The History of Love

The History of Love by Nicole Krauss (2005)

A story of an old man and a teenage girl whose lives are marred with unhappiness, mostly because of a loss of love, but also strangely tied together by a book about love. The narrative winds through years and through narrators to show the universality of loss, loneliness, and love. I found the characters, especially Leo and Alma, to be quite intriguing and I wanted to know that they would be happy in the end. However, I was left wanting more at the end--more information about Alma's life, more information letting me know Leo's life wasn't as sad as it seemed, and a clearer ending. The writing was quite good, but I was left too unsatisfied with the story to fully recommend the novel.