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Loading... Die Geschichte der Liebeby Nicole Krauss
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. Could not finish. Boring. (  ) Ruthe817 | Jan 6, 2010 |  It's been a while since I loved a contemporary novel and I didn't expect I would like this one that much, but I did. The book is about an old man Leo Gursky, that knows he is in the last years of his life. In the book he describes his days as he looks back on his life, while writing a novel about it. At the same time we meet a girl called Alma Singer, that was named after 'every girl in the book The History of Love'. There are other chapters that tell the biography of the writer of the history of love. And there are a few chapters from the hand of Alma's sister. The many viewpoints might make the book a little complicated, but if you aren't too distracted the book isn't hard to follow. While reading you discover how every character in the story is somehow connexted to the novel The History of Love and how they are connected to each other. The things that make this book as good as it is, is the love you start to feel for many of the characters. I am usually not a fan of old people in books, it's usually hard to relate when you're younger, but while reading you can truly relate to Leo Gursky. The writing style plays a big part in this as well. It's hard to describe, but it's like the words are flowing. Combined with the little specific jokes of every character, it creates a vivid picture of every scene. Every character has a specific writing style that seems to fit the character, their occupation and age. In a way this book is similar to Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer as it also deals with World War II, the holocaust and Eastern Europe, but I think this is the more accesable of the two. That doesn't make Foer's book the better one though. This one is surely as good, and I am inclined to say it's better. Sometimes a book just leaves you feeling so drawn into its world that you aren't sure what to say about it to explain what makes it that good. This surely is one of them. (  )1  morninggray | Jan 3, 2010 | Beautifully written. jcelrod | Dec 28, 2009 | A beautifully written and heartbreaking book about love, grief and the wounds of war. Written from the point of view of one very young and one old person. The parallel tracks come together (of course) in a poetic and tender denoument. (  )1 ffortsa | Dec 25, 2009 | I enjoyed this book, but it had a lot of loose ends. I don't think the characters were integrated enough. (  ) Cailin | Nov 30, 2009 |  no reviews | add a review
Amazon.com Amazon.com Review (ISBN 0393328627, Paperback)Nicole Krauss's The History of Love is a hauntingly beautiful novel about two characters whose lives are woven together in such complex ways that even after the last page is turned, the reader is left to wonder what really happened. In the hands of a less gifted writer, unraveling this tangled web could easily give way to complete chaos. However, under Krauss's watchful eye, these twists and turns only strengthen the impact of this enchanting book.The History of Love spans of period of over 60 years and takes readers from Nazi-occupied Eastern Europe to present day Brighton Beach. At the center of each main character's psyche is the issue of loneliness, and the need to fill a void left empty by lost love. Leo Gursky is a retired locksmith who immigrates to New York after escaping SS officers in his native Poland, only to spend the last stage of his life terrified that no one will notice when he dies. ("I try to make a point of being seen. Sometimes when I'm out, I'll buy a juice even though I'm not thirsty.") Fourteen-year-old Alma Singer vacillates between wanting to memorialize her dead father and finding a way to lift her mother's veil of depression. At the same time, she's trying to save her brother Bird, who is convinced he may be the Messiah, from becoming a 10-year-old social pariah. As the connection between Leo and Alma is slowly unmasked, the desperation, along with the potential for salvation, of this unique pair is also revealed. The poetry of her prose, along with an uncanny ability to embody two completely original characters, is what makes Krauss an expert at her craft. But in the end, it's the absolute belief in the uninteruption of love that makes this novel a pleasure, and a wonder to behold. --Gisele Toueg (retrieved from Amazon Tue, 05 Jan 2010 11:38:54 -0500) The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details. |
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