Modern Love by Daniel Jones

 

What is love ?” as being a human, we all have an experience of facing this unanswerable question. The best poet William Shakespeare said, “Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, and therefore is wing'd cupid painted blind.” And many people trust that. However, love is more complicated than one sentence to be described. Some of my friends say they can love from boys' backgrounds such from their income. One of my close friends even said that he can quit loving the girl in one week since he notices that the girl isn't interested in him. In this diverse world, there are multiple ways to describe what love is. The book I chose is called “Modern Lovewas ” edited by Daniel Jones and published on September 3rd, 2019. This book collects approximately 30 unforgettable and memorable stories that run in the New York Times “Modern Love” column. The goal of this book is “telling the true stories of love, loss, and redemption.” I hope that I will find the best description of LOVE for me by reading these true love stories. 

Btw the biggest reason why I chose this book is because the cover was attractive (^^)

Srory

The first story starts with a protagonist who is thirty-seven, single, unemployed, and depressed because she did achieve nothing g but spend most of the time in her apartment. She later met and fell in love with a guy who is next to her room and living with roommates who frequently have weekend parties. In the end, kept their relationship as friends. One night, she was out drinking vodka sodas with her friend called Diana, and matched with that guy on Diana’s Tinder. They asked him to join them back at her house. Right after Diana left, they started kissing and hooking up. The protagonist had anxiety about showing her best part and hiding her weakness which is her age and occupation to the boys who she dated, however for that guy, she could be natural, she could show all of her weaknesses. However, eventually, the guy rejected her to be in a relationship and she realized that when she is truly looking for love, the actual thing she is thinking about is the future not being herself.

Reflection 

I liked this story a lot since the story setting is contemporary and real. It very showed the reality of how people are struggling with their lives and love. And why I said thing story is realistic is because the guy eventually didn't date her. I strongly believe that he got laid with losing himself a moment. In the story, it seemed like it's because she pressured him and complained about their fairness, however, I strongly think it was just a trigger, he was waiting the time for breaking up. Think normally, who would want to date someone who is nearly forty but doesn't have a job and confidence ok herself? (I'm not saying that people around forty can't have a partner) .

Moreover, there is one phrase I liked the most in this story. It's when the guy said to the protagonist “ we get so fixated on the job we want or the person we're saying because we don't think there will be another. But there's always another.” it a critical hit on me. When people are having a job, their coworkers or bosses manipulate them that no one can cover your position, but there is always someone who can cover it up. It's is a sad but also a good thing because if I think there is always someone who can cover my job, I can just find a new job if I don't like it and find a better one. And also, when we are in love with someone, we frequently think that there is no one else who is better than that person. However, it is only because we are having an illusion on that guy because of love magic and there’s always another. Different from other love stories that always have a mirage, this story tells how fleeting and fragile love is and how difficult to keep love.