This Is a Love Story

Central Park is symbolic of love and connection. Throughout This Is a Love Story, repeated chapters titled “Central Park” depict scenes set in this iconic New York location. Told from the third-person omniscient point of view, the “Central Park” chapters illustrate how a place might bring people together and offer them opportunities for respite or connection, transcending its status as just background setting: “For those who know, for those who feel it, the Park is more than just a park. It is evocative, a symbol. It reminds them of something else, someone else” (168). Throughout the novel, the park acts as a container for seemingly disparate experiences. Each “Central Park” chapter describes a litany of park activities, visitors, events, landmarks, and scenes. This narrative technique implies that the park offers New Yorkers common ground. The park might have a different meaning to each visitor, but it offers each one a sense of comfort or escape.

Central Park also features in Abe’s, Jane’s, Alice’s, and Max’s chapters of the novel. The characters frequently visit the setting, but their reasons for going to the park always vary according to what they’re going through.