The History of Love

So much for the lazy summer days (post-Nationals, at least) of my youth. Summer of '06 has had a whirlwind quality to it thus far. While I've been reading steadily, I've been posting practically not at all. But I'm here today, the last of my vacation, catching up.

Last month's book club selection was Nicole Krauss' The History of Love. I can't mention it without the aside that she is married to Jonathan Safran Foer and they are an obnoxiously talented and successful young couple. Hmph. But I can't be too grudging about it, because they are both lovely and soulful writers who have truly touched me.

The History of Love is a little too complicated to explain, but as a rough outline it follows the tale of a book "The History of Love," and its impact on its elderly author and the teenage namesake of its heroine. Plus assorted other characters. There are enough twists to keep you guessing, and while I'm pretty sure I've figured it all out by now, I am apt to agree with my librarian Adele, who claims that the novel reveals new insights upon further readings.

I found the two main characters, Leo and Alma (the younger), utterly heartbreaking and charming. Their idiosyncracies made them recognizable and above all human. And while all the characters live to various extents in worlds of their own making, their attempts to bridge distances and create connections are both funny and touching. The note Leo wears on his lapel when he goes out is just one example.

The night I finished reading, I found myself lying in bed weeping, not of our sorrow, but because of an overabundance of emotion. Krauss, like her husband, is expert at probing emotional soft spots, and manipulating them in ways that aren't overbearing, but leave lasting marks.