The History of Love

I so wanted to love this book because the character narrated by George Guidall is relatable, lovable, interesting, compelling. BUT the female character is utterly dull, monotonous, like a 4th grader reading their own essay out loud, deliberately pedantic. I am 3/4 through the book, after determined effort, and can\’t slog it out anymore. The subject matter (post-WWII) intrigued me, a topic I tend to enjoy for its real complexity, but I could not endure anymore. I don\’t easily put down books I\’m >1/2 through, but this was too painful. 38 people found this helpful

What a surprise, a divine revelation to find this treasure buried among the cast offs in Audible\’s last sale. How is it possible that the title \”A History of Love\” is not shouted from the roof-tops, bill-boarded along reader\’s highways and passed around slyly like a rumor between friends-in-the-know. Or perhaps it is, and I am just out of the loop, confused by the lack of awards notices on a book that is so far superior to the NY Book Review, Pulitzer, Oprah and Best Seller marks plastered on less-deserving works. Though mysterious and filled with shadings of poetry, magical realism and literary allusion this book is nonetheless well grounded in the here-and-now, and straight forward in narrative. Of note, the audio version may be superior to the printed in that the listener is spared the work of guessing when voices change, and who is narrating. Also, because the four actors in this recording give outstanding, lyrical and pitch-perfect performances. PS: Please save discovery of the narrative for your own pleasure, and avoid pre-reading the plethora of (mostly favorable) reviews about this book. I went through a few after listening, and felt the destructive weight of the spoilers among the praises, even for a book I had already read. Don\’t let someone else trample through this garden before you\’ve had your joy of it. 175 people found this helpful

I loved this book. It was written in 2005 and spans about 1930 to the new century. Starts in Poland when Nazi\’s are taking over. Two very young lovers get separated. The girl\’s father is able to send her to America. The boy survives the atrocities by hiding and living off the earth. Eventually he gets to America, too. Most of the book takes place in present time in NYC. It is about how writing keeps our memory alive, about how war impacts people generations later and, as another reviewer said, how and why we love. It is easy to give up on this book because of the four different voices and the connections aren\’t always clear. I was confused and thought I was missing things. I wasn\’t. You have to hang in there and things start to come together. Beautifully written. Perfect voices for audio. Five stars for me. (An aside – the author is married to Jonathan Safran Foer, the author of \”Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close\” with some similarities. I, also, loved that audiobook.) 26 people found this helpful

This book got great reviews but I didn\’t really enjoy it. It moves very slowly. At first I didn\’t like any of the characters but they did grow on me. There are three people with separate stories that don\’t come together till close to the end. The first is a very old man with a very sad life. The second is an unusual young teenage girl. I didn\’t like her voice. The third was a narrator. The end is good and I\’m glad I stuck with it but I wouldn\’t suggest it to a friend. 21 people found this helpful

What would have made The History of Love better? I don\’t get it. I read the reviews and it sounded like this book would be worth the point (not to mention the time). But it wasn\’t worth it — I found myself wanting it to be over. The character that was read by George Guidall was good; the other characters droned on and it was boring. 17 people found this helpful

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