The History of Love

The History of Love by Nicole Krauss is a beautiful mystery about love and loss. Centered on a book called "The History of Love," the novel follows two narrators and their relationship with the text. First is Leo Gursky, an elderly Holocaust survivor in New York who lost the love of his life and his son as a result of the war.

As he struggles to find meaning, he grows suspicious that the book mirrors one he wrote long ago. The second narrator is Alma, a fourteen-year-old named after a character in that very book. Hoping to heal her grieving mother, Alma is determined to find the book's author. As Krauss weaves this wonderful tale, the voices of both Leo and Alma penetrate your heart - their loneliness and desperation tangible. The novel is emotionally rich and reminds readers how fragile life can be. It also asks you to read closely; the two interlaced stories can be convoluted at times. Packed with themes to unpack, this makes a terrific Book Club choice.

W. W. Norton & Company; May 17, 2006 - Fiction - 252 pages

A long-lost book reappears, mysteriously connecting an old man searching for his son and a girl seeking a cure for her widowed mother's loneliness. Leo Gursky is just about surviving, tapping his radiator each evening to let his upstairs neighbor know he's still alive. Sixty years earlier, in the Polish village where he was born, Leo fell in love and wrote a book. Though he doesn't know it, that book survived, inspiring improbable circumstances - yes, even love.

Fourteen-year-old Alma was named after a character in that very book. While juggling her precocious brother Bird and her field-guide notes on survival, she sets out to find her namesake and save her family. With consummate skill, Nicole Krauss gradually draws together their stories in a tale brimming with laughter, irony, passion, and imaginative power.

1. Leo Gursky and Alma Singer make an unlikely pair, but what they share in common ultimately brings them together. What are the similarities between these two characters?

2. Leo fears becoming invisible. How does fiction writing prove a balm for his anxiety?

3. Explore the theme of authenticity throughout the narrative. Who's real and who's a fraud?

4. Despite his preoccupation with death, Leo's spirit is indefatigably comic. Describe the interplay of tragedy and comedy in the novel.

5. What distinguishes parental love from romantic love in the book?

6. Why is it so important to Alma that Bird act "normal"? How normal is Alma?

7. When Alma meets Leo, she calls him the "oldest man in the world." Does his voice sound so ancient?

8. Uncle Julian quotes Wittgenstein about beauty and the impulse to draw. How does this idea relate to the impulse to write here?

9. Many narrators contribute to the story. What makes each voice unique, and how does Krauss seam them into a coherent whole?

10. Beyond Alma's wilderness guidelines, what survival tactics do characters adopt to carry on?

11. Authors vs. translators: What are the similarities and differences in how they transform words?

12. What are the benefits of friendship in the novel? Why might Alma remain Misha's friend rather than his girlfriend?

13. Validation and authorship: Isaac receives fame while Leo remains uncredited. What role does recognition play?

14. Leo models nude to "leave an imprint," yet drawings and novels are never the exact truth. Do you notice erasures in the stories he tells?

15. Why name the novel The History of Love after the fictional book at its center?

Several threads run through this story, providing many avenues for discussion and interpretation. The beauty lies in its quirky, wounded characters and the history that shapes them. It's rich with themes of memory, authorship, identity, and the restorative power of connection. The links among the characters and the book "The History of Love" add yet another dimension to explore.