4.0 out of 5 stars
Clever and fun, Nov 7 2003
How can a love story go together with philosophy? Or how can a youngman, who thoroughly studied philosophy, fall deeply in love, without thinking too much and asking himself too many questions?
The beginning of the story happens in the sky, in a British Airways flight. And after that, as it happens in every love story, both protagonists come down to earth. And this is the moment when everything starts.
The story of this novel is simplicity itself: a love affair, from its very beginning to its very end. De Botton's narrator describes falling in love with Chloe, being in love with her, and then getting over her, actually a quite banal thing. But what makes the book interesting and captivating is the way he manages to show everyday love in characters who are not particularly appealing, considering all aspects of love, especially the everyday and trivial.
According to Alain de Botton, there are two ways to understand love: a mystical one, or at least mythical, and a philosophical one. This book takes both ways seriously and banters them gracefully. On one hand we have signs, destiny, romantic fatalism, Cupid and on the other we have Plato and Kant. I am sure that many of you will recognize themselves in the stories the author tells and will admit that he or she said or did the same things when was in love.
I also have to say that Alain de Botton is prone to think too much sometimes and makes big deal out of small things, philosophizes a lot.
And so I found the story difficult to follow at times, which prevented me from fully enjoying the narrative.
Despite this, this little book is very clever, written with a lot of common sense, nerve and surprises (the story is full of drawings, charts and diagrams) and it can be read by the ones who are cheated or dissapointed by a love story. It is well written and fun to be read.
It is something that will remind you that some things should not be always taken too seriously.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Just brilliant; as tasty as your favorite dessert, Sep 20 2003
Who says you can't judge a book by its cover? I was paying for a bookstore purchase one day in NYC and the cover of this book, on a rack near the cash register, called out to me. I bought it and it sat around for a few months. One day I picked it up and read it. I was transfixed, by the playfulness and wit of the writing and by the deep work the intellectually curious main character goes through in his attempts to understand the woman he's fallen in love with. He's never entirely sure where the object of his love, Chloie, is coming from, and spends much time analyzing the situation from every imaginable angle, sharing it all with us, the readers. I loved this, the idea that a man wrote this book about a man who is as perplexed as a woman is when she's on the precipice of a love affair with a guy she can't fathom. This book was as comforting as chocolate, and as delicious, a heady banquet for the romantic soul. As I read the book, I was wishing I knew the author, because he's on the same wavelength as me. I can't wait to check out his other books!
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