Monday, January 1, 2018

JANUARY'S BOOK

Wednesday, January 24th @ 10:00 am 




The January book club read is The History of Love by Nicole Krauss.  The NY Times Bestseller was a 2006 finalist for the Orange Prize for Fiction and won the 2008 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing for fiction. Krauss’s novel is filled with twist and turns that create a captivating story about love, loss, and survival.
Krauss’s main character, Leo Gursky, is a man who fell in love at the age of ten with his neighbor named Alma, and he writes a book about their love. Hiding during WWII, he places the book in his best friend’s hands for protection. When he attempts to retrieve his manuscript, he is told the book was destroyed. Sixty years later he lives in America, a heart-broken old man who taps on his radiator each evening to let his upstairs neighbor know he's still alive.  What Leo does not know is that his book has been published under another - his best friends name and it is inspiring readers to live and love. 

Fourteen-year-old Alma’s mother lives and breathes by Leo’s book, but when widowed she loses herself in depression and loneliness. Alma, in hopes of saving her family, undertakes the quest to find her namesake in the book – the love of Leo’s life.  
Will Alma's quest save her mother and brother?  Does Leo ever learn to love again?  You will laugh and cry as Krauss reveals the positives and negatives of love and humanity.

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8 comments:

  1. UnknownDecember 15, 2017 at 10:47 AM

    I previously read this book and it is wonderful. I should re-read it. I think once is not enough. That's how good it is.

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  2. LuannJanuary 17, 2018 at 12:26 PM

    I have been hearing mixed reviews on this book. I did have a little trouble following along and tracking who is the narrator. I searched for a synopsis of the book online and read it to help out. Was that cheating? Anyway, the story is great!

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    Replies
    1. Katherine (Kat) ClowersJanuary 23, 2018 at 11:15 AM

      Luann, I do not believe that reading a synopsis is cheating. Synopsis can help you understand a difficult book. It can also refresh our memories before going to a book discussion!

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  3. CorieJanuary 22, 2018 at 10:56 AM

    I had some difficulty in following all the characters in this story and it was not wrapped up in a happy ending. It left me with an empty, confused feeling. Not my favorite read.

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  4. Katherine (Kat) ClowersJanuary 23, 2018 at 10:37 AM

    I agree with Corie that unhappy endings leave me unfulfilled as a reader. Interestingly I read an article by Mercy Sais called The Unhappy Ending that enlightened me why authors use unhappy endings as well as to why some readers enjoy them. If interested you can access the article at the link below:
    http://www.librarypoint.org/unhappyending

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  5. Jane EllenJanuary 23, 2018 at 2:12 PM

    Have not read the book and had no intention to until I read this most interesting description. Sounds very intriguing.

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  6. AnonymousJanuary 24, 2018 at 8:12 AM

    Yes, great book but you have to pay attention throughout the story to fully grasp everything.

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  7. LuannJanuary 25, 2018 at 3:59 AM

    It was great to have a reader with us for the discussion who loved the book and read it twice. She helped us understand the parallel story!

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