This Is a Love Story

Soffer’s sophomore release (following There Will Be Apricots) is indeed what the title promises, but it’s a romance of many entities—New York City, Central Park, and most importantly, the protagonists: writer Abe and his artist wife Jane, who navigate seminal moments of their lives and marriage in Central Park. Chapters are told in each person’s perspective—and that of the park. Soffer weaves in its history, sharing fascinating statistics and facts that add to the novel’s appeal. Abe and Jane fall in love in Central Park, they bring their newborn son Max to play there, and they clutch each other among the park’s trees when Jane is fighting cancer. Jane cries there when her postpartum depression brings her to a full stop; Abe also has a marital indiscretion in the city’s emerald jewel. Later, adult Max takes his many romantic partners to Central Park. For Abe, Jane, and Max, the setting is their constant, their north star, and their sanctuary. Soffer’s writing is simple yet poetic. Most impressive is her ability to capture the depths of emotions of all her characters while rooting readers in such a strong sense of place.