The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

"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"
-Nicole Krauss

Hello again,
I recently finished the novel The History of Love by Nicole Krauss. A teacher I have currently reccomended it to me, and though I was tentative to read it because I feared it would be a cheesy romance novel. With a title like "The History of Love", I didn't have high hopes. Thankfully though, I was wrong about everything that I thought would be faulty with the novel.

The novel follows two characters; Leo Gursky, an old man; and Alma, a fourteen year old girl trying to get her mother to be happy once again. Despite having an age difference of about sixty years, the two are connected through the name "Alma", and the meaning which it holds for each of them. Though mainly narrated from the point of view of these two, there are also intermissions of narrative from Bird, Alma's younger brother, the son of Gursky, and an author. 

I was quite stunned by the writing style of this book. Though simple, it was very engaging, and I just wanted to drink up the rest of the novel and relish in Krauss' diction. I manage to read through this book within a manner of days, which is quite uncommon. If for anything, read the book for the sake of the experience.

Despite the smooth writing style, I found that the plot was at times difficult to follow. There were places when I wasn't sure what was going on, or what connection it had to the greater plot of the story. However, the majority of the time the writing was all very clear.

I found this to be a very pleasant read; it's quick, but leaves you feeling very satisfied and content.

I strongly recommend it if you want something to make you think, laugh, cry, feel.

Sakura~