---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This is a love story,” Michael Dean says…"
description: "\"“This is a love story,” Michael Dean says, ”but really what isn’t? Doesn’t the detective love the mystery or the chase, or the nosey female reporter wh..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a3/jess-walter-2228_love_this-is-a-love-story-michael-dean-says-b_2852761.jpg"
---

#  This is a love story,” Michael Dean says, ”but really what…

![“This is a love story,” Michael Dean says, ”but really what isn’t? Doesn’t the detective love the mystery or the chase, or the nosey female reporter who is even now being held against her wishes at an empty warehouse on the waterfront? Surely, the serial murder loves his victims, and the spy loves…” quote by Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a3/jess-walter-2228_love_this-is-a-love-story-michael-dean-says-b_2852761.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a3/jess-walter-2228_love_this-is-a-love-story-michael-dean-says-b_2852761.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a3/jess-walter-2228_love_this-is-a-love-story-michael-dean-says-b_2852761.jpg)

> ““This is a love story,” Michael Dean says, ”but really what isn’t? Doesn’t the detective love the mystery or the chase, or the nosey female reporter who is even now being held against her wishes at an empty warehouse on the waterfront? Surely, the serial murder loves his victims, and the spy loves his gadgets, or his country or the exotic counterspy. The ice-trucker is torn between his love for ice and truck and the competing chefs go crazy for scallops, and the pawnshop guys adore their junk. Just as the housewives live for catching glimpses of their own botoxed brows in gilded hall mirrors and the rocked out dude on ‘roids totally wants to shred the ass of the tramp-tatted girl on hookbook. Because this is reality, they are all in love, madly, truly, with the body-mic clipped to their back-buckle and the producer casually suggesting, “Just one more angle.”, “One more jello shot.”. And the robot loves his master. Alien loves his saucer. Superman loves Lois. Lex and Lana. Luke loves Leia, til he finds out she’s his sister. And the exorcist loves the demon, even as he leaps out the window with it, in full soulful embrace. As Leo loves Kate, and they both love the sinking ship. And the shark, god the shark, loves to eat. Which is what the Mafioso loves too, eating and money and Pauly and Omertà. The way the cowboy loves his horse, loves the corseted girl behind the piano bar and sometimes loves the other cowboy. As the vampire loves night and neck. And the zombie, don’t even start with the zombie, sentimental fool, has anyone ever been more love-sick than a zombie, that pale dull metaphor for love, all animal craving and lurching, outstretched arms. His very existence a sonnet about how much he wants those brains. This, too is a love story.””

[Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The quote enumerates countless characters and entities, each obsessively attached to something, illustrating that love—whether romantic, obsessive, or utilitarian—permeates all aspects of existence.

**In simple terms:** Everyone and everything is driven by a form of love or obsession.

Key Takeaway

Recognize the varied motivations behind actions.

Themes

obsession relationships human nature parody media culture

Mood

ironic playful critical

Type

observational satirical philosophical

When to use this quote

- screenwriting
- character development
- story analysis
- media criticism
- creative writing

Key Concepts

psychology symbolism satire

Questions to Reflect On

- What does love truly mean for each character?
- How does obsession differ from love?

A Different Perspective

The humor may downplay genuine emotional depth, risking cynicism.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-story/) [Sinking Ship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sinking-ship/) [Zombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zombie/)

## Related quotes

> [“Oh color me pretty-he's a cowboy. I love cowboys.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-carlan/oh-color-me-pretty-he-s-a-cowboy-i-love-cowboys/)

Audrey Carlan

> [“I’d never been with anyone like Marlboro Man. He was attentive--the polar opposite of aloof--and after my eighteenth-month-long college relationship with my freshman love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ree-drummond/i-d-never-been-with-anyone-like-marlboro-man-he-was-attentive-the/)

[Ree Drummond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ree-drummond/)

> [“I brushed my teeth like a crazed lunatic as I examined myself in the mirror. Why couldn’t I look the women in commercials who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ree-drummond/i-brushed-my-teeth-like-a-crazed-lunatic-as-i-examined-myself-in-the/)

[Ree Drummond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ree-drummond/)

> [I love being a Dallas Cowboy. I love everything about it. I think about it every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amari-cooper/i-love-being-a-dallas-cowboy-i-love-everything-about-it-i-think-about/)

[Amari Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amari-cooper/)

> [“I’d never been with anyone like Marlboro Man. He was attentive--the polar opposite of aloof--and after my eighteenth-month-long college relationship with my freshman love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ree-drummond/i-d-never-been-with-anyone-like-marlboro-man-he-was-attentive-the-2/)

[Ree Drummond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ree-drummond/)

> [“Marlboro Man’s call woke me up the next morning. It was almost eleven. “Hey,” he said. “What’s up?” I hopped out of bed, blinking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ree-drummond/marlboro-man-s-call-woke-me-up-the-next-morning-it-was-almost-eleven-2/)

[Ree Drummond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ree-drummond/)

## More by Jess Walter

> [For many people it's Facebook, or sports on TV, whatever it is. I have my own demons that I battle. But whatever they are,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/for-many-people-it-s-facebook-or-sports-on-tv-whatever-it-is-i-have/)

[Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/)

> [Without sounding overly sentimental about the process, I'd say trying to describe how you tend to conceive of a book is like describing how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/without-sounding-overly-sentimental-about-the-process-i-d-say-trying/)

[Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/)

> [“What person who has enjoyed life could possibly think one is enough?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/what-person-who-has-enjoyed-life-could-possibly-think-one-is-enough/)

[Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/)

> [For me, movies and television are interesting because they are the dominant storytelling form of our time. My first love will always be fiction,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/for-me-movies-and-television-are-interesting-because-they-are-the/)

[Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/)

> [In seventh grade, with some vague sense that I wanted to be a writer, I crouched in the junior high school library stacks to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/in-seventh-grade-with-some-vague-sense-that-i-wanted-to-be-a-writer-i/)

[Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/)

> [“There would seem to be nothing more obvious, more tangible and palpable than the present moment. And yet it eludes us completely. All the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/there-would-seem-to-be-nothing-more-obvious-more-tangible-and/)

[Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/)

> [People sometimes ask who I would cast in my books and I never have any idea. I don't think I could ever write a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/people-sometimes-ask-who-i-would-cast-in-my-books-and-i-never-have/)

[Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/)

> [“A writer needs four things to achieve greatness, Pasquale: desire, disappointment, and the sea.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/a-writer-needs-four-things-to-achieve-greatness-pasquale-desire/)

[Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/)

> [Life, he thought, is a blatant act of imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/life-he-thought-is-a-blatant-act-of-imagination/)

[Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/)

> [“And Pasquale forced himself to look away from her then. It was like prying a magnet off steel, but he did it: he turned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/and-pasquale-forced-himself-to-look-away-from-her-then-it-was-like/)

[Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/)

> [I've been simultaneously drawn to and repelled from Hollywood for years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/i-ve-been-simultaneously-drawn-to-and-repelled-from-hollywood-for/)

[Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/)

> [I cling to the idea that Herman Melville had to work at the end of his career watching ships in a dock, as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/i-cling-to-the-idea-that-herman-melville-had-to-work-at-the-end-of/)

[Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/)

> [I come from a newspaper background, so maybe I'm attuned to current events.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/i-come-from-a-newspaper-background-so-maybe-i-m-attuned-to-current/)

[Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/)

> [Maybe every couple lived in the gaps between conversations, unable to say the important things for fear they had already been said, or couldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/maybe-every-couple-lived-in-the-gaps-between-conversations-unable-to/)

[Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/)

> [“How do you think it should end?” Young Pasquale considered the question. “Well, instead of going back to America during the war, he could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/how-do-you-think-it-should-end-young-pasquale-considered-the-question/)

[Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/)

[Explore all 177 Jess Walter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/)

## More Love quotes

> [Whatever meaning 'Annie's Song' had for me on a personal level, there was also a larger context. It could just as easily have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-denver/whatever-meaning-annie-s-song-had-for-me-on-a-personal-level-there/)

[John Denver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-denver/)

> [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/)

[Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/)

> [I love going to Columbia, Missouri. That is a really underrated campus. It shocked me when I went there because I really didn't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-herbstreit/i-love-going-to-columbia-missouri-that-is-a-really-underrated-campus/)

[Kirk Herbstreit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-herbstreit/)

> [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/)

[Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/)

> [We talk to God--that is prayer; God talks to us--that is inspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-emilie-cady/we-talk-to-god-that-is-prayer-god-talks-to-us-that-is-inspiration/)

[H. Emilie Cady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-emilie-cady/)

> [I fell in love with social work, and that was my undoing as a poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rakosi/i-fell-in-love-with-social-work-and-that-was-my-undoing-as-a-poet/)

[Carl Rakosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rakosi/)

> [You cant be controlling in improv.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-walsh/you-cant-be-controlling-in-improv/)

[Matt Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-walsh/)

> [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I think, here's what I've realized from interviewing people, and I've been very open about my Catholicism and my love of Christ and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mohr/i-think-here-s-what-i-ve-realized-from-interviewing-people-and-i-ve/)

[Jay Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mohr/)

> [“To be loved by a man, truly loved, made a woman feel as if she could burst. Of course, Lia was strong and could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melody-anne/to-be-loved-by-a-man-truly-loved-made-a-woman-feel-as-if-she-could/)

[Melody Anne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melody-anne/)

> [So when you take those tears, don't look to see I'm alright. …\*Seal - Violet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-nickel/so-when-you-take-those-tears-don-t-look-to-see-i-m-alright-seal-violet/)

[Eric Nickel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-nickel/)

> [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/)

[Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/)

> [“That horrible stinging sensation returned, the muscles behind my eyes straining as the first tear began to fall. “I’m scared, too. For eighteen months…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devon-ashley/that-horrible-stinging-sensation-returned-the-muscles-behind-my-eyes/)

[Devon Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devon-ashley/)

> [I could program a 'fabulous, I love it' kind of hit season right now. I'm more interested in breaking boundaries, telling a story, defying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-c-wolfe/i-could-program-a-fabulous-i-love-it-kind-of-hit-season-right-now-i-m/)

[George C. Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-c-wolfe/)

[Browse all 233,035 Love quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“This is a love story,” Michael Dean says, ”but really what isn’t? Doesn’t the detective love the mystery or the chase, or the nosey female reporter who is even now being held against her wishes at an empty warehouse on the waterfront? Surely, the serial murder loves his victims, and the spy loves his gadgets, or his country or the exotic counterspy. The ice-trucker is torn between his love for ice and truck and the competing chefs go crazy for scallops, and the pawnshop guys adore their junk. Just as the housewives live for catching glimpses of their own botoxed brows in gilded hall mirrors and the rocked out dude on ‘roids totally wants to shred the ass of the tramp-tatted girl on hookbook. Because this is reality, they are all in love, madly, truly, with the body-mic clipped to their back-buckle and the producer casually suggesting, “Just one more angle.”, “One more jello shot.”. And the robot loves his master. Alien loves his saucer. Superman loves Lois. Lex and Lana. Luke loves Leia, til he finds out she’s his sister. And the exorcist loves the demon, even as he leaps out the window with it, in full soulful embrace. As Leo loves Kate, and they both love the sinking ship. And the shark, god the shark, loves to eat. Which is what the Mafioso loves too, eating and money and Pauly and Omertà. The way the cowboy loves his horse, loves the corseted girl behind the piano bar and sometimes loves the other cowboy. As the vampire loves night and neck. And the zombie, don’t even start with the zombie, sentimental fool, has anyone ever been more love-sick than a zombie, that pale dull metaphor for love, all animal craving and lurching, outstretched arms. His very existence a sonnet about how much he wants those brains. This, too is a love story.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Jess Walter"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/this-is-a-love-story-michael-dean-says-but-really-what-isn-t-doesn-t/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Love"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/this-is-a-love-story-michael-dean-says-but-really-what-isn-t-doesn-t/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a3/jess-walter-2228_love_this-is-a-love-story-michael-dean-says-b_2852761.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a3/jess-walter-2228_love_this-is-a-love-story-michael-dean-says-b_2852761.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a3/jess-walter-2228_love_this-is-a-love-story-michael-dean-says-b_2852761.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“This is a love story,” Michael Dean says, ”but really what isn’t? Doesn’t the detective love the mystery or…” — Jess Walter",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Jess Walter",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“This is a love story,” Michael...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/this-is-a-love-story-michael-dean-says-but-really-what-isn-t-doesn-t/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/this-is-a-love-story-michael-dean-says-but-really-what-isn-t-doesn-t/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
