Ten Things I've Learnt About Love

Brief summary: The book has two storylines - that of Alice, a vagabond who has been called home because her father is dying, and Daniel, a homeless man who wanders the streets of London leaving cryptic messages using found objects. Through Alice and Daniel, the author explores a theme of feeling lost and longing to belong, and eventually their stories come together.

My thoughts:
This novel is so unique and lovely and poignant. In the beginning it reads almost like a collection of short stories, with alternating chapters told from the viewpoint of Alice and Daniel. Each chapter is fascinating and beautifully written, but there doesn’t seem to be any connection to what came previously. And dividing each chapter are lists of Ten Things, show more which are cryptic yet also so revealing about the person who wrote them.

It all seems quite obtuse, but Alice and Daniel both become these vivid characters that you know and understand and the plot progresses in such a way that the book becomes unputdownable. And when the storylines all come together….ah, it’s just a delightfully weepy moment.

Ten Things I’ve Learnt About Love reminds me of the experience of cooking. You start out with some ingredients - succulent chicken breasts, tart lemons, briny capers, verdant parsley - each of which is delicious on its own but doesn’t necessarily seem like it goes with any of the other things. But then you spend time incorporating everything together and it becomes a sublime Chicken Piccata that delights your palate and makes your heart happy. show less

What a lovely (in every sense of the word) novel. Parallel stories of Alice, youngest daughter, odd (wo)man out, wanderer, and Daniel, living rough, but who loved once, deeply and dearly. Each are lost souls, following the trajectory that fate presents, looking for signs and direction which way to go next. It is a song of love to London, as well, secret spots, and out of the way joys.

Alice has come home because her father is dying. Daniel is living on the streets because when his heart broke, so did his world. Yet this is a story of great hope. It may be tiny and fragile, as an origami flower made from the silver wrapper from a stick of gum, or as big as Hamstead Heath, but it is hope.

The title of the book is presented as a list. As a show more hardcore list-keeper, that drew my eye to the book on the shelf. The alternating viewpoints of the two main characters are separated by lists kept by the next one to speak. The rawness and authenticity of these lists gave such insight into the characters, a wonderful vehicle for showing the reader inside Alice or Daniel's minds rather than telling us.

I will look for more by this author. show less

A brief but well-written novel about the themes of grief and family ties. Interweaving the stories of Alice and Daniel, Butler builds a lovely portrait of two lonely souls adrift in London. Alice is a young nomad who has come home to mourn the death of her father; Daniel is a homeless man seeking someone from his past. Slotted between each narrator's sections are lists: lists of feelings, objects, memories, facts. This seemed a bit gimmicky at first, but reading the lists carefully really helps build the characters of Alice and Daniel into real, feeling people. While the book was lovely and very moving, I did not think it was quite as effective as it could have been.

My main problem was that the "voices" of the two characters were too show more similar. Not that I wanted Daniel to talk/think like some kind of cartoonish Dickensian Cockney tramp--it's established that he's upper middle class and well educated. It was more that the way they expressed themselves seemed indistinguishable sometimes. This may have been intentional but really took me out of the illusion. Because their characters are built up to be so distinct, it didn't make sense to me that they basically thought, observed, and spoke in the same way. There were some other little nitpicks, but this one aspect of the book kept bothering me throughout my reading of it.

Great writing, nice open-ended conclusion, beautiful portrait of London, and carefully-crafted observation on family, memory, and mourning. Though some things didn't quite come together for me, I am still glad I read this one. show less

Alice e Daniel. Daniel ed Alice. Due vite distinte, destinate forse ad incrociarsi. E non si sono mai incontrati. In comune hanno l'insofferenza, l'amore per le stelle e lo stilare liste delle 10 cose che amano o che odiano.
Alice, ha quasi trent'anni. La vita di Londra le va stretta e non si aspetta neanche più una carezza dalla vita. Ha passato gli ultimi anni a viaggiare in cerca di "casa", ma sembra non trovarla mai. E' tornata a Londra perchè suo padre sta morendo, per salutarlo. Tornare in questa caotica città, fa riemergere in Alice, vecchi ricordi. Ricordi di sua madre, morta quando aveva solo quattro anni, di suo padre, e delle sue sorelle.
Daniel, è un uomo anch'esso deluso dalla vita. Vive alla giornata, per strada o dove show more capita. Ha il "vizio" di associare i nomi o le lettere ai colori e di stilare liste...
Ha perso tutto. Gli è rimasta la speranza di poter incontrare sua figlia, un giorno.

Se resti immobile in un posto abbastanza a lungo, puoi iniziare a sentirti a casa.

Questo è il libro d'esordio di Sarah Butler, edito da Garzanti. La caratteristica della narrazione, sono le liste stilate dai due protagonisti Alice e Daniel, che l'autrice mette all'inizio di ogni capitolo.



In queste liste è racchiuso un po' dei protagonisti, e permettono al lettore di conoscere più a fondo i due, che hanno in comune più di quanto immaginano.

Ecco. Ci stiamo guardando. Il vento muove gli alberi e il mondo brilla di una luce screziata e cangiante. Siamo faccia a faccia e fra di noi ci sono soltanto una strada e un pezzo di marciapiede.

I capitoli alternano la voce di Alice e Daniel, esprimendo i loro punti di vista nella storia.
Ho apprezzato l'idea di mettere le liste all'inizio dei capitoli. Adoro le liste...E' una cosa che amo fare anche io!
Mi ha affascinato molto anche la sinestesia, argomento affrontato con Daniel, ossia quello di legare ai nomi e alle lettere dell'alfabeto, i colori.
Le descrizioni dei paesaggi, delle vie di Londra, sono molto accurate. Il modo di scrivere dell'autrice è molto conciso e diretto, e all'inizio ho fatto fatica a seguirla ma dopo un po' ci si addentra nella storia e si fa fatica a staccarsi da Alice e Daniel.
La storia è molto bella, delicata e particolare; tocca un argomento difficile come quello della distanza tra padre e figlia.
Bellissimi e profondi i pensieri di Daniel. Il finale può lasciare l'amaro in bocca, in un certo senso, ma ripensandoci a mente fredda, l'ho apprezzato e capito più profondamente.
Ho amato il sentimentalismo di Daniel, il cinismo di Alice; ho amato questo romanzo dall'inizio alla fine.

Non si può sentire la mancanza di chi non si è mai conosciuto. Eppure tu mi manchi.

Consiglio caldamente questo libro a chi ama le storie reali, intrise di veri sentimenti, senza tanti fronzoli, che ti fanno sorridere, ma che sanno anche toccarti nel profondo. show less

I'm a list maker, so I was drawn to this one. Sarah Butler has woven together two stories that are seeminly unrelated. Alice is a vagabond young woman called home because her father is dying. Daniel is a homeless gentleman who makes beautiful art objects from various trash and discarded objects he discovers on the street.

The chapters alternate between their two stories, and each begins with a list that gives the reader a glimpse into the psyche of each of them. The stories tell of loss and hope, of love and emptiness, and the parallels of the two draw closer as the book proceeds. It is a beautiful, thought-provoking, and poignant story and I don't want to say too much to spoil its special ending. As the reader sees the corresponding show more story lines, see the characters as their lives continue side by side but not connected, and wants an ending so badly that the book cannot be put down.

The ending is beautiful, tearful and very special. I'm so glad I read it, and wish I could say more, but it would be absolutely sinful to spoil it for you. show less

A surprising story, touching, memorable, simply told yet complex. Alternate chapters are told by two people, Alice, a young woman whose father has just died and Daniel, a homeless man, each lost in a way, searching for something, without knowing exactly what, or what they might find. This is a well-written beautiful story that has each chapter headed by a list that indicates the direction the story is taking. It is a book I couldn't put down. And I was sorry when it ended.

I pretty much devoured this book in one day. Ten Things tells a story of love in all its various forms. The author painted such a picture of Alice's struggles to fit in and the parallels between her life and Daniel's were amazing. It's hard to review this book without spoilers but I'm trying! I love the way Butler ended the book and gave her characters the peace I think they (and the reader) needed. So many feels with this one. SO MANY FEELS!