Picked this up second hand. It was recommended by Ali Smith, who is an author I love, so I decided to see if you can trust the recommendation of other authors.

Fromt he back: "Fourteen-year-old Alma Singer is trying to find a cure for her mother's lonliness. Believing she might find it in an old book her mother is lovingly translating, she sets out in search of the author."

Will get to it soon.

Great book. Really glad I went with the recommendation cited on the cover instead of my gut reaction on the title, which i still find a little unfortunate, despite the quality inside. It was a joy to read though, and i will be recommending it to others.

This is a gem of a story within a story within a story---- very creative, lots of different voices, a wonderful grasp of language and nuance. It was really very lovely (pardon the pun--- wokka wokka wokka).

And the interconnectedness--- the way she weaves the strings of these stories together--- things start to come together, and like all of the characters, we slowly start to see how life is always full of surprises and heartache, how love and loss are intertwined, how love is such a public and private thing, etc...

It really does explore the theme of love in all its myriad forms, incarnations and dysfunctions--- loving oneself and one's identities, loving those around us, loving those we lost, loving what we wish a person was, realizing that love can also slip through our fingers so easily if it is not valued, culitvated and cared for. That love is not a given.

It was also about the ways we seek love: Bird trying to be what he thought he needed to be for god to love him; Leo spilling coffee and knocking over things just to be seen and acknowledged; Alma tying to create love for her mother without doing that for herself--- and then realizing she had lost it. But also found it.

Really good book. Short. Sweet. To the point. But at the same time lyrical, rich, poignant and haunting. Thumbs way up.

Will be turning this into an international bookray for others to enjoy.

Participants:

icekween01--- US (prefers shipping within US)--- read!
SarahKathryn--- US (prefers shipping within US)--- read!
gringuitica--- Costa Rica (Int'l)
GingerWhinger--- Austria (EU only)--- read!
dagett-- Austria (Int'l)--- read!
sintra-- Germany (EU only)--- read!
Bluemchenblatt--- France (Int'l)--- read!
martinburo--- UK (Int'l)--- read!
BertieBassett--- UK (Int'l)--- read!
okyrhoe-- Greece (Int'l)--- read!
yayajanuary-- Indonesia (Int'l)


.... you?

Sending out today to icekween01---- happy reading!

It's here! I am about 3/4 done with the book I am currently reading then I will start on this one. I can't wait!

Thank you symphonicca for sharing your book. I will journal again when I finish.

Happy Bookcrossing!!

I finally finished the book I was reading and started on this one today. So far, so good. Will give another update when I finish.

A sheer delight. A short sweet easy read. I really enjoyed it.

Thank you symphonicca for sharing your book. I am so glad I got to read it.

PM'ing the next participant for their address and will journal again when sent.

Thanks again!

Happy Bookcrossing!

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

sent to the next participant.

ENJOY!!

A very well-written book. Not my absolute favorite ... but well-written nonetheless, and an enjoyable read. I agree in that it has a rather unfortunate title, but it's forgivable because it's actually the title of a book-within-a-book. Thanks for the opportunity to read it! I'm PM-ing the next reader on the list to send it along.

Best,
SarahKathyrn

THANK YOU!
It arrived today
Am just finishing up a book and will get started asap
x

hmmmm
I really enjoyed most of this story.
The ending was so beautiful.
A few parts left me fighting the urge to skip a few pages though.
Could just be the state of my brain at the moment!

Its heading off on its way to Dagett

Thanks, the book arrived today!
I'll just finish my current read and then start with this one.

(Hi symphonicca! *waving*)

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

I'm sorry that I kept this bookring too long - thank you for your patience!

Beautiful and sad, ridiculous, endearing and deeply human are the thoughts that are still lingering with me when I think about this story. Thanks for sharing it with me!

It's on its way now to sintra.

The book arrived today and I'm looking forward to reading it after my current book. Thanks a lot!

I know it sounds like a stupid pun but I really loved this book! I can only agree with dagett: "Beautiful and sad, ridiculous, endearing and deeply human". The ending was so beautiful it made me cry - and that doesn't happen a lot with books (films and TV series are a different matter *g*). I particularly liked the way Leo tries to be seen by other people because he's afraid to die without anybody noticing. And I just loved the whole idea of Bruno.

Thanks for this wonderful bookring! The book is on its way to martinburo now since Bluemchenblatt would like to be skipped for the moment (she'd still like to participate though).

Sorry for the delay. I got this a while ago and have read it. I almost begged out of this ring, because I read a lot less than usual this winter, but then in spring it's picked up again, and I'm glad I got a chance to read this. I recognised this changing of reality, and how it can take years before you're ready to face the truth. How strange our brains are, that there's a bit that can store the truth for when we need it, without showing it to the bit that we call self which needs the distortion to survive.
Have asked for BertieBassett's address.

PS. 28 August: No it wasn't the post, but me who caused the delay. Sorry.

Its arrived...........seems to have taken the long way round in the post ;)
Am really looking forward to reading it
Thanks for sharing!

Thank you for sharing this and sorry once more I've kept it for so very long.
Its on its way to okyrhoe in Greece

I returned from a two week trip abroad to find this book waiting for me.

Thanks symphonicca for including me in the ring, and BertieBassett for posting it!

I looked forward to an engaging read, when I started The History of Love.
The story begins with Leo Gursky, an elderly refugee from WWII Poland, now living the last days of his life in NYC. His monologue is a great piece of writing; his character is vivid and tangible.
Then come the sections "written" by the 14year-old Alma; her narrative is straight out of her diary, with enumerations, notations, superfluous musings and all.
There are additional creative literary devices Krauss uses, such as including pages where we read the several drafts of Leo's title page to his manuscript, the inclusion of various emblematic symbols (a heart, a notebook, a compass, an ark, etc.) to mark the chapters when there is a shift in narrative voice.
Eventually the literary experimentation begins to detract from the story, from Leo and his personal tragedy. In the second half of the book she adds the voices of Zvi (Leo's former friend from Poland, now in Chile), and Bird, Alma's younger brother. The function of these characters is central to the plot; however their narratives are a distraction from the incandescent heart of the story: Leo and his unique voice as he talks/writes his tale.
If only Krauss would stick with Leo Gursky for the entire narrative; this would have been a forceful tale, almost on a par with Schlink's The Reader, or McCann's Zoli. Unfortunately, all the extras Krauss experiments with weaken the whole, making the novel uneven in its exposition. The stylistic flourishes are 'textbook' / 'painting-by-numbers' examples of what a creative contemporary novel should be, but as a whole they don't add up well.
In the end I was annoyed, especially with the conclusion -- the page-by-page switch from Alma to Leo and back to Alma forces the reader to capital-F Feel the intensity of the moment, in a sappy Hollywood-style sunset scene that I resented very much.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

On its way to yayajanuary in Indonesia. Enjoy!

Apparently I'm the last on this Ray (finally after waiting 2 years, hehehee).