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! 

Who's Who

To be honest, I have no idea where to begin. So much has happened in the first quarter of the book, and I am eager to chat about everything from character development to meaningful passages to stylistic elements. I will contain my excitement, however, and refrain from hitting you with it all at once to keep confusion to a minimum.

How about I begin right where I left off with introducing you to the characters, because after reading my first post you probably felt a bit overwhelmed and confused (understandably so). The main protagonist, Leo Gursky, is the one I previously developed. I described his depressed outlook through his preoccupation with his own death. For example, Leo always wonders if the moment of his death has finally arrived. He morbidly imagines "[being] lured to be robbed and killed, [picturing his] body on the floor in a pool of blood" (Krauss 15) at one point, and maybe "how [he'll] go in a fit of laughter...laughing and singing, laughing and crying, laughing so as to forget that [he is] alone" (Krauss 7) at another point. In addition, he carries "an index card in his wallet that says: My name is Leo Gursky I have no family please call Pinelawn Cemetery I have a plot there in the Jewish part thank you for your consideration" (Krauss 25). Though these depressing thoughts and actions are apparent to the reader, Leo seems to be unaware of them. They are so routine for him that he never tries to change them.

At first, I wanted to use the word self-pitying to describe him. But now I have come to realize that doesn't quite fit. He never feels sorry for himself, he just kind of accepts the way life is. He also doesn't expect the reader to feel sorry for him. He shamelessly presents himself as a basic human being who goes to the bathroom, takes fiber supplements every morning, and analyzes his aging appearance in the mirror. He even says how "[he'd] never mistake [himself] for anyone special" (Krauss 22) without figuratively screaming "I have a low self-esteem" or "I want complements." Overall, his character is generally likeable, aside from those moments when he makes you want to yell at him for being depressingly morbid or when he goes disruptively out of his way to be seen. Then again, in the context of his story these quirks make sense. He is, after all, old and lonely and heart broken from when Alma hurt him decades ago; not to mention the fact that he longs to connect with his son someday.

Speaking of his son, let me introduce you to him. His name is Isaac, and he is a famous writer, author of Glass Houses and many more. The only description of him that we have so far is what we can gather through his writing about God and angels. At this point, he has only met his father, Leo, once during his book reading. Yet, he had no idea the man asking him to sign his book was his father. I'm sure his character will be developed more as the novel goes on, considering he should be receiving the package in the mail from his father containing the manuscript of Leo's book, The History of Love. Stay tuned!

Forgive me as I backtrack a bit now, there is one more loose end from the beginning that I need to tie up. I skipped over the character of Bruno, Leo's best friend from his childhood in Poland who now lives in the apartment above him. We have not yet met Bruno, but he has still established an important role. Years ago they reconnected on the street in New York City after decades of separation, and Leo almost could not believe it. Actually, I could not believe it either. What are the chances of that even happening? Oh well, I guess that's why they call it realistic fiction. Anyways, Bruno quickly became Leo's best friend again. They established a system of checking in on each other by tapping on their radiators and always make it a point to let each other know what they are up to. Bruno is a support character to Leo in many ways. He gives Leo a sense of motivation and purpose by letting him know there is someone in his world who cares about him. Without Bruno, Leo may have just given up and death might have taken him already.

Is the picture starting to become more clear now? Hopefully these character analyses cleared up any residual confusion and helped you to make better sense of who's who and what's what. I still have lots to share, so be sure to check back in soon!

Love...and Loneliness

Have you ever read a book and found yourself talking to the characters in your head? If you haven't, then you are probably thinking I'm crazy. If you have and are thinking "yes! I do that all the time," I'm here to tell you that you aren't alone. The History of Love by Nicole Krauss is one of those books that instantly establishes a connection between you and the main character, leaving you wanting to have a conversation with him and ask all sorts of questions.

Okay, let me back up for a minute to help you understand what I mean. Here is a brief overview of the first few pages or so. Leo Gursky had his heart broken long ago by the woman from his childhood whom he promised to love forever. She moved to the United States to flee the Nazi regime. He stayed behind in Poland. She had a child. He wrote a book. She waited for him. He finally came. She told him to go. Now, sixty years later, he lives alone in his small, cluttered New York City apartment recovering from heartache and awaiting his death.

Now that you are clued in on who the main character is, are you able to see why I want to talk to him? His heartbreaking story about love and loneliness begs for comforting. The way in which he tells it is even more heart wrenching. He uses a third person storytelling technique to tell about his past, partly to illustrate his love for writing, but also to convey the distance he wishes to put between his current and past self. He says how "once upon a time there was a boy who lived in a house across the field from a girl who no longer exists. They made up a thousand games. She was Queen and he was King" (11). These words made my heart ache, and I wanted to be able to express my sympathy to him while I was reading.

So, perhaps, it is not just the story I am reading that is making me feel connected to the main character, but the manner in which it is written. The majority of the sentences are in first person and are short and simple with fragments interspersed. When I am reading it is as though I am reading his thoughts. It feels very stream-of-conscious-esque. Here's a few lines that show what I am talking about: "[he] wasn't really angry. Not anymore. [He] left [his] anger somewhere long ago. Put it down on a park bench and walked away" (18). First off, don't you think the imagery in those lines is cool? Second, do you see how easily you can become attached to the main character? After reading those lines I wanted to tell him how although I admire his attempt, I feel he really hasn't moved on that much. Some support for the fact that he still carries around the rejection from his past comes from the way that he obsessively thinks about his own death and how he always needs to be seen, even if that means spilling popcorn in a movie theater or posing as a nude model. Also while reading I found myself wanting to tell him to stop caring what other people think, like how he did when he rewrote his writing for the girl of his past, and to stop being selfish, the way he initially refused to help the man who got locked out. As you can probably see, this interaction with the main character that the novel creates makes for a very engaging read. Maybe too engaging.

I am eager to continue learning about his story of love and loneliness. I will update soon and pick up where I left off with character development!