Response: The Love of my Life

After the first sentence I knew I wouldn’t like the characters. Right off the bat we get a typical “in-love” high school couple. We all have these people in our lives or at least witnessed their public affection in some social setting one way or another. The couples that openly display their infatuation with mushy pet names and are constantly annoying those around them and the only thing that separates these two from the average teen couple who get pregnant are that they are both in the top 10% in their graduating class with what could only have been bright futures, but alas this isn’t meant to be.

The conflict of the story revolves around the secret pregnancy of China (which was an odd name choice in my opinion) and the repercussions of the events following the birthing. Common themes in this short story include young love, physical relationships, and breaking stereotypes. With Boyle setting up his main characters so specifically, he is extremely clear with his message that anybody can screw up at any time without warning.

I would have liked a bit more dialogue other than a few sentences spread about to elaborate on the current scene and at times it felt too drawn out with description. And even though the imagery was solid and poetic enough, to me, it seemed as if Boyle was trying to hold my hand throughout and lead me. Other than that the tension created by the narration hung heavily throughout the birthing scene and with the events that followed but slackened off at the end to let fates of the two young lovers unanswered. We assume the worst for Jeremy and that China’s life will never be the same so I guess Boyle ended it well, but I can’t help feeling a bit dissatisfied.