Hauntingly beautiful and touching. Loved the book within the book. Amazing to read.
Hope the next reader enjoys it as well.
Am leaving in the teachers' lounge tomorrow morning in the book basket.

The History of Love spans a period of over 60 years...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.... 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....

Received from Jayebirck on December 27, 2007 at a bookswap.

This is one of those books that makes you think, but you're not really sure what you think about it, if you see what I mean.

This was released in January, 2008 for the Heart and Soul challenge.

Left in a bin of Valentine's buttons.

Released for the Heart and Soul and the Leap into the Wild challenges.