---
product_id: 1764498
title: "The History of Love"
price: "£10.71"
currency: GBP
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 13
url: https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/1764498-the-history-of-love
store_origin: GB
region: United Kingdom
---

# The History of Love

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- **What is this?** The History of Love
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## Description

ONE OF THE MOST LOVED NOVELS OF THE DECADE. A long-lost book reappears, mysteriously connecting an old man searching for his son and a girl seeking a cure for her widowed mother's loneliness. Leo Gursky taps his radiator each evening to let his upstairs neighbor know he’s still alive. But it wasn’t always like this: in the Polish village of his youth, he fell in love and wrote a book…Sixty years later and half a world away, fourteen-year-old Alma, who was named after a character in that book, undertakes an adventure to find her namesake and save her family. With virtuosic skill and soaring imaginative power, Nicole Krauss gradually draws these stories together toward a climax of "extraordinary depth and beauty" ( Newsday ).

Review: "He was a great writer. He fell in love. It was his life." - Nicole Krauss' "History Of Love" is one of the most poignant and beautiful novels I have read in many moons - dare I say years? I do not exaggerate. Her prose is pure poetry, and her writing is a wonderful example of literature as an art form. Although this is not a Holocaust novel, per se, the Shoah casts a long shadow over the narrative. I think the book is much more a remembrance of those who died, a memorial of sorts, than a book about death. Actually, the themes here are love, survival and loss. I shed many a tear while reading, sometimes because of the author's exquisite use of language, and others because of a character's terrible sadness, but I found myself bursting into laughter more often than not at the wonderful humor. Some of the dialogue is especially witty. Oddly, I was reminded of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's work. Perhaps the sense of wonder Ms. Krauss conveys, along with elements of fantasy which intertwine with reality, form a kind of magical realism. "The first woman may have been Eve, but the first girl will always be Alma." So wrote young, aspiring author Leopold Gursky. He actually wrote three books before he was twenty-one, before WWII invaded his hometown of Slonim, which was located "sometimes in Poland, and others in Russia." Now, years later in Brooklyn, NY, Leo has no idea what happened to his manuscript, "The History Of Love," his most important work. He wrote the novel about the only thing he knew, his love for Alma. "Once upon a time there was a boy and a girl, and her laughter was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering." He continued to write their story long after Alma's father sent her to America, where she would be safe from the Nazis. He even wrote after the Germans pushed East, toward his home. At age eighty, Leo feels compelled to make himself seen at least once a day. He fears dying alone in his apartment, on a day when no one sees him at all. And he is capable of doing some pretty outrageous things to garner attention, including posing in the nude for a life drawing class. Ever since the war he has felt invisible. He survived by becoming invisible. And now, he needs to be sure he exists. When he came to America, his cousin, a locksmith took him in and taught him the trade. He did so because he knew Leo could not remain invisible forever. "Show me a Jew that survives and I'll show you a magician," he used to say. Leo finds some solace in his work. "In my loneliness it comforts me to think that the world's doors, however closed, are never truly locked to me." Unbeknownst, to Leopold Gursky, his book has survived also, and has inspired others in many ways, especially to love. Alma Singer is a precocious teenager who lives in New York City. She is named for all the female characters in her father's favorite book, "A History of Love." Singer, an Israeli, bought the only copy in a store in Buenos Aires, while traveling in South America. Alma's mother, Charlotte, is an Englishwoman who met her husband while working on a kibbutz in Israel. He gave her the book, a gift, when he realized how much he cared for her. He died of pancreatic cancer when Alma was seven. Seven years later, his family is still adjusting to their loss. The sensitive girl desperately wants to ease her mother's loneliness. She also wants to learn how to survive in the wilderness, and help her brother, Bird, be a normal boy. Bird believes he may be the Messiah. Charlotte, a translator, receives a request from an anonymous stranger to translate an obscure book by a Polish exile, Zvi Litvinoff, who immigrated to Chile. She accepts the commission. The book, written in Spanish, is titled "The History of Love." Alma reads her mom's English translation and sets out to find her namesake. Her literary detective work is hilarious and her tenacity is admirable. Ms. Krauss is a master at linking her various storylines seamlessly. Her characters are a delight - all vivid and memorable for their humanity, their eccentricity, and their inner strength. The author brings them to life on the page. They have all experienced sorrow and loss, yet there is not a self-pitying voice among them. And it is impossible not to love Leo Gursky. I hear my grandmother's voice, at times, when he speaks. She died years ago, and was probably a generation older than the author's grandparents, to whom the novel is dedicated. I plan to reread "The History of Love" in a few weeks, over a weekend when I won't be disturbed. I made the mistake of taking the book with me to work, and between the train and the office, I felt the numerous interruptions seriously detracted from the glorious flow of the language. This is a novel which is meant to be read more than once, anyway. ENJOY! JANA
Review: And yet. - I will skip the plot review. I abandoned this book several times before finishing it. It is not a page-turner. Every time I picked it up again, it took me several chapters to sort out who was who. Even when I had it sorted, there was confusion. The links between characters are revealed gradually, so that the early chapters read like several independent novels. Eventually, everything is illuminated. Leo Gursky, the protagonist, wrote a novel within this novel that is presented in fragments. It is difficult to read. He writes in near stream of consciousness style. There is no discernible plot to Leo's work. It is interesting but peripheral to the story, although the author apparently wanted it to be central. One thing bothered me about the plot: Leo knew about his son, watched him from a distance at times, but never revealed himself to him. The reasons for this heartbreaking choice were not fully explored, even though it was believable, considering Leo's nature and history. It was the most compelling part of the story for me, and the result was slightly disappointing. The most frequent sentence in this story consists of just two words: "And yet." The author does a pretty good job of capturing the cadences of a Polish-Jewish immigrant's English. The characters speak in different voices, yet they all share certain characteristics: a constant interest in bodily functions, a tendency to think tenderly while speaking sharply, and a tendency to isolate themselves. They all live with the loneliness and depression of holocaust survivors and their families. And yet. Finally this book is about love, as the title suggests. In spite of my occasional confusion and boredom, love runs through the whole of it. The ending is an affirmation of love, and for that I salute the author. There is no more worthy topic for a novel.

## Features

- Soft Cover

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #26,609 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #45 in Jewish Literature & Fiction #243 in Contemporary Literature & Fiction #1,430 in Literary Fiction (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.2 out of 5 stars 4,382 Reviews |

## Images

![The History of Love - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/615luyXcGwL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "He was a great writer. He fell in love. It was his life."
*by J***E on May 28, 2005*

Nicole Krauss' "History Of Love" is one of the most poignant and beautiful novels I have read in many moons - dare I say years? I do not exaggerate. Her prose is pure poetry, and her writing is a wonderful example of literature as an art form. Although this is not a Holocaust novel, per se, the Shoah casts a long shadow over the narrative. I think the book is much more a remembrance of those who died, a memorial of sorts, than a book about death. Actually, the themes here are love, survival and loss. I shed many a tear while reading, sometimes because of the author's exquisite use of language, and others because of a character's terrible sadness, but I found myself bursting into laughter more often than not at the wonderful humor. Some of the dialogue is especially witty. Oddly, I was reminded of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's work. Perhaps the sense of wonder Ms. Krauss conveys, along with elements of fantasy which intertwine with reality, form a kind of magical realism. "The first woman may have been Eve, but the first girl will always be Alma." So wrote young, aspiring author Leopold Gursky. He actually wrote three books before he was twenty-one, before WWII invaded his hometown of Slonim, which was located "sometimes in Poland, and others in Russia." Now, years later in Brooklyn, NY, Leo has no idea what happened to his manuscript, "The History Of Love," his most important work. He wrote the novel about the only thing he knew, his love for Alma. "Once upon a time there was a boy and a girl, and her laughter was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering." He continued to write their story long after Alma's father sent her to America, where she would be safe from the Nazis. He even wrote after the Germans pushed East, toward his home. At age eighty, Leo feels compelled to make himself seen at least once a day. He fears dying alone in his apartment, on a day when no one sees him at all. And he is capable of doing some pretty outrageous things to garner attention, including posing in the nude for a life drawing class. Ever since the war he has felt invisible. He survived by becoming invisible. And now, he needs to be sure he exists. When he came to America, his cousin, a locksmith took him in and taught him the trade. He did so because he knew Leo could not remain invisible forever. "Show me a Jew that survives and I'll show you a magician," he used to say. Leo finds some solace in his work. "In my loneliness it comforts me to think that the world's doors, however closed, are never truly locked to me." Unbeknownst, to Leopold Gursky, his book has survived also, and has inspired others in many ways, especially to love. Alma Singer is a precocious teenager who lives in New York City. She is named for all the female characters in her father's favorite book, "A History of Love." Singer, an Israeli, bought the only copy in a store in Buenos Aires, while traveling in South America. Alma's mother, Charlotte, is an Englishwoman who met her husband while working on a kibbutz in Israel. He gave her the book, a gift, when he realized how much he cared for her. He died of pancreatic cancer when Alma was seven. Seven years later, his family is still adjusting to their loss. The sensitive girl desperately wants to ease her mother's loneliness. She also wants to learn how to survive in the wilderness, and help her brother, Bird, be a normal boy. Bird believes he may be the Messiah. Charlotte, a translator, receives a request from an anonymous stranger to translate an obscure book by a Polish exile, Zvi Litvinoff, who immigrated to Chile. She accepts the commission. The book, written in Spanish, is titled "The History of Love." Alma reads her mom's English translation and sets out to find her namesake. Her literary detective work is hilarious and her tenacity is admirable. Ms. Krauss is a master at linking her various storylines seamlessly. Her characters are a delight - all vivid and memorable for their humanity, their eccentricity, and their inner strength. The author brings them to life on the page. They have all experienced sorrow and loss, yet there is not a self-pitying voice among them. And it is impossible not to love Leo Gursky. I hear my grandmother's voice, at times, when he speaks. She died years ago, and was probably a generation older than the author's grandparents, to whom the novel is dedicated. I plan to reread "The History of Love" in a few weeks, over a weekend when I won't be disturbed. I made the mistake of taking the book with me to work, and between the train and the office, I felt the numerous interruptions seriously detracted from the glorious flow of the language. This is a novel which is meant to be read more than once, anyway. ENJOY! JANA

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ And yet.
*by B***B on January 2, 2008*

I will skip the plot review. I abandoned this book several times before finishing it. It is not a page-turner. Every time I picked it up again, it took me several chapters to sort out who was who. Even when I had it sorted, there was confusion. The links between characters are revealed gradually, so that the early chapters read like several independent novels. Eventually, everything is illuminated. Leo Gursky, the protagonist, wrote a novel within this novel that is presented in fragments. It is difficult to read. He writes in near stream of consciousness style. There is no discernible plot to Leo's work. It is interesting but peripheral to the story, although the author apparently wanted it to be central. One thing bothered me about the plot: Leo knew about his son, watched him from a distance at times, but never revealed himself to him. The reasons for this heartbreaking choice were not fully explored, even though it was believable, considering Leo's nature and history. It was the most compelling part of the story for me, and the result was slightly disappointing. The most frequent sentence in this story consists of just two words: "And yet." The author does a pretty good job of capturing the cadences of a Polish-Jewish immigrant's English. The characters speak in different voices, yet they all share certain characteristics: a constant interest in bodily functions, a tendency to think tenderly while speaking sharply, and a tendency to isolate themselves. They all live with the loneliness and depression of holocaust survivors and their families. And yet. Finally this book is about love, as the title suggests. In spite of my occasional confusion and boredom, love runs through the whole of it. The ending is an affirmation of love, and for that I salute the author. There is no more worthy topic for a novel.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Most powerful novel I have read in many years
*by F***M on July 25, 2006*

My book club LOVED this book. We are a picky bunch and seem to take pleasure to taking apart one book after another. Not this one. Each of us found something different to like here. That made it the perfect pick for a book club discussion. So what's to like? First and most obvious is the intricate and clever puzzle of the story line. On the surface, it seems completely implausible--how could all these events, all these characters, on four continents, possibly fit together? Not only do they fit together, but each event is intricately motivated; each flows naturally into the next, and careful use of language knits them all together at another layer down. It is a pleasure just to delve into the craft required to do this so fluidly. Frankly, I don't know how Krauss does it, but it is lovely to experience. Next is the pervasive balancing act that so many reviewers have marveled at, between happiness and sadness, between humor and despair. Every mention of happiness is tinged with a sense of potential loss or disappointment; every loss is tempered by hope or at least an unwillingness (sometimes unconscious) to surrender. This subtle balancing act builds a rich, bittersweet sense throughout the novel. It kept me from seeing how funny the novel is during my first reading. A second reading let me relax into some of the silliest, even surreal situations, allowing me to appreciate the warm, human feeling of them in ways that I never did with comparable situations in Kafka or Borges. But enough of that; don't forget the characters, brought to life in the most disarming and unexpected ways. Some of us loved Leo; others found him a whining, tired old man. But all of us could agree that he was very much alive in our imaginations. I personally favored the young wild man, Bird. He is so determined to be something extraordinary as he stumbles forward in the most human ways. And--we disagreed about this, but I firmly believe--he became something extraordinary in the broader story of healing the deep wounds inflicted by the Holocaust. Krauss manages the Holocaust as a hole in a whole community's life--as an obstruction in the middle of the room that everyone must find a way around without admitting it is there. To convey this idea, Krauss talks very little about the Holocaust. Rather, it inhabits the margins of the story at every turn. We argued about this--part of the fun--but I believe Krauss constructed an intricately crafted web of connections that link all the characters in the book through multiple channels. She presents the Holocaust as a mass extinction that sought to sever these links and ultimately failed, but not without transforming the lives of at least three generations of Jews. She shows us the effects on each generation in myriad details in each character's everyday life. I ran into trouble trying to lead our book group toward a conclusion that the book is (among many other things) a parable about how literature and individual lives freely intermingle in the history of the global Jewish community and how sheer love of life, in its simplest, most basic every-day forms, sustained that community through a mass extinction. The book holds open a promise that this community can reconnect to the roots that nurtured and fostered it in the days before so many left their hopes and dreams and loves behind in Europe. So, those who have read the book will understand why I could not describe the closing pages of the book to my wife. Hilarious on one level, devastating on another. I was too emotionally moved even to read to her, much less try to describe, the extraordinary call and response between Leo and the Alma who kept him alive through so much. Maybe it's just me.... But wait, there's more! Krauss plays intricate games with literary criticism. She uses four narrators with very distinct voices, two speaking in the first person, one in the second, and a fourth (at least part of the time) in a clever mix of first and second as one character reads the first-person account of a second character. She toys with arguments about the relative importance of author and text by presenting The History of Love in what I experienced as a series of scrims--first, the true life of Alma Mereminski; second, Leo's perception of her as a vehicle to keep himself alive; the third, Zvi's theft or appropriation of Leo's image of Alma to impress his girlfriend, one that combines Zvi's respect for the original Alma (he preserves her name) and Zvi's recognition of Leo's role as author with the disembodied text itself, which Zvi translates into Spanish; fourth, Charlotte's translation into English, framed by an entirely different and complex agenda. Each "translator" brings a new author's perspective to a story, generating a new text. So how exactly do all these perspectives and the contexts that generate them relate to the texts? What does each text embody, in and of itself? And let's not forget Isaac's appropriation of Leo's text after Isaac is dead! Very clever. There is so much here. I could go on, but enough. I expect to reread this novel many times in the future and to find new things with each reading. It is a pleasure, intellectually and emotionally, and a pleasure to share with friends. So. Stop reading these reviews and go read The History of Love for yourself!

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