Nicole Krauss

A Novel

The History of Love

Sarah Sammis

The History of Love is another of a handful of books I was introduced to when I was a regular listener of Radio 4. Since I've been working at home I've stopped listening because of a change in my daily routine. So when I saw this book on sale at my local bookstore, I had to get a copy to read for myself.

The book is told by four distinct narrators: Leo Gursky, Alma Singer, Emanuel Chaim Singer (aka "Bird"), and The Book of Love itself. Each narrator is given a different icon so that each voice is recognizable at the start of a new chapter. Normally a radically different writing style for each character sets me on edge and detracts from the overall reading experience but Krauss handles these changes in a very gentle fashion making it easy to fall into each character's story as their individual threads come together to form a bittersweet love story.

I have to say I loved this book. I loved watching the stories come together. I felt for Leo as he began to realize just how many things he had missed out on. I had fun reading through Alma's lists and her tips for survival. Her brother's goofy angsty diary wa an interesting counterpoint to Alma's earnestness. Finally there was the book itself, the thing that finally brings all these stories together.

cora albers

reading this is like coming into focus, she has found a way to only write words that were made to go together

Laura Mauler

It broke my heart in exactly the way that real life does, where all I can think is "it's not supposed to be this way" - this is a good thing.


Easily moved into one of the top positions among my favorite books of all times.

Erik Wallace

I was hesitant to read this at first, but glad I chose to... finally. History of Love really kept my interest because the story follows a non-linear timeline jumping backwards and forwards and is also told through multiple characters. Overall, its a very clever book that was beautifully written.

heleen de boever

This is... quite spectacular. The plot is incredibly well-structured and the book is ablaze with a complex cast of characters, each with their own specific habits and oddities. All of this is connected by the vivid descriptions and inventive details. The ending left me sad, sad, sad - but it was a beautiful sadness regardless. 

4.2

Jeannette Ordas

I liked this mysterious love story but I didn't love it as much as I thought I would. 3.5 stars.

Stephanie Honour

The last 20 pages bumped this book from 2 stars to 3 stars.

Natasha Musa

This book haunted me after I finished reading it. I couldn't stop thinking about the main character Leo Gursky and how the book ended for him. 

It took a while for me to appreciate The History of Love; there are many characters in the book and you'd really need to concentrate on the characters and their actions to piece together what happens next. 

In all honesty, I didn't really find The History of Love to be an exceptional read but what really got to me was Leo's fate at the end of the book. It was quite heartbreaking and I felt so sorry for Leo, so much so that Leo's character was embedded in my mind long after I've finished reading the book. 

Overall, it was an OKAY read for me. The only thing that really stood out for me was how it ended for Leo. Would I recommend it to anyone? Errrmmmm, not really... The History of Love was just not my cup of tea.

Irene Alegre

The History of Love was not perfect. And yet. It was more than good.

Beautiful characters make up for a less coherent and bit confusing storyline, and a rather ambiguous ending I didn't feel quite happy with.

I owe Krauss the urge to get back to writing myself, and that's more than enough. So, thank you :)

Patty Pforte

The book is so beautiful in terms of language. It is both deeply sad and hilariously funny. I dog ear pages often because I want to save the quotes for another sitting. If you like Johnathan Safron Foer you will like her work as well.

Shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction 2006 and winner of the 2006 Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger, The History of Love by bestselling author Nicole Krauss explores the lasting power of the written word and the lasting power of love. 'When I was born my mother named me after every girl in a book my father gave her called The History of Love. . . 'Fourteen-year-old Alma Singer is trying to find a cure for her mother's loneliness. Believing she might discover it in an old book her mother is lovingly translating, she sets out in search of its author.Across New York an old man called Leo Gursky is trying to survive a little bit longer. He spends his days dreaming of the love lost that sixty years ago in Poland inspired him to write a book. And although he doesn't know it yet, that book also survived: crossing oceans and generations, and changing lives. . . 'Wonderfully affecting...brilliant, touching and remarkably poised' Sunday Telegraph'A tender tribute to human valiance. Who could be unmoved by a cast of characters whose daily battles are etched on out mind in such diamond-cut prose?' Independent on Sunday'Devastating...one of the most passionate vindications of the written word in recent fiction. It takes one's breath away' Spectator Nicole Krauss is an American bestselling author who has received international critical acclaim for her first three novels: Great House (shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction 2011), The History of Love and Man Walks into a Room (shortlisted for the LA Times Book Award), all of which are available in Penguin paperback.

Nooshin

‫بعد از چند روز از تموم شدنش فهمیدم گذر کردن ازش به این سادگی نیست و فهمیدم که باید به‌جای چهار ستاره بهش پنج ستاره بدم و فهمیدم که باید بذارمش توی قفسه‌ی favorites.

Ellie Younger

The words are beautiful, stunning, eloquent and quote-worthy.

Leo Gursky is a man who fell in love at the age of ten and has been in love ever since. These days he is just about surviving life in America, tapping his radiator each evening to let his upstairs neighbour know he's still alive, drawing attention to himself at the milk counter of Starbucks. But life wasn't always like this: sixty years ago in the Polish village where he was born Leo fell in love with a young girl called Alma and wrote a book in honour of his love. These days he assumes that the book, and his dreams, are irretrievably lost, until one day they return to him in the form of a brown envelope. Meanwhile, a young girl, hoping to find a cure for her mother's loneliness, stumbles across a book that changed her mother's life and she goes in search of the author. Soon these and other worlds collide in The History of Love, a captivating story of the power of love, of loneliness and of survival.

Liz Carpenter

4.5 stars. I'm going to have to go buy a paper copy, because this *will* be a re-read at some point.

Chris Poore

A unique, beautiful novel about loneliness and love.

Summer Stanley

So much happened and so much was connected without overwhelming the reader. I thought it was beautiful.

Alexia

Beautiful and marvellous writing that goes straight to your heart. This one definitely was a page turner, filled with more than plenty passages and phrases to quote. I could've read it in one sitting, but I preferred to take my tike and savour each word in order to let them sink in.
I adored the stories that shape the main story, mainly due to the relatability of the characters and how real the stories read.

Emir Andrés Ibañez

Tardé mucho tiempo en poner en orden mis pensamientos y tratar de elaborar algo coherente pero no sé qué tanto éxito tuve... Este es un libro genial, por muchas razones. Una pluma exquisita, un argumento muy sencillo pero estructurado de tal manera que las pequeñas revelaciones te mantengan en vilo, unos personajes con unas voces inolvidables... Tres storylines que van entrelazadas por un libro en común que ha marcado profundamente a sus personajes. Va sobre el impacto que pueden tener las palabras y perdurar a través del tiempo, cruzar océanos, sobrevivir guerras... En fin, es una historia muy intensa que no podría resumirla aquí. Les pido perdón si intenté ser coherente pero ya avise antes que no iba a tener éxito. Tiene sus contras, pero no deja de ser un libro de la puta madre.

Erica

I picked this book up randomly in the “New Paperbacks” section of Barnes & Noble. The title intrigued me, and the short blurb on the back only seeded my curiosity, since it is a book about a book. I did not, however, expect it to be so good! The characters in this novel were so realistic, I felt like I knew them personally. (I should mention that the fact that this book is set in my hometown of New York City helped that, a little.) I really love how the author was able to tell the story from different points of view without explicitly naming which character was taking over in any given chapter—you could tell just by the way she was writing, each person had their own distinct voice. Truly an author I recommend, and will look into again. (I believe she has written one or two more books besides this one.)

Janet Doré

"Once upon a time there was a boy who loved a girl, and her laughter was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering." When I read this line on page 11, I thought for sure this book was going to be a favorite. A story of a deep and passionate love set both in Russia and New York...excellent writing...it had all the ingredients. Alas, it didn't make the cut. About a third of the way into the book, I started to become frustrated with the jumping around between seemingly unrelated characters...right when I became emotionally attached to the main character, I was ripped away from him and my attachment was never fully restored. By two-thirds of the way through, I was getting confused as well. I am not a beginning reader...I'd consider myself on the more advanced level, so that's not why. I felt a lot better when I found out my fellow book club member felt the same way and was wondering if she would be able to make it through to the end.

The History of Love A Novel

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