The History of Love
Next year's OneBook selection here at UTA is Nicole Krauss's The History of Love. Tomorrow afternoon (er, this afternoon by now), there is a meeting scheduled for all instructors who will teach the book as part of their Freshman Writing courses next fall, so I figured I should read the book before the meeting. Here are some thoughts.
1. What I like about Krauss's novel.
Leo Gursky's melancholy, lonely presence. The sections of the novel told from his perspective are hauntingly beautiful.
Alma's precocious teenager voice. Her voice is less compelling for me than that of Leo Gursky, but still good.
The slow development of the connections between Leo, Alma, Zvi Litvinoff, Isaac, and the book The History of Love, in terms not only of plot but also of theme.
2. What is mildly irritating about the book.
Leo's habit of saying "And yet."
Alma's lists. Each of her sections of the book is written in list form. It gets old after a while, even though it's an interesting conceit.
The introduction of Bird, Alma's brother, as a new narrator in the last 30 or so pages of the novel. I would've preferred Krauss to find another narrative device or incorporate him more fully into the rest of the book.
3. What I am not sure about yet
The structure of the ending. Bringing Alma and Leo's narrative voices together in alternating pages is a neat trick, but it involves a rather major shift in tone and pacing. What I liked about the first 80-85% of the book had a lot to do with the reflective nature of the story's development. Here, suddenly, we are moving forward in what is essentially real time and are given only short sections of each narrative voice at a time.
The content of the ending. Without giving much away here, I will say that the concluding scene felt as if it wanted to be deep and meaningful, but was rather hollow instead. There is one major revelation, but it is not one that takes on the relationship between Leo and Alma (either Alma). The reader is left hanging regarding Leo and Alma as well as Leo and his book(s).
4. What else to say
Despite my hesitations about the end of the novel, it gets good marks from me for its compelling characters and its ability to create a mood through the development of those characters.
I began this book at about 11 pm, thinking I would get a jump on it before finishing it tomorrow, but it is now 3:30 am and I have just finished the book. I did not want to stop reading it and couldn't put it down until I reached the ending. Perhaps it is that ability to draw the reader in and make her read well past her bedtime in anticipation that makes the lightweight ending so disappointing.
1. What I like about Krauss's novel.
Leo Gursky's melancholy, lonely presence. The sections of the novel told from his perspective are hauntingly beautiful.
Alma's precocious teenager voice. Her voice is less compelling for me than that of Leo Gursky, but still good.
The slow development of the connections between Leo, Alma, Zvi Litvinoff, Isaac, and the book The History of Love, in terms not only of plot but also of theme.
2. What is mildly irritating about the book.
Leo's habit of saying "And yet."
Alma's lists. Each of her sections of the book is written in list form. It gets old after a while, even though it's an interesting conceit.
The introduction of Bird, Alma's brother, as a new narrator in the last 30 or so pages of the novel. I would've preferred Krauss to find another narrative device or incorporate him more fully into the rest of the book.
3. What I am not sure about yet
The structure of the ending. Bringing Alma and Leo's narrative voices together in alternating pages is a neat trick, but it involves a rather major shift in tone and pacing. What I liked about the first 80-85% of the book had a lot to do with the reflective nature of the story's development. Here, suddenly, we are moving forward in what is essentially real time and are given only short sections of each narrative voice at a time.
The content of the ending. Without giving much away here, I will say that the concluding scene felt as if it wanted to be deep and meaningful, but was rather hollow instead. There is one major revelation, but it is not one that takes on the relationship between Leo and Alma (either Alma). The reader is left hanging regarding Leo and Alma as well as Leo and his book(s).
4. What else to say
Despite my hesitations about the end of the novel, it gets good marks from me for its compelling characters and its ability to create a mood through the development of those characters.
I began this book at about 11 pm, thinking I would get a jump on it before finishing it tomorrow, but it is now 3:30 am and I have just finished the book. I did not want to stop reading it and couldn't put it down until I reached the ending. Perhaps it is that ability to draw the reader in and make her read well past her bedtime in anticipation that makes the lightweight ending so disappointing.