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The History of Love
author
Nicole Krauss
plot synopsis in 50 words or
fewer
Two stories: that of an old
man (Leo) and a young girl (Alma) both
living in New York, and the twisted ways
their lives intertwine.
what really matters
Where
it's at with this book
is the voice. That and the fact that you're
never the same again after you read
it. So
just give up now and surrender. Krauss
draws up two incredible characters, one
of whom, Leo, is one of the most memorable
literature personalities that I have
ever come across. The book
alternates between Leo and Alma's
stories, bringing them closer and
closer together and is narrated in
first person by the various characters(I
did this, I did that).
what i thought
This
incredibly difficult for a bibliophile
to say: The History of Love may be
my all time favorite book. It is definitely top two. Here
is a book about the redemptive power
of fiction--the worlds that it creates
and the lives that it affects. Sixty
years ago, Leo Gursky wrote a novel that
was lost when he immigrated from his
Polish village to New York City. Twelve
years ago, a baby girl was born and named
after the main character in that novel.
So here's how "The History of Love" opens; you read it and tell me it's not fucking great:
When they write my
obituary. Tomorrow . Or the next day. It
will say, LEO GURSKY IS SUVIVED BY AN APARTMENT FULL OF SHIT. I'm surprised I haven't been buried alive. The place isn't big. I have to struggle to keep a path clear between the bed and toilet, toilet and kitchen table, kitchen table and front door. If I want to get from the toilet to the front door, impossible, I have to go by way of the kitchen table. I like to imagine the bed as home plate, the toilet as first, the kitchen as second, the front door as third: should the doorbell ring while I am lying in bed, I have to round the toilet and the kitchen table in order to arrive at the door. If
it happens to be Bruno, I let him in
without a word and then jog back to
bed, the roar of the invisible crowd
ringing in my ears.
From Alma's little brother, Bird, who thinks he might be the Messiah; to Leo's best-friend and upstairs-neighbor, Bruno, whom he communicates with by banging on the radiator: "three taps means ARE YOU ALIVE?, two means YES, one, NO;" it just gets better, and better.
The book is funny--painstakingly so, and poignant, and heart-breakingly beautiful. "The History of Love" is about searching--even when you're unclear about what you're looking for. It is about love in the most basic and honest form. And it is about the written word: the life force of medium itself. This book will tear you apart. It will remind you of why you read. And it will leave you breathless, gasping for more.
who else loved this book
(or at least, say they did)
J.M.
Coetzee ("Charming, tender, and wholly original."),
Andre Aciman ("Nicole Krauss's gripping
new vice doesn't work its way into the
pantheon of American voices: it literally
walks straight up to them and asks them
to move over."), and Ken Kalfus (A stirring,
soulful novel that speaks to our own losses
and loves. This book will break
your heart and at once mend it.")
other things this author has written
Man
Walks into a Room
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