The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
272 pages
Published April 2006 by Norton, W.W. & Company
Source: bought this one!
I haven't used the publisher summary since shortly after I started blogging but I just can't find a way to sum this one up that won't just sound ridiculous. So here's what the publisher has to say about the book:
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.
Now, if you just read that, you'd think there were about four characters in this novel and you wouldn't at all understand why I couldn't wrap up this plot in a paragraph. The problem is, there are a lot more characters, many of whom play a part in what has happened to the book Leo wrote as a young man, many more who play a part in who he is as an old man and a number who interact with Alma and Leo. The book also moves back and forth in time and back and forth over the ocean. It did, to be honest, get a little confusing at time and even, in the end, I have to admit that I'm not altogether sure what happened.
All of which might make it sound like I didn't like this book much. Which was not the case at all. I really liked Krauss' writing style and found her characters to be unique and endearing. Unfortunately, I spent a lot of the time that I was reading the book imagining what the other members of my book club might be thinking of the book and thinking that I wasn't sure it was a book that most of them would enjoy. Which, of course, tempered my enthusiasm. The timing could have been better for this one as well; it's hard to really get the most out of a book you read while you're recovering from surgery. In the end, I wish I would have read this one at a different time and strictly for myself. Because with writing like this...
"The sensation almost knocked the breath out of m. A tingling feeling caught fire in my nerves and spread. The whole thing must have happened in less than thirty seconds. And yet. When it was over, I'd been initiated into the mystery that stands at the beginning of the end of childhood. It was years before I'd spent all the joy and pain born in me in that less than half a minute."
...it's a shame not to have given it my full attention.
I bailed on this book, it was an audio and the the narrator didn't keep my interest. I tried but the story felt bland to me. What surprised me was that shortly after I decided to stop listening, someone called me to tell me it made a list of best books (I can't remember the category).
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to hear about the book discussion.
I have heard great things about this book, and have wanted to read it for a long time. It does indeed sound like the kind of story that has a lot going on in it, and the numerous amount of characters makes me wonder what I would think about it. It sounds like this might have perhaps been a better read for you when you were not so uncomfortable after surgery, but I do think you gave it a fair shot. I will have to let you know what I think of it when I am done with it. Very honest and forthright review today!
ReplyDeleteI read and loved her novel Great House, but haven't read any of her other work. Like The History of Love, Great House also has lots of characters and beautiful writing. I may have to give The History of Love a try. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI've had this one on my shelves for a long time. I tried reading her second effort, Great House, and didn't have much luck, but I do hope to like this one better. And I might even return to Great House sometime.
ReplyDeleteIf this is anything like Great House then I totally understand why you needed that blurb. I had to read Great House twice... well the last half of it twice in order to even understand who was speaking. Her characters are interesting but her skill at weaving in and out of a storyline (imo) needs some polishing.
ReplyDeleteI have a copy of this book and am really looking forward to read it because I love Nicole Krauss's writing. Your post reminds me that I must wait for a peaceful time to read it :)
ReplyDeleteI gotta try this one, really I do.
ReplyDeleteIn the end I really loved this one but it was TOUGH. I read it in the early days of my maternity leave so was only reading pages here and there and at one point had to start over because I was so confused. The style reminded me a lot of Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close and I wondered how much the husband and wife author duo influenced each other.
ReplyDelete