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    The History of Love
    The History of Love
    The History of Love
    Audiobook9 hours

    The History of Love

    Written by Nicole Krauss

    Narrated by George Guidall, Barbara Caruso, Julia Gibson and Andy Paris

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Nicole Krauss' first novel, Man Walks Into a Room, was shortlisted for the Los Angeles Times Book Award and her short fiction has been collected in Best American Short Stories. Now The History of Love proves Krauss is among our finest and freshest literary voices. It has been decades since Leo Gursky first surrendered his heart, then wrote a book about it, at the tender age of 10, and he's been in love with the same person ever since. Leo believes his book is lost to time, but what he doesn't know is, not only has it survived 60 years without him, it has also been an inspiration to others. Fourteen-year-old Alma was even named for a character from the book. When she realizes how deeply the story touched her lonely mother, she embarks on a search for answers. The History of Love is an imaginative tale of love and loss that is at once funny, mysterious, and deeply passionate.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateMay 4, 2005
    ISBN9781436101127
    The History of Love
    Author

    Nicole Krauss

    Nicole Krauss is the author of the novels Forest Dark, Great House, The History of Love, and Man Walks Into a Room. Her work has appeared in the New Yorker, Harper’s, Esquire, and The Best American Short Stories, and her books have been translated into more than thirty-five languages. She is currently the inaugural writer-in-residence at Columbia University’s Mind, Brain, and Behavior Institute. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

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    Reviews for The History of Love

    4/5

    2,942 ratings162 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Such a beautiful book. No "firm ending," so to speak, but absolutely beautifully written and engaging.
    • 5/5
      A beautiful story, brilliantly composed and uniquely written.
    • 5/5
      Beautifully written, uplifting, moving and entertaining. Many different voices that keep the story always fresh.
    • 4/5
      This was an experience on its own and I can't put that in words
    • 3/5
      While I did like this book, I didn't love it. It makes me want to go read a trashy book now.
    • 1/5
      Everything it was rubbish no idea how people rate it highlt
    • 2/5
      Er zit me iets dwars over dit boek: heel veel lezers zijn er helemaal weg van, blijkbaar vooral omdat het over de (romantische) liefde zou gaan; maar dat is het nou net: ik heb de indruk dat het daar eigenlijk juist niet over gaat, of toch niet in hoofdzaak. Natuurlijk, het boek binnen het boek “The History of Love” verwijst in de titel naar de liefde, maar de enkele uittreksels die we ervan te lezen krijgen, gaan daar helemaal niet over. En er zijn de verwijzingen van de 15-jarige, dagboek-schrijvende Alma, naar de hechte liefde tussen haar overleden vader en haar moeder, en aanvullend ook de liefde van Alma voor haar ouders en vice versa. En als we volledig willen zijn dan moeten we natuurlijk ook teruggrijpen naar de liefde van Leo Gursky voor Alma Mereminski, die destijds in Polen blijkbaar ook door Ziv Litvinoff en Leo’s vriend Bruno begeerd werd, maar naar Amerika uitweek en daar trouwde met een zekere Moritz. Als u het boek niet gelezen heeft, dan bent u nu al de weg kwijt. Want dat moet ik Krauss wel nageven: ze heeft van deze roman een heel ingenieuze constructie gemaakt. Pas heel geleidelijk wordt het verband tussen de verschillende verhaallijnen duidelijk; vooral de techniek om een boek in een boek te verwerken en daarvan broksgewijs de heel ingewikkelde ontstaansgeschiedenis te schetsen is erg geslaagd; pas met het slothoofdstuk lijkt de hele puzzel in elkaar te vallen. Knap, zonder discussie. Zeker ook omdat Krauss heel vlot schrijft en een heel fluwelen stijl hanteert, wat soms resulteert in erg aandoenlijke passages. Krauss toont ook dat ze erg belezen is, en een heel palet aan taalregisters aankan. Af en toe waande ik me in een roman van Saul Bellow, en er waren ook overduidelijke verwijzingen naar Bruno Schulz. Maar waar gaat dit allemaal over? Niet echt over de liefde dus, denk ik. Ik waag een gok: dit is een roman over zinsbegoocheling. Neem nu de hoofdfiguur, Leo Gursky: al van in het begin blijkt dat een heel zielig oud mannetje, maar als je het hele verhaal doorploegd hebt, bekruipt je het gevoel dat die Gursky zijn leven gewoon vergooid heeft om niets: als 10-jarige werd hij verliefd op zijn dorpsmeisje Alma, maar die brak zijn hart (er zijn trouwens over het hele boek wel wat aanwijzingen verspreid dat die Alma niet bepaald een sympathiek figuur was), en dat trauma werd een levenslange obsessie waardoor hij een echte “loser” werd; hij slaagde er zelfs niet in zijn geniale boek over die liefde gepubliceerd te krijgen (Gursky zelf toch niet); zijn zinsbegoocheling over de verheven liefde is hem dus fataal geworden. Ook die merkwaardige broer van de jongere Alma, “Bird” lijdt aan zinsbegoocheling, zoals Krauss ons naar het einde toe wel heel expliciet onder de neus wrijft; volgens zijn psycho-theraupeut zou dat trouwens zijn manier zijn om de rouw over zijn gestorven vader te verwerken. Misschien moet ik mijn mening dan toch maar herzien: dit boek gaat toch over de liefde, maar dan vooral over de zinsbegoocheling die ze teweegbrengt, of is dat hetzelfde? Is niet alle liefde een vorm van (al of niet tijdelijke) zinsbegoocheling?Leuke spelletjes die Krauss met ons speelt, in dit knap geschreven boek. Maar, met alle respect, het is me niet duidelijk waar ze precies heen wil.
    • 5/5
      At first I wasn't entirely impressed with this. It was a nice story, though it seemed kind of jumbled and it just didn't interest me a whole lot. But by the last 50 pages, wow. Admiration hit me like a tonne of bricks, it really did. Absolutely beautiful. The last few pages literally took my breath away. Just amazing.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Really good book, with at least one unforgettable voice (that of Leo Gursky). The interwoven plot is tight and interesting, although at times I found it hard to keep everything straight. Definitely a book that's worth a second reading.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      Very difficult to keep track of who the characters were whether or not there was any connection . The last chapter brings it together. It was not a book I was eager to pick up.
      I appreciated the references to Judaism and Yiddish.
      In my opinion,It could have been more carefully edited.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Loved all the different story lines. I especially looked forward to reading Alma’s since she was the most relatable to me. I loved how it all connected at the end. It was written wonderfully— not giving monotonous descriptions but just enough so it was understandable.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      “Once upon a time there was a boy who loved a girl, and her laughter was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering.”Leo Gursky escaped the SS in Poland, dreaming of the day he’d go across the Atlantic and find the love of his life, Alma, so they could start their life together. Now he lives alone, afraid no one will notice when he dies. 15-year-old Alma Singer was named for “all the female characters in the book” The History of Love – an obscure volume her father gave her mother. But her father died a few years ago, and her mother has been sad ever since, while her brother seems lost in his obsession that he is the Messiah. What connects these disparate characters is their loneliness, and their search for love.The novel is also a paean to the written word, in the form of a book – a medium that survives the Holocaust, a transatlantic journey, a flood, plagiarism, fire and international translations to touch men and women, of three different generations, on three continents.The chapters are narrated in turn by the various characters. I fell in love with Leo Gursky and his chapters are the best, in my opinion. Alma’s chapters are written in a style that is so different that it is jarring, and as a result I felt the plot slowed – too much in my opinion. Still, Krauss can craft a sentence that stays with you; she weaves a rich tapestry, revealing her character’s pain and joy, and arriving at a poignant conclusion that is simply poetic.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      This book was so different, I wasn't sure at first if I liked it, but by the end I wanted it to go on. So different from any other book I've read for a long time.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      It took me a bit to get into this book. I found the first half a little slow. The ending was fabulous, although there were a couple of loose ends that I found annoying. I really liked Leo Gursky.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      I loved the nonlinear unfolding of this book. It engaged my attention.
    • 5/5
      This book is the best book I have ever read and I have read a lot of books. I love how the author makes it seem as though she was letting you in on little secrets in the chapters. It was an amazing book. That’s all there is to say.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      My first encounter with this book wasn't really nice. Almost five years ago, I was completing my undergraduate studies and at some point in time I, with two of my friends, decided to go to the bookstore to unwind. One of my friends asked the bookseller if they had a copy of The History of Love. I didn't hear what she said or what the bookseller told her so I asked what was she looking for. I still remember the disappointment on her face when she said they didn't have a copy of The History of Love. Out of stock, they said. She read somewhere that it was a beautiful book. I, on the other hand, scoffed, appalled, because the title seemed to me something Nicholas Sparks had written. It was saccharine to my ears. My face contorted to a disgusted expression. I left it at that and we left the bookstore.Fast forward to a month ago whilst I was roaming around another bookstore I saw this in one of the shelves. It reminded me of my friend who at the present was planning her wedding. I didn’t know what pushed me to buy this book but I would like to think the thought of my friend alone did. I was really grateful for that. I would like to think that in sudden sentimentality we find unexpected fondness towards things we haven't thought of twice. Moreover, things we initially did not like.---History of Love is indeed a beautiful book. It is arguably one of the most intimate books I have ever read. It is a revelation. I admit it very unfair of me to put it in the same level as Nicholas Sparks' works. What this book has given me in exchange of my unfounded assumption is love; a love that transcends time through memories and fiction. It doesn't shy away from the human condition and instead gives it to you until you take it wholeheartedly. It perceives life for what it is; we try to figure it out until the end without knowing what we ought to figure out in the first place. It reminds us that a memory is both a friend and an enemy.Krauss' vivid characters complements her gripping, wonderful, and intriguing writing style. How her characters' lives are bound together by another character's work of fiction, which I did not expect until almost halfway through the book, is what made it all the more special and poignant. When I finished the book I thought about the hidden truth about one of the characters' work of fiction and Kiarostami's film, Certified Copy, came to mind. He has put it well when he said, ** "When we fall in love, we see everything as an original. We're the ones pulling the wool over our own eyes. We inflate the value so much, and add zeroes to it, that we can't afford it ourselves. Then when we can't pay the price, we start eliminating, one by one, the zeroes on the price tag. We discount the price. Then we arrive at the truth. Access to the original is out of reach for many of us. Therefore, we should value and appreciate a copy." I would like to believe that the love we give, no matter how much time has gone and the amount of people who have received it, trampled it, and returned it our capacity to give it again doesn't diminish.I believe The History of Love is one of those books that make you discover something new every time you reread. I guess the only gripe I have is how it could jump from one chapter to another quite quickly and the amount of Jewish words I translated (it is also a learning), and how I failed to finish it in one-sitting because I had to go to work (not the book’s fault).** "Sometimes I thought about nothing and sometimes I thought about my life. At least I made a living. What kind of living? A living. I lived. It wasn't easy. And yet. I found out how little is unbearable." (p224)Life is painful, also joyous. It is also nonsensical. But don’t forget it is hopeful. It can be long yet it can be loving. We eventually learn how to love it back. And what each of us can do is to live it the best way we possibly can.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      The writing and the content of this book are so interesting. This is at least the 2ndtime I've read it, and I still do not understand a lot of it, nor do I understand many of the metaphors.However, the book is quite touching.
    • 3/5
      An odd work of literary fiction, but it was amazing to see how it all fit together.
    • 4/5
      Loved the exuberant, eloquent language and dialogue -wished for a lot less confusion between authors and time sequences.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      A young girl and an old man - both quite oblivious to the existence of the other - form the base for this fantastic book where life and love are intertwined throughout several decades. The author has used quite a few tricks and twists to make this book work, and it does; for instance, skipping between different story-tellers' perspectives, jumping in time, telling different stories starting in the middle: this may make the book sound complex, and it sometimes is, but pays off dearly at the end. It is well-written, quirky and adorable.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      I love this book. That said, the reason I don't give it 5 stars is because of the structure of the book. She tells the stories of a few people, and a book within the book (also called The History of Love) and switches back and forth between them. It also doesn't help that the time frames when the stories take place are different so you're left with the task of putting the plot into a linear order yourself. That's why I can see why people could dislike the book.

      It starts off wonderfully with a tale of an old man, Leo and his best friend Bruno. Then, it shifts to a young girl Alma, her mother, and her brother Bird (who I found annoying throughout the book, but even he serves a purpose in the end). We also have excerpts from the the book "The History of Love" and its author Zvi (and his wife Rosa). Ms. Krauss eventually ties things up in a very satisfying manner, but it takes time to get there.

      The language and the narrators really carried me through it. There are some fantastic quotes one can take from it. Overall, I found Leo and the book excerpts to be the best part of the book and I spent time during the other portions waiting to return to one or the other. I would have preferred a more linear narrative, preferably focusing on Leo and the book, but based upon how things came together, I'm satisfied with her structure.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      Multi layered characters who are emotional and well drawn. It is sad and funny and one grows to really like the voice of Leo Gursky. The characters are interwoven quite subtly. Perhaps too much so for me because I never truly got into this novel until the very end.
    • 3/5
      There were multiple times during this novel that I almost stopped reading and thought it might be a candidate for my "abandoned" shelf on GoodReads. I'm not sure why I continued reading. Perhaps because part of my heritage is Polish and distant relatives still live in Rożnowice in southern Poland, 94 km (58 mi) east of the regional capital Kraków.

      Now that I am finished reading the novel I am appreciative of the opportunity to have read it but it is not a book that I would necessarily recommend to another individual to read.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Absolutely loved this book by the end. It took me about half the book to really appreciate it, but by the last page I was in love and in awe. Left me speechless - a must read.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 1/5
      As I never begin to read a book withour finishing it, I also finished this one. The characters and the stories of each ones life are difficult to follow, sometimes nothing seems to fit and make sense - frustrating.
    • 4/5
      I should probably start off by saying that part of the story do not translate well into audiobook format. In particular, the notebook/diary entries of young Alma Singer come across a bit scattered. Somethings just come across better as the written word. That being said, George Guidall brings Leo Gursky to life with his wonderful performance. I laughed and cried with Leo. I love his feistiness, his vigor, his focus to keep on living for one more day. Add in Bruno, Leo's upstairs neighbour and "check in" partner, and the story has wonderful moments of octogenarian comedy. I found the "book within a book" angle underwhelming but appreciate that it is the book that Leo wrote sixty years earlier that is the glue that brings these divergent characters together. Even though some aspects of the story did not work that well for me, Krauss does deserve full marks for pulling off such a quietly elegant, tender story. Overall, a wonderful tale of love, friendship, survival and finding your place.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      I loved this book. I generally shy away from 'feely' books, but this one really struck a chord. It addresses some deep issues that all human beings face at some point or another along the timeline that is our one and only, very unique life. There were moments when I laughed aloud to myself (Ah, Bruno) and moments when I tried to stifle my tears (because, well, all of the feels!). But even with all the roller coaster emotions that were brought about by this text, they were all pretty good ones, reflective ones. Our main character, Leo, is your 'every man' in a handful of ways, and I think most people will be able to identify with him on SOME kind of level or, at the very least, get a great list of 'take-aways' from a man who simply goes out in public to be seen (because no one wants to die on a day they hadn't been seen). My take-away ... by the time I was done, I felt like I'd been left with a little piece of Leo Gursky (long after I'd finished the last page), and I realized that there's probably a little bit of that "Leo Gursky" in all of us.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      I wasn’t sure what to expect of this, as the title sounds quite chick-lit-y and I’d rather read the contents of my own bowel than chick-lit. But it had been passed on to me by a friend, who happens to be the only hipster I know, so I was pretty sure I was safe.

      This book had me from the start, I was crying by page 13, and the story blew me away. Told mainly through the eyes of a 14 year old American girl and a 80 year old Polish Holocaust survivor who don’t know one another, it centres on a book written about a woman the man spent his life loving and whom the girl had been named after. It’s part coming-of-age, part mystery, part beautifully written gorgeousness and it is now one of my favourite books.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      unique way to tell a story. Loved the characters. Full of surprises. Not a single boring or irrelevant narration . Left a lot to the reader’s imagination. But a bit confusing as it is narrated in a round about manner. Takes a while to sort out the different characters and the relationship between them.

      1 person found this helpful