But Wait, There's More

Around page 35 everything changes. A new first person narrator is established and The History of Love becomes one of those story-within-a-story books. You quickly learn that this new perspective is that of Alma Singer, a fifteen year old Jewish girl, named after the girl from The History of Love, who describes herself as being "black-haired, gap-toothed, and skinny in a bad way" (38). Her father, David Singer, died when she was seven. She has since taken an interest in the things he loved- the outdoors, paleontology, and plants.

In addition, she has taken a great interest in her mother, Charlotte Singer, who has been miserable since the death of her husband. Alma reveals her motivation and desire to help her mother by the way she tries to set her up with various men including Dr. Tucci, a veterinarian who visits her school. Though unsuccessful, she shows her persistent nature in how she keeps trying and eventually enlists her brother, Bird, for help. It is not until the day a letter comes in the mail from Jacob Marcus that she truly believes there may be hope. He offers to pay her mom to write a translation of The History of Love for him. She accepts. 

This story seems to be separate from the one Leo was part of, though they do seem to have similar elements. If you don't quite understand how they connect yet, no worries, I don't either. It will be interesting to see how Krauss weaves these two together as the novel continues. Who knows, perhaps there are even more characters and stories to add and complexify.  

For now, I want to point out some of the similarities I saw in the two stories as well as highlight some other interesting aspects of each. Let's start with Alma's story which is written in such a way that it resembles a numbered list. It's quite interesting how it is broken up and the bits of information are ordered, however, it seems pieced together and jumpy at times. Still, in the end I feel like I have a mostly clear idea of what is going on. This is quite similar to how Leo's section is written. His stream-of-conscious style narrative is also hard to follow at times and feels a bit scattered, but it does not detract from the writing itself. In using this free form style, a connection between the reader and the characters can easily be created. I wrote a lot about this in my first post and enjoy how it carried over into the section with Alma and her family. In addition to the writing style, there are similar elements presented in both that provide interesting parallels. Love and loss are prevalent and the main characters of each face the same devastation and loneliness. Also, books and writing and words are recurrent throughout and provide commonality. 

I will build upon these ideas soon and provide greater insights into their meaning. They will most likely lead to a deeper understanding of the novel and its motifs and themes. Until then, I have some reading and analyzing to do, my book awaits!