The History of Love: A Novel | Nicole Krauss | equal parts of good and sad

The History of Love: A Novel | Nicole Krauss | A Wonderful novel about a novel about love

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The History of Lov...

	The History of Love: A Novel Nicole Krauss W. W. Norton, 2006 - 272 pages average customer review:based on 273 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

The illuminating national bestseller: "Vertiginously exciting?vibrantly imagined?.[Krauss is] a prodigious talent."?Janet Maslin, New York Times

A long-lost book reappears, mysteriously connecting an old man searching for his son and a girl seeking a cure for her widowed mother's loneliness.

Leo Gursky is just about surviving, tapping his radiator each evening to let his upstairs neighbor know he's still alive. But life wasn't always like this: sixty years ago, in the Polish village where he was born, Leo fell in love and wrote a book. And though Leo doesn't know it, that book survived, inspiring fabulous circumstances, even love. Fourteen-year-old Alma was named after a character in that very book. And although she has her hands full?keeping track of her brother, Bird (who thinks he might be the Messiah), and taking copious notes on How to Survive in the Wild?she undertakes an adventure to find her namesake and save her family. With consummate, spellbinding skill, Nicole Krauss gradually draws together their stories.

This extraordinary book was inspired by the author's four grandparents and by a pantheon of authors whose work is haunted by loss?Bruno Schulz, Franz Kafka, Isaac Babel, and more. It is truly a history of love: a tale brimming with laughter, irony, passion, and soaring imaginative power.

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equal parts of good and sad

Just want to share that this is the best fiction I've read in as long as I can remember. Enjoy it.

A Wonderful novel about a novel about love

"THE HISTORY OF LOVE" written by Krauss is a fine example of how literature connects people to people whether fictional or real. The History of Love written by one of the characters in Krauss's novel, exemplifies the same virtue by way of keeping him connected to his one and only love. "The History of Love" as written by Krauss's character is also the thread that keeps the Singer family connected after a loss threatens to destroy them.

Leo, who narrates much of Krauss's novel, is a holocaust survivor who spends his remaining days on earth reflecting on the life he could have had were it not drastically altered by the holocaust. Alma is Leo's muse and it is his love for her that keeps him alive.

The Singer family, characters in Krauss's novel, adds another layer of complexity and connectivity throughout the stories. David and Charlotte meet in Israel, fall in love, marry and start a family. David, by chance, happens across a copy of "The History of Love" and names their first child Alma, in honor of the girl in the story. David's death is devastating to Charlotte who slips into a depression that lasts for years and alienates her from the children - each of whom try to cope with the loss of their father as best they can. Bird, the son, too young to remember much about his father turns to God and all things religious while Alma, the daughter, becomes engrossed in assimilating her father's interest and hobbies into her own life until that pursuit is replaced by her search for someone to make her mother happy again.

Krauss has written a much nuanced and highly creative story that explores love, and what one will do in the name of it, from many angles. There is the all consuming love that renders both Leo and Charlotte incapable of having that experience again. And yet. There is the transitional love that changes with time, for better or worse, depending on the elements that influence it. There is the love that secrets forge. I've enjoyed Krauss's novel on many levels. There is an element of mystery that surrounds the publication of The History of Love. The characters are well drawn and uniquely identifiable by voice, making it easier to follow the multiple story lines and perspectives from which they are told. The novel contains a layer of complexity that I was able to grasp using the same approach that I've at times employed in the pursuit of love; that is, I simply turned myself over to it and followed where it took me. This read was well worth the effort. Kudos to Krauss for the delivery and Amanda for the recommendation; enjoy!

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Loved this, very bittersweet

Can't review it in depth without spoiling it. Just loved the Leo Gursky character....the story really resonates. Not a lot of surprises, but very well written. Read it, you'll be glad you did.

Read this Twice before you Decide

This book is not meant for light beach reading. It's not a brain buster or anything, but you need to really pay attention and get involved with this novel to follow the intertwining narratives of the many interesting and terrific characters in it. I had to read this twice to keep up and ensure that I got everything I could from this book. I'm glad I did because the end almost brought me to tears, it was such a sweet story. Plus, I also picked up on some ideas brought up in the story that compel me to read it yet again. Overall, this is an original, interesting, and bittersweet love story. I would recommend it just for Krauss's character, Leo Gursky, alone. I loved how complex he was.

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The History of Love

More aptly named, this book would be called The History of Love Lost, because each central character suffers from the loss of a love.

The storyline opens with the amusing, but desperately sad Leo Gursky. Facing the end of his life, Leo fears that no one will notice when he dies. He lives his remaining days in such a way as to make others notice him. One day he may push over a display at the grocery store. Another day, he may pose nude for an art class. His character is so incredibly realistic, that the reader can empathize and share with him his feelings of isolation.

Interwoven with this plot are other more minor ones, each with equally endearing characters and overwhelming feelings of loneliness.

Although the characters are each so remarkably unique and interesting, the story can be difficult at times. The intermingling of the different plots and characters makes this a confusing book at times. Another difficulty is the darkness of the plot. In spite of these, this is a worthwhile experience.

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