Nicole Krauss's "The History Of Love" is the slightly confusing tale of the one love and the life of Leo Gursky. The woman, Alma, he had lost due to circumstances beyond his control 60 years previous in Poland. A woman that he told that he would never love anyone else again, he stayed true to his word. We also hear about the twisted history and journey of the book he wrote, which also is called "The History of Love". The book he wrote about his one and only love. The book's circuitous path helped connect many people over the years, including two strangers at the end of the book. Although in one sense they are strangers, in another sense they are connected.
We also read about Alma, a young girl of 15. She lives with her little brother, Bird, and their broken hearted mother. Alma's father, David Singer, had died about 8 years previous of cancer. Mrs Singer also hadn't fallen out of love with David, even briefly taking up gardening as it was something David enjoyed when he was alive.
The book is a bit confusing trying to keep track of all of the interconnected characters, however the writing is amazing. I love this line "Once upon a time there was a boy who loved a girl, and her laughter was a question he wanted to spend the rest of his life answering.
The History of Love" is a poignant novel, highlighted by the amazing writing. Although there are many amazing sentences and paragraphs in this novel, this is one of my favorites:
"And if the man who once upon a time had been a boy who promised he'd never fall in love with another girl as long as he lived kept his promise, it wasn't because he was stubborn or even loyal. He couldn't help it. And having hidden for three and a half years, hiding his love for a son who didn't know he existed didn't seem unthinkable. Not if it was what the only woman he would ever love needed him to do. After all, what does it mean for a man to hide one more thing when he has vanished completely."
Disappearing is a strong theme throughout this book. People disappearing, people who may or mat not be there etc. I read the above paragraph before coming home from work. For drive music I've been listening to Beware of Darkness. They have a song titled "Morning Tea": This song has many mentions of disappearing.
The lyrics to this song fit in perfectly with "The History of Love":
All I want to do is disappear
Into the darkness of my room
Come away
I am numb
You can be numb too
Disappear slowly
De-attach now
Slip into nothing
Nothing at all
Anyway while the story of "The History of Love" isn't the best story ever, it's good. But the writing is amazing. Again very poignant and powerful.
themusicaddict
No comments:
Post a Comment