The History of Love
Nicole Krauss
The History of Love surprised me in many ways, and I'm glad I bought it. This is definitely a book that must be reread to pick up the many clues and connections that appear throughout the book. The story revolves around two characters, an old man named Leo Gursky, who has spent his life pining for the love he lost after fleeing the Nazis, and Alma Singer, whose father has passed away, leaving her mother alone and depressed. Alma, named for a character in a book called The History of Love, searches for a man to make her mother happy, and her search leads her to Leo. (By the way, Leo is way too old for Alma's mother, so don't expect what you were probably thinking.)
Every chapter is either narrated by Leo, Alma, or by Zvi, the man who ostensibly wrote The History of Love. I was happy to see that each character's voice was clearly defined, unlike Haunted, where every character's voice was exactly the same. I was also really surprised at the way the characters came together at the end. Their convergence (and the facts leading up to it) is what causes the book to need a rereading, as I'm still not entirely sure what the ef happened during the last 50 or so pages.
The book's strength is the beauty of its prose, especially when Leo is speaking. He speaks like poetry, and his observations are both witty and sad. The book owes its beauty to Leo Gursky. For this reason alone, I recommend reading the History of Love.
One thing that annoyed me is that her style was uncomfortably similar to Jonathan Safran Foer (Everything is Illuminated; Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close), who just happens to be her husband. The similarities between The History of Love and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close are too close to be ignored. Both involve children on a search; both involve dead fathers; both involve a character searching New York to solve a mystery; both employ the same quirky style, etc.
Despite this minor quibble, the book remains a beautiful mystery. I admit that I needed to surf some forums to answer some of the questions that remained after reading the book. As I don't want to provide any spoilers, I won't post them here, although feel free to comment if you've read the book and want to discuss.
In a nutshell: A wonderful book. A fast read that gives you a lot to ponder.
Bibliolatry Scale: 5.5 out of 6 stars
5 comments:
Can you tell me which forums you were on? I'm looking for answers...
I scrolled through the formus on Amazon.com. If you follow my link at the top of the review and scroll to the bottom, you should find them. I was confused as to whether Leo's friend was real or not, and a couple other things.
SPOILER ALERT: DON'T READ FOLLOWING QUESTION, UNLESS YOU'VE FINISHED NOVEL. IF YOU HAVE FINISHED NOVEL, AND KNOW THE ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION, PLEASE RESPOND!
Why Didn't Isaac Moritz, before his death, try to contact Leo Gursky? He knew Leo was his real father, so what gives? I mean, if Bird could find Leo Gursky, why couldn't Isaac Moritz?
Interesting question, bklvr.
I'm not too sure of the specifics anymore, but I'll give it a shot.
Didn't Isaac die suddenly? If so, he might not have gotten around to it, assuming he'd have time.
But maybe he thought he was just too old to begin a relationship with his father.
Maybe, being a successful author, he was doubtful that this person really *was* his father, yet couldn't throw the manuscript away just in case. This is the explanation I thought of when reading the book.
What do you think?
This book is about love, friendship and family. I fell in love with the characters especially Leo Gursky, and boy did I cry when I finished this book. I won't go into detail about it, as I don't want to give anything away.
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