (page 127). This quote shows Lenny's need for love from his boss Joshie. "We walked into the warm, pleasant day hand in hand. I watched her...How many people are there on this earth who have never known what I have known in the past year and a half? Not just a beautiful woman's love but her inhabitance" (page 313). This is one of my favorite quotes in the book because it summarizes Lenny's eternal love for Eunice.
INTIMACY
ReplyDeleteIn the novel Super Sad True Love Story, intimacy and the need for connection are two of the major underlying themes of this novel. On one hand you have Lenny Abramov, a depressed middle aged man who is looking madly for love. He is desperately seeking an in depth relationship as well as companionship. Then he meets Eunice Park, a 24 year old who is even more desperate for contact than Lenny. Lenny wants nothing more than to feel loved and to have that deep feeling of connection with another human. There are multiple times that Eunice pushes him away and gives him negative attention, however that negative attention is better than nothing for him. Then you have Eunice, who is also looking for that same connection but struggles to put her guard down and let Lenny into her life. As she pushes him away from fear, Lenny only grabs on tighter to grasp that connection. In the end they both rely on each other for the intimacy and personal connection they get from one another that they cannot get on their apparati which is what their lives revolve around.
For me personally, I found more effective communication and illustrating the need for intimacy and connection through Eunice's GLOBALTEENS posts. I was able to relate more to her posts because I felt they were more sincere and not as in depth as Lenny's personal thoughts. Eunice's posts try to grasp connection with others such as her sister, mother, friend, and Joshie. Whereas Lenny's diary discusses more of his own thoughts of connection, but not actual contact. This is expressed thoroughly on pg. 44 when Eunice is posting desperately to her Precious Pony, wishing she were there with her because she really needed someone. In this same area (pg.44-49) Eunice contacts multiple people including her best friend, mother, and sister. She exhibits the need for intimacy and human contact that exists beyond the apparati. In the middle of the book Eunice is posting her family and best friend that she thinks about them all the time and she is still a MAJOR part of her life (pg. 176). This is yet another way that Eunice is reaching out for a connection with others and a desire to have that close relationship with someone. When the book reaches its end and all connection is cut off, Eunice finds herself in desperate need of intimacy. She finds herself posting to her mom "Mom! Hello there. Mom, I'm worried. I tried to verbal you and Sally but I can't connect...I need you right now" (pg. 263). This entire segment of when Eunice is unable to contact the outside world besides Lenny shows her desperation for connection and intimacy. She would have done anything in her power to be able to communicate with her family and friends.
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ReplyDeleteThe Switch: Intimacy and Connection
ReplyDeleteA theme that stood out the most to me was the theme of intimacy and connection. The author makes it known that Lenny is a vulnerable individual longing for companionship. From the start of the novel Lenny, 39, is complaining about his unwillingness to die, and his relationship with a woman by the name of Fabriza. The relationship was strictly sexual, which was not good for Lenny's state of mind. Once he mentions Eunice, he changes his style of writing to go into explicit detail about his experiences with her. Eunice goes on to become the love of his life. Although it ended badly, Eunice was exactly what Lenny needed to understand his self-worth, and why he was important to his society. On the opposite side of the spectrum, Eunice is a young, stylish woman who "settles" for Lenny because she feels she must take care of him. But later in her GLOBALTEENS entries to her sister Sally and her best friend Precious Pony, she admits that she has fallen for Lenny even more as each day passes. They were opposites in temperament, however they both were longing for some type of relationship.
Although Lenny's diary entries were more descriptive and told more of a story, I appreciated Eunice's GLOBALTEENS account entries to her family and friends. I believe Eunice was able to illustrate her need for companionship and intimacy much more than Lenny was. I believe this was because Eunice was able to admit that she was alone and afraid in the world. She also admitted that she enjoyed taking care of Lenny and that it was her duty to do so. Lenny didn't want to face the reality of the fact that without the experience of Eunice, he wouldn't have much to live for. After meeting Eunice for the first time, he is aware of his age and suddenly becomes much less confident. "My youth has passed, but the wisdom of age hardly beckons. Why is it so hard to be a grown-up man in this world?" (pg. 26). When Eunice is messaging her friend Precious Pony, she tries to convince herself that her and Lenny would be a good match. She second guesses it because she feels that they shouldn't be matched together. But, as stated earlier, she enjoys the idea of being able to take care of someone who desperately needs it. "When we were walking down this pretty street in Rome I noticed Lenny's shirt was buttoned all wrong, and I just reached over and rebuttoned it. I just wanted to help him be less of a dork." (pg. 75). When the book is nearing a close, the two main characters have almost switched roles. Lenny, a more confident and challenge-worthy man, is occupied with his work and his parents. Eunice, who had been sneaking off to be with Lenny's boss, Joshie, is more vulnerable than ever illustrated in the novel. She is in need of intimacy and attention, no matter who administers such affection. The fact that her apparat/connection to the rest of the world is completely cut off does not help either. "Mom! Hello there. Mom, I'm worried. I tried to verbal you and Sally but I can't connect...I need you right now." (pg. 263). Throughout the novel, it seems as if Lenny is progressing in his relationships as well as his acceptance of dying, and Eunice is back-tracking, losing her connection with the world, and the one man who could have saved her from herself.
Intimacy/Connection/Interconnection
ReplyDeleteWhile reading the novel, “Super Sad True Love Story” written by Gary Shteyngart the theme of intimacy and desire for connection seemed to jump out of each page. Lenny Abramov, the protagonist of this tale, seems to be an outdated middle-aged man yearning for a sense of sincerity that is lacking in his present day and age. Out of touch with the youth and the rest of society in general, Lenny searches for someone who is broken or in need. When he meets Eunice Park, he finds a girl who almost seems to be helplessly living a life to escape from what was at home. Despite their different reasoning’s, they long for connection. Throughout the story, Lenny shows a need to impress his boss, astound his friends, and connect with his mother figure Nettie Fine, but most of all, love Eunice Park. Aware of his decline in youth, he finds pure beauty in Eunice’s. Her youth, beauty, and the sense of need he feels from her capture him. Meanwhile Eunice feels as though she needs to help raise her sister and protect her mother from her father, and is constantly drawn to her self-imposed duty. However, in this story, the most prominent is her thirst for genuine connection. She finds that in Lenny, an old clueless man wandering aimlessly through the world, nearly naïve to the changes around him. They both fill that void of emptiness by helping each other, and eventually depending on each other.
Personally, I felt that they both were effective in communicating their own emotions in their respective forms. Lenny’s emotion came through more clearly in his diary and Eunice expressed herself more deliberately in he GLOBALTEENS post; the difference is age further exemplified through their difference in communication. Lenny’s Diary held a more vivid storyline, pronouncing every syllable of his heartfelt love for Eunice and his obsession with her youth.
Towards the beginning of the book, Lenny and Eunice exchange words in a drunken conversation that outlined the start of Lenny’s desire for intimacy with Eunice, “I told her I didn’t want to leave Rome now that I had met her. She again told me I was a nerd, but a nerd who made her laugh. I told her I wanted to do more than make her laugh. She told me I should be thankful for what I had.” (24) This misguided attempt in trying to communicate love seemed to be born of authentic emotions, but nonetheless remained misguided. The words Lenny wrote in each page of his diary illustrate more sincerity and more depth for his intimacy.
Eunice’s posts were more blunt but useful in clarifying both sides of the story, but Eunice’s words that went recorded. In Lenny’s diary displayed a similar “straight to the point” sort of aspect, “I don’t want to hurt you, Lenny…Everything I touch turns to shit.” (105) Despite her short, concise approach, she was able to paint a picture of her emotions in a more youth-oriented way.
In the end, the betrayal that began with trust is illuminated as she feels a sense of guilt, accompanied by a sense of thrill. As she see’s the potential consequences of her actions, she writes to herself in an attempt to make peace with what she has done and how that would lead to her inevitable future, “I’m writing this form me. One day I want to look back at this day and make peace with what I’m about to do. All my life has been about doubts. But there’s no room for them now. I know I’m too young to have to make this kind of decision, but this is how things are. I miss Italy sometimes. I miss being a complete foreigner and having no ties to anyone.” (296-297) Sometimes life seems a lot easier when you have no responsibility. “Ignorance is bliss” is the vibe I feel from this quote, as she knows what she has done and has an idea of what will happen, but if she could forget and escape it all, she could start over.
Real Intimacy Connection
ReplyDeleteIn the novel Super Sad True Love Story, we look at the major theme of intimacy. Lenny is a lonely 39 yr old man that longs for affection. He falls immediately in love with the 24 year old Eunice Park. After eating at da Tonino and having a wonderful night together, Lenny discovers that Eunice is the one for him. He makes a very bold statement: “…trying to capture her essence, thinking already of how I would bait her to New York, make her my wife, make her my life, my eternal life” (pg. 25). I feel, he was very desperate for affection and a meaningful connection with someone special. He has never really had anyone significant in his life and he doesn’t have a good relationship with his parents. The affection he lacks from his family and friends is to be substituted by the affection of a significant other, in this case Eunice Park. He also feels that nowadays, people can’t really find a genuine connection because most of them are obsessed with their technological devices. When Lenny talks to his friends about Eunice on the talk show, he describes that “ She really listened to me. She paid attention to me. She never even looked at her apparat while I was talking to her” (pg. 93). This makes me think that maybe every woman he’s been with, never really payed attention to what he was saying. In Lenny’s eyes, Eunice was the only woman that has cared enough to make eye contact and listened to his stories. And this is why he felt that connection with her right away.
Lenny’s diary is a better form of descriptive communication and Eunice’s GLOBALTEENS express more feelings and it’s more of a conversation. In Lenny’s diaries, he gives very detailed descriptions of the situations and people. His diary makes you visualize better. He describes Eunice Park as a “nano-sized woman who had likely never known the tickle of her own pubic hair, who lacked both breast and scent” (pg. 21). I can right away visualize how Eunice Park looks like. Once you know how she looks like, you can connect with that person being described. Or you can connect her with someone you already know. Eunice Park was also looking for a connection. At first, she wanted to have a connection with Ben. On pg. 44, Eunice tells Precious Pony: “I kept thinking about how he would be the perfect boyfriend.” She wanted to be in a stable relationship with someone. She made him look better than he was just because she was yearning for someone to call her boyfriend. She wanted someone to be there for her, supporting her through tough times. On Lenny’s diary in pg. 270, he says that “…all I have is Eunice and my Wall of Books. So I try to celebrate what I have.” Again, he is happy that he has finally found someone he can count on. And he is honestly thankful he’s found affection with a significant other.
INTIMACY AS AN ACT & HIDDEN MEANING
ReplyDeleteThe theme of intimacy is one that is carried throughout the novel Super Sad True Love Story. Intimacy seemed to come to the forefront of the novel when Lenny made countless descriptive recollections of past times with Eunice. To me, Lenny’s old-fashioned diary entries were more effective in communicating this idea of intimacy, as his confessional tones were very descriptive of his love for Eunice. Additionally, I believe that the different styles of narration used by Lenny and Eunice provided insight to another meaning of the word intimacy.
At the beginning of the novel, when Lenny first meets Eunice, we immediately see the exhilarating feeling he gains from this meeting “Eunice Park and I marched ahead. She marched, I hopped, unable to cover up the joy of having escaped the party with her by my side” (Shteyngart 21), Lenny follows on to reveal how he wanted her to get to know him and from this first introductory instance together, an entire sequence of intimate events arise. There is also a moment not long after this in which Lenny shows that he begins to feel nervous around Eunice “I didn’t know what to say or do” (Shteyngart 22), this illustrates how it has been a while since anyone has shown any kind of intimacy towards him.
As the novel progresses, we see that when Lenny invites Eunice to meet his friends at Staten Island he initially reveals that he is usually the ‘fifth wheel’ when it comes to family night with his friends. This is significant because it shows that he has longed for the day when he could finally take a girl to meet his friends. This is a big deal to him and one that he wants to be a success, by ‘showing off his girl.’ After gaining an idea of the setting for this visit Lenny mentions when talking to a few of his friends that “I guess in some ridiculous way I think that Eunice will let me live forever” (Shteyngart 154). This statement alarmed me to question Lenny’s judgement of what Eunice brings to his life because at some stage everyone dies. So maybe to Lenny, being intimate and involved with Eunice made him feel as though he was living, or as though he had the confidence to do anything, he was in love and that’s all that mattered.
The novel itself is built on alternating chapters of ‘The GLOBALTEENS account of Eunice Park’ & ‘The Diaries of Lenny Abramov.’ Lenny’s traditional diaries and Eunice’s teenage-like posts pair together as a mirror version of contemporary America. This contrast in narrative techniques show the different ways in which Eunice is intimate with technology, being extremely digitally savy and her urge to broadcast her thoughts online, whereas on the other hand, Lenny is intimate with himself through the way in which he compiles his thoughts in his diary. This just goes to show that there are hidden meanings of intimacy that make up the core foundations of the novel.
I was rushing and forgot to say that this was from Taki--I posted it for her as she was having tech issues!
DeleteINTIMATE CONNECTIONS
ReplyDeleteA large theme that was prevalent to me in Super Sad True Love Story was the intimacy/connection/interconnection. Although I found the GLOBALTEENS posts (Eunice et al) much more comedic and easier to read, Lenny’s diary was definitely more effective in communicating, explicating, illustrating, and narrating the intimacy/connection/interconnection theme for the beginning and middle of the book. He has a very vivid imagination when it comes to his word usage, as will be shown below. He basically dominates the theme, but as I will note later, Eunice starts to truly exhibit the theme as well.
In the beginning of the book, Lenny shows much enthusiasm when first laying his eyes upon Eunice. On page 16, he describes her as, “ …a very young Asian Audrey Hepburn. She had full shiny lips and a lovely if incongruous splash of freckles across her nose…” The fact he can make such bold statements about a woman he just met intrigues me. He talks about her like he already feels a sense of connection to her. On page 18, he makes further lovely observations about Eunice, proclaiming how he “wanted to reach over and touch her empty chest, feel the tough little nipples that I imagined proclaimed her love.” In any other incident, I would think Lenny was a total pervert for making these statements, but he describes his longing for her so eloquently that I don’t find it as repulsive. If anything, it is quite endearing how longs for an intimate connection with Eunice. On page 25, Lenny describes having his first sexual encounter with Eunice, stating, “I talked her out of her pants, cupped the twin, tiny globes of her ass with my palms, and pushed my lips right inside her soft, vital pussy.” This statement tells me that this is how badly he wanted to have a physical connection with Eunice.
In the middle of the book, Lenny becomes very excited when Eunice decides to stay with him in New York, as noted on page 99. His jovial mood literally jumps off the pages. His enthusiasm about Eunice staying with him gives him hope that their connection will deepen. On page 108, Lenny describes how they were walking in the park hand in hand, noting it to feel “comfortable and familial.” I think for him to describe their moment of holding hands with these two adjectives proves to me that Lenny’s connection with Eunice is flourishing. I also thought it was very endearing for Lenny to say to Eunice on page 120, “I don’t want kokiri [Elephant in Korean] to see you kissing my nose like that. It’ll only make him sadder.” This type of “pet talk” that Lenny uses with Eunice is something that only one who feels a deep connection with another person would use. He goes on from here saying how positive his week was during this journal entry. The way he talks to Eunice here shows the connection they are gradually building.
Towards the end of the book, I started noticing Eunice’s GLOBALTEENS entries to have more sustenance. On page 296, she messages herself stating, “All my life I have been about doubts. But there’s no room for them now. I know I’m too young to have to make this kind of decision, but this is how things are.” She goes on how she feels about Joshie, and how she never feels repulsed by him. On page 299, she further praises Joshie, telling him, “You’re all I think about, dream about. I trust you and need you so much. No one has ever been so wonderful to me.” I don’t ever recall Eunice making such bold statements about Lenny. Yes, she does admire Lenny, but she also gets very annoyed with him at the same time. She is finally being more honest with her feelings during this portion of the story. On page 301, we see Eunice having trouble with going through breaking up with Lenny. As the reader, I can feel her sense of guilt over this because of the connection she made with Lenny.
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ReplyDeleteSuper Sad True Love Story is a story that is not too far of in the future, and it is a very eye opening and alarming story. In this futuristic society, intimacy is something that is rarely every achieved but many people want it. 39 year old Lenny Abrov, is a man who finds himself in love with Eunice Park. Lenny is a very emotional person, and when he falls in love with Eunice his emotions go some what over they top. The world that Lenny lives in, is so full of technology that having an intimate relationship or even friendship is becoming rare so when he finds Eunice he has a very strong connection with her. On page two Lenny describes his love for Eunice as something that will sustain him through forever, and that she gave him a reason to live. On Eunice's and Lenny's first night together Lenny is very intrigued about Eunice's life he just love to listen to her, which is him again trying to find more intimacy however, for Eunice the connection is to Lenny is not as fast as his is for her but eventually she comes to love Lenny. On Eunice GLOBALTEENS account which is a way that she keeps in touch with her friends and family, its easy to see that she also want as a better connection with her family. Eunice Comes from a Korean family that expects her to do well in all of her endeavors, she often finds her mother and sister being abused by her father. Eunice's friend known as Precious Pony is very materialistic through out the story on page 28 Precious Pony tells Eunice to date Ben because of his wealth.
ReplyDeleteTowards the middle of the story Eunice breaks up with Ben, the man she was seeing before Lenny because she was so intimidated by him and his success (p. 74). It was difficult to find intimacy and a connection with Ben because, she could never reveal who she really is, but with Lenny and his imperfections she finds herself loving him because she can be herself around him this is a level of intimacy that Eunice has never had before. Lenny is also very excited to find himself in her company, on page 100 Lenny's journal entry is of excitement that Eunice is coming to New York City to see him, he is filled with joy that he can spend more time with her.
Towards the end of the novel, Eunice and Lenny do not end up together because she betrays him for Joshie, Lennys closest friend and mentor. However, Eunice and Lenny do appreciate the love that they had for each other, and the concoction that they had with one another. This story is one that will bring to light how important it is to have intimacy and connection with another human being, and that no form of technology can ever replace that yearning for intimacy.
Through the novel, Super Sad True Love Story, there were many themes that were expressed but two themes that stuck out to me was intimate connection and the human need for purpose/meaning. In my own view, I see Lenny Abramov as a 39 year old man who is just looking for an intimate relationship. As he experiences this technological driven society, he goes on a journey of seeking intimacy. While attending a party, he ends up meeting Eunice Park at which he ends up falling for. Within the character of Lenny, I can see his need for finding a sense of connection or feeling through another individual. For example, Shteyngart writes, "I focused on the living animal in front of me and tried to make her love me. She told me I should be thankful for what I had. I told her she should move to New York with me. She told me she was probably a lesbian. I told her work was my life, but I still had room for love. She said love was out of the question" (24). Through this, Lenny clearly is someone whose is ready for a relationship. He needs a person to depend on and obviously desires to have Eunice as a part of his life. Lenny also describes his love for her as everlasting and gives him a reason to live. Another example is shown through Eunice's GLOBALTEEN posts when she addresses them to her mother, sister, friend, etc. Eunice talks about how she wishes they could be there and hear all the venting she has to say. From writing,
ReplyDelete"I really wish you were here right now. I need someone to verbal with and Teens just ain't cutting it." (44) to "Mom, why don't you and Sally come here to Rome?" (47) Eunice is going through dilemmas and desires the need for connection with them. While expressing these feelings, Eunice even talks about how she still thinks about them and considers them a big part of her life. Through Eunice's character, I see a sense of dependency and the need for connection like Lenny. Towards the end of the book, Eunice's entries start to talk about the breakup of her and Lenny. She says, "Will he ever forgive me? I feel like a recycling bin sometimes, with all these things passing through me from one person to another, love, hate, seduction, attraction, repulsion, all of it. I wish I were stronger and more secure in myself so that I could really spend my life with a guy like Lenny" (298). This indicates that Eunice has this feeling of guilt through her and Lenny's relationship ending. As she writes, Eunice talks about her life always being filled with doubts and realizes it's time to come to peace with herself and with everything that she has done. Through this conclusion, Eunice is not only losing connection with the world but with herself.
It is in the Seeking of Love that Love Will Seek You
ReplyDeleteThe Novel Super Sad True Love Story written by Gary Shteyngart takes place in a “future” America on the verge of collapse, where 39 year old Lenny Abramov forges a relationship with a young Korean girl by the name of Eunice Park. While the story encompasses many themes throughout the theme that stood out the most was the intimacy/connection/interconnection. The main character of the story Lenny Abramov is the subject of intimacy throughout the narrative. At the beginning Lenny is abroad in Italy on work for “Post-Human Services” where he is involved with a woman named Fabrizia. Sex is the means of Fabrizia’s and Lenny’s relationship and Lenny is striving for something more when he meets Eunice Park at a party. “She had full shiny lips and a lovely if incongruous splash of freckles across her nose, and could not have weighed more than eighty pounds, a compactness which made me tremble with bad thoughts” (16) From this point forward Lenny’s desire for Eunice was borderline obsessive. “I told her I didn’t want to leave Rome now that I had met her. She again told me I was a nerd, but a nerd who made her laugh. I told her I wanted to do more than make her laugh. She told me I should be thankful for what I had.” (24)
Both Lenny and Eunice lack self esteem as the children of immigrant parents. Lenny has a need to make others like him, Joshie, Eunice, his ”American Mama” Nettie Fine, and so on. While Eunice feels that nothing she does is ever good enough. She feels like she is a horrible daughter and sister as she leaves her family to deal with her abusive father alone. Her lack of self-confidence causes her to settle for Lenny. “I don’t want to hurt you, Lenny…Everything I touch turns to shit.” (105) While Lenny chases Eunice for her youthfulness, as he is fearful of dying, of ceasing to exist. Both Lenny and Eunice fall for each other out fear and lack of self-confidence. But essentially make each other better people throughout their relationship and at the end of the book when things end between them. Neither Lenny nor Eunice had ever had a very meaningful relationship in their lives before they dated one another and I think that their relationship taught them a lot about their desires for intimacy and connection. I believe that their relationship allowed them to realize the true value of friendships and family and caused them to strengthen relationships outside their own.
While both Eunice and Lenny have a desire for Intimacy and connection the way in which they express it varies between them. Lenny is a little “old-fashioned” and actually writes in a diary airing out his thoughts and how he is feeling while Eunice uses her apparat to communicate via her GlobalTeens account to her sister, her mother, her best friend, and a few others. I personally feel that Lenny’s diary was more effective in showing his emotions and his desire to be wanted and accepted by Eunice. I felt that Eunice’s texts or chats on her Global Teens account also displayed how she felt towards the end of the story but at the beginning not so much. Perhaps this is because she was embarrassed to admit her feelings about Lenny to others. I feel that all of Lenny’s diary entries were heartfelt, deep, and genuine. But I only felt that Eunice Parks Global Teens messages to her best friend precious pony were of the same emotional caliber.