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Love Story
The duty bell rang and obediently George clattered down the steps from his confinement cubicle over the garage. His mother's chartreuse-colored Cadillac convertible purred to a stop in the drive."It's so sweet of you to come, Georgie," his mother said when George opened the door for her."Whenever you need me, Mummy." It was no effort at all to keep the sneer out of his voice. Deception had become a part of his character.His mother squeezed his arm. "I can always count on my little boy to do the right thing.""Yes, Mummy." They were mouthing a formula of words. They were both very much aware that if George hadn't snapped to attention as soon as the duty bell rang, he risked being sentenced, at least temporarily, to the national hero's corps.Still in the customary, martyr's whisper, George's mother said, "This has been such a tiring day. A man can never understand what a woman has to endure, Georgie; my life is such an ordeal." Her tone turned at once coldly practical. "I've two packages in the trunk; carry them to the house for me."George picked up the cardboard boxes and followed her along the brick walk in the direction of the white, Colonial mansion where his mother and her two daughters and her current husband lived. George, being a boy, was allowed in the house only when his mother invited him, or when he was being shown off to a prospective bride. George was nineteen, the most acceptable marriage age; because he had a magnificent build and the reputation for being a good boy, his mother was rumored to be asking twenty thousand shares for him.
40 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1956
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
June 29, 2018
As terrible as this story is, I totally recommend listening to it on the Public Domain Theater podcast. I'm dream-casting Linda Hunt as the old woman.
July 6, 2015
This story initially looks like the dream world of the male bashing people who call themselves feminists (He for She forever) but you eventually realise that it is meninist propaganda.
The idea is of a dystopian world much like that of 1984 where you are made to believe things by convincing you about them. For example there is this compound that the plot revolves around which makes men lustful-so much so that they can't think straight for their desire. But men are already wired like that. So what exactly is going on?
They are shown chick-flicks every day fir 3 hours to train them according to what women like and sold as husbands.
His real father had died a natural death—from strain and overwork—when George was four.
A federal law required every male to watch the TV romances three hours a day.
And so, in the customary pageantry and ceremony, George became Mr. Harper
All this comes across as quite a clever satire on patriarchy if taken with a pinch of salt. I mean i am a woman and this story annoyed ME in bits and parts. But is this really satire? Nope. It is just a man justifying to the world that women need to be snubbed and ruled over by man. There is a scene where George uses seduction to blackmail his wife and hits her for the greater good and she turns to putty in his hands because dayum such masculinity. So much so that she risks her life to protect him. Actually, don't mind the hitting. His gender was oppressed so obviously he had to resort to violence. a pity that women didn't come up with that one.
What does this entail? A high ranking woman who says/confesses/claims that the world was better when men ruled over women because women aren't efficient enough. I call BS.
"And from here on in, what he says goes," the old woman added. "Don't forget that."
"She won't," George answered, supremely self-assured.
The idea is of a dystopian world much like that of 1984 where you are made to believe things by convincing you about them. For example there is this compound that the plot revolves around which makes men lustful-so much so that they can't think straight for their desire. But men are already wired like that. So what exactly is going on?
They are shown chick-flicks every day fir 3 hours to train them according to what women like and sold as husbands.
His real father had died a natural death—from strain and overwork—when George was four.
A federal law required every male to watch the TV romances three hours a day.
And so, in the customary pageantry and ceremony, George became Mr. Harper
All this comes across as quite a clever satire on patriarchy if taken with a pinch of salt. I mean i am a woman and this story annoyed ME in bits and parts. But is this really satire? Nope. It is just a man justifying to the world that women need to be snubbed and ruled over by man. There is a scene where George uses seduction to blackmail his wife and hits her for the greater good and she turns to putty in his hands because dayum such masculinity. So much so that she risks her life to protect him. Actually, don't mind the hitting. His gender was oppressed so obviously he had to resort to violence. a pity that women didn't come up with that one.
What does this entail? A high ranking woman who says/confesses/claims that the world was better when men ruled over women because women aren't efficient enough. I call BS.
"And from here on in, what he says goes," the old woman added. "Don't forget that."
"She won't," George answered, supremely self-assured.
October 23, 2016
This 20 something pages short story published in the 1950s is funny. I don't know why the ratings are so low but I'm giving it 4 stars because to imagine a dystopian world where women dominates is a cool one. I can't stop laughing about the required 3-hour tv marathon that men were required to watch everyday in this alternative world. Hahahaha. What a torture. Love it!
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November 22, 2019This book is just some fantasy for the misogynists.
May 12, 2022
This short science fiction story from the Golden Age of Science Fiction was a surprisingly good tale of love and the perils of radical feminism that ruins both men and women, and asks the question, "What is love?"
In Love Story, men are used by women in the basest way imaginable – boys are brought up in isolation from other males, fed romance stories ad infinitum until they are ready to be paired up with a woman, paired up with a women to only work themselves to exhaustion for the purpose of buying them things, only to be tossed aside when they are used up and a “better” man can fulfill their shallow desires.
No one is happy in this story from 1956. Not a soul, save for George and Jenny.
Boy, oh boy, does this story resonate with the world of today.
I like the writing style of Irving E. Cox Jr. for its straightforwardness and structure. I greatly enjoyed Love Story, and it will remain in my library.
🟣Kindle version.
In Love Story, men are used by women in the basest way imaginable – boys are brought up in isolation from other males, fed romance stories ad infinitum until they are ready to be paired up with a woman, paired up with a women to only work themselves to exhaustion for the purpose of buying them things, only to be tossed aside when they are used up and a “better” man can fulfill their shallow desires.
No one is happy in this story from 1956. Not a soul, save for George and Jenny.
I know what it used to be like. Someday there may be enough men with the stamina to take back the place of dominance that we stole from them. We thought we wanted it; for decades before we had been screaming about women's rights.
Boy, oh boy, does this story resonate with the world of today.
I like the writing style of Irving E. Cox Jr. for its straightforwardness and structure. I greatly enjoyed Love Story, and it will remain in my library.
🟣Kindle version.
May 10, 2020
I am 73 years old and grew up through the male dominated period of history and i am now seeing a sort of backlash in recent year. I tried to give Cox the benefit of the doubt and think that he was trying to portray the weak points of both genders in the early 1950's. The woman want for equal treatment and end up taking things too far and the men finally revolt and take things back the way they were. but there is no chance of stopping in the middle so I am having trouble understanding what cox was trying to say. There are too many jarring instances that I don't understand. Why would a woman in this future society want to go back to being dominated by a man to the point of accepting and possibly enjoying his hitting her. The idea of indoctrinating men into more romantic and emphatic feeling by having them watch "chick-flicks" (sorry, I couldn't help myself!) and then placing a high value on them for physical characteristics and going to the point of encouraging their most lustful behavior through drugs (even if they weren't real). The final contradiction was that this was all resulting in an increase in loving (but still not equal) relationships between men and woman. If Cox was trying to subtly make some point about male-female relationships in 1956 I think I missed it.
May 20, 2019
Unworthy of one star. Utter trash.
January 22, 2019
Interesting concept, although the speech of the old woman at the end ruined it a bit.
December 5, 2016
This is an excellent dystopian story that is frighteningly prescient of today's femonazis, misandry, SJWs, safe spaces, and how feminist attempts at achieving dominance over men is, paradoxically, making them more and more miserable.
It has one major flaw in the unlikely use of unnecessary violence, however given the conditions the protagonist must have had I suppose it can be explained away, still I think it detracted from the story's otherwise plausible line.
This story won't appeal to the people who buy into the left's anti-white male narrative but anyone with an open mind should find it at once topical and disturbing.
It has one major flaw in the unlikely use of unnecessary violence, however given the conditions the protagonist must have had I suppose it can be explained away, still I think it detracted from the story's otherwise plausible line.
This story won't appeal to the people who buy into the left's anti-white male narrative but anyone with an open mind should find it at once topical and disturbing.
November 17, 2016
What did I just read?
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May 15, 2018Misogynistic rubbish.
July 26, 2020
My relationship with Cox lasted twenty pages too many. There's no "compound" in the world that could trick me into reading anything else by Cox.
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August 23, 2024The doors of life closed stile i have y
slave to other
without compound drug
without tourtre of romance move
just y and me another news
even all the doors cloused
yr eyes didnt make sense
bought y thee tell
just thee tell
the sun kiss the eyes of earth daily
and i wish that to all
mine stile mine
even y daily make story
once be hard and once by forget
but y still be my human one
even thee search the planet
my heart innocens and smale
and never lost
alawys to ya be lu7
to y just y be big
mine and still butterfly daily flay
slave to other
even with there rules
and many tired brids
just forget the fear
coz yr love my breath
and my heart randvo y
y swite and from me y near
and we in love alwys
my tiger in right road
without even thee compound
i tell y that i in love ya
and that my first
even i think that my heart will love athousand time
still all that lies
but i tell the true now
that my fist
slove to other
love ya
i walk without y lost in my road
i call y just come
without there compound
i find y in my heart
love y
with all and many prayer
slave to other
without compound drug
without tourtre of romance move
just y and me another news
even all the doors cloused
yr eyes didnt make sense
bought y thee tell
just thee tell
the sun kiss the eyes of earth daily
and i wish that to all
mine stile mine
even y daily make story
once be hard and once by forget
but y still be my human one
even thee search the planet
my heart innocens and smale
and never lost
alawys to ya be lu7
to y just y be big
mine and still butterfly daily flay
slave to other
even with there rules
and many tired brids
just forget the fear
coz yr love my breath
and my heart randvo y
y swite and from me y near
and we in love alwys
my tiger in right road
without even thee compound
i tell y that i in love ya
and that my first
even i think that my heart will love athousand time
still all that lies
but i tell the true now
that my fist
slove to other
love ya
i walk without y lost in my road
i call y just come
without there compound
i find y in my heart
love y
with all and many prayer
May 19, 2018
Well. That happened. When I started reading I was sure that it was a satirical discussion on how powerful men were in the 1950s. As the story continued, though, it became clear that it wasn’t what I thought. The story of George became the story of men uprising and taking control back from the evil gender of women. I will say, the women are the villains in the story. There is no denying that. However, at the end of the story George’s mission is to make men have the power again. Wouldn’t that turn the men from the victims into the villains, putting the in the exact same position as the women? But they don’t quite feel that way, because that’s the way things are “supposed to be.”
A very interesting plot turned sour with a poorly disguised subtext.
A very interesting plot turned sour with a poorly disguised subtext.
July 18, 2020
Okay , basically I read this book and I didn't totally understand it. But i read the reviews and spoilers. And now I get it!
But I was still confused why would anyone write a book that clearly says the men should dominate women? I mean I haven't really read anything like this before and that made me extremely confused 😅
So I don't think it is a book that must be learnt from.
If u have too much time in your hands go ahead. But it totally spoiled my mood.
I was trying to read a book to release some stress of exams
So don't read it 👍
But I was still confused why would anyone write a book that clearly says the men should dominate women? I mean I haven't really read anything like this before and that made me extremely confused 😅
So I don't think it is a book that must be learnt from.
If u have too much time in your hands go ahead. But it totally spoiled my mood.
I was trying to read a book to release some stress of exams
So don't read it 👍
July 12, 2017
I laughed. I got unnerved. The death of this planet is way closer to happening than an actual overall matriarchal power-hold. Read it though, it's just 20 pages long.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 18, 2018
Nice stroy and good plot. simple to follow and intresting characters.
September 16, 2019
Kaj hudiča je bilo to ☺?
Read
July 31, 2020Listened through Public Domain Theater
Commentary was great, but the story was insane
Commentary was great, but the story was insane
September 21, 2020
A matriarcal society where the men are bought, drugged and brainwashed. Sometimes it doesn't work.
February 7, 2025
I loved it until the end. Obviously a man wrote this. 🙄
July 16, 2021
Im still not sure that Irving didn't write this as satire, but its still hilariously bad! As satire 5/5, but of course be prepared for a sexist mess. I highly recommend the Public Domain Theatre Reading.
May 14, 2015
I'm not sure what do I think of this story.
Was it supposed to be like H.G. Wells's The Time Machine? A sort of warning for a social situation or movement. But unlike the Time Machine where the story was subtly wrapped in a package of nice scifi, this one felt more like George Orwell's Animal Farm with its sarcasm. Only this one is more cheesy than brute.
The whole thing was not bad to read. But honestly I'm glad it's just a short story, because I don't think I could finish it well if it was longer.
It is about a society, which not only matriarch in the known sense, but where male were raised in total confinement until their marriage age, and later can be traded as husband like used goods.
Was it supposed to be like H.G. Wells's The Time Machine? A sort of warning for a social situation or movement. But unlike the Time Machine where the story was subtly wrapped in a package of nice scifi, this one felt more like George Orwell's Animal Farm with its sarcasm. Only this one is more cheesy than brute.
The whole thing was not bad to read. But honestly I'm glad it's just a short story, because I don't think I could finish it well if it was longer.
It is about a society, which not only matriarch in the known sense, but where male were raised in total confinement until their marriage age, and later can be traded as husband like used goods.
February 10, 2016
This story is about feminists, nor is it about meninists. This story is a dark, satirical look at our society in reverse. And it is brilliantly portrayed. I was absolutely blown away by the content. Mr. Cox did an amazing job. Keeping in mind that this was written in 1956, it shows some depth in thought. Absolutely incredible. Would love to see this as a film.
June 9, 2016
"To pay for their animal lusts, men were expected to slave away their lives earning things—kitchen gadgets, household appliances, fancy cars, luxuries and stockholdings—for their patient, long-suffering wives."
July 21, 2016
It's easier to make yourself believe a lie if you think everyone else believes it, than to believe a truth you've found out on your own.
December 27, 2020
I don't like the ending. In the end nothing changed, there's no equality, it's only "the husband's word must be followed".
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews