Let’s do some guided imagery exercises. Take a good look at this book cover:

History of Love cover

Now, imagine that you are male (unless, of course, you are male, then don’t). Imagine that you are on flight out of Detroit (Rock City). You walk down the aisle of your capacity flight and find your seat. You’ve secured the coveted exit row, but you’re in the middle of the three seats. Now imagine that you find yourself sitting between two enormous, tattooed, and mustachioed teamsters/autoworkers. You reach into your bag and you pull out this book. Feeling pretty cool? Me either.

The History of Love by Nicole Krauss was first read and posted on by Nitro. Go ahead and read what she had to say, I’ll wait.

I thought this book was wonderful. Everything that Nitro says is true. I think that the only difference between my experience and hers is that I waited a few months after reading Krauss’s husband’s book to read Krauss’s book. Everything that Nitro says is true. With a few months distance though, each of the characters felt unique and well developed. When not read side by side, the similarities between the two books are not redundant or even obvious. I also didn’t feel oppressed by Eastern European characters, WWII/holocaust memories, or smart/offbeat kids. The end of this book was excellent. An excellent payoff from the setup of the rest of the novel.

I really enjoyed this book and I recommend it to all the ladies. You guys could stand to read it, too. You guys might want to butch it up a little by slipping another book’s dust jacket over it though if you plan to read it in public. Your call.