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filmnoirz's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
500 days of summer but if tom and summer were worse
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Grief, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Infidelity
aameem's review against another edition
4.0
As I approach my third decade I appear to have found less than a dozen books that have resonated, shaped my perception of, romantic love.
Love as grief in 'The Great Fires', regret in 'Remains of The Day', sickness in 'Love In The Time of Cholera,' delusion in 'From the Land of the Moon,' guilt in 'Atonement', power in 'The Song of Achilles', repression in 'Twilight', destruction in 'Wuthering Heights', meaning in 'The Unbearable Lightness of Being'. I've only recently started making sense of my confusion, but I expect to lose track of any understanding of romantic love again soon. The rest of my sentiments regarding it are best expressed by poets like Rilke or Cummings.
Can we not be forgiven if we believe books, like romantic love, can serendipitously find us at the right moment then? Alain de Botton, with his insightful and humorous philosophising, has helped me condense my thoughts on romantic love, and I anticipate chuckling for quite some time over the line, stuck in a sticky note above my desk, 'We are all more intelligent than we are capable, and awareness of the insanity of love has never saved anyone from the disease.'
Love as grief in 'The Great Fires', regret in 'Remains of The Day', sickness in 'Love In The Time of Cholera,' delusion in 'From the Land of the Moon,' guilt in 'Atonement', power in 'The Song of Achilles', repression in 'Twilight', destruction in 'Wuthering Heights', meaning in 'The Unbearable Lightness of Being'. I've only recently started making sense of my confusion, but I expect to lose track of any understanding of romantic love again soon. The rest of my sentiments regarding it are best expressed by poets like Rilke or Cummings.
Can we not be forgiven if we believe books, like romantic love, can serendipitously find us at the right moment then? Alain de Botton, with his insightful and humorous philosophising, has helped me condense my thoughts on romantic love, and I anticipate chuckling for quite some time over the line, stuck in a sticky note above my desk, 'We are all more intelligent than we are capable, and awareness of the insanity of love has never saved anyone from the disease.'
gdgreer's review against another edition
5.0
I was leant this book by my wonderful, brilliant friend Lauren (whose only real shortcoming is that she has spent almost three years refusing to read The Amazing Adventures Of Kavelier & Clay) after a break-up. It’s smart, insightful, and loaded with all sorts of “oh duh! I do that!” moments. It is the fictional recounting of a relationship, from start to finish, as looked at through a philosopher’s eyes. When friends have relationship woes, I usually pick them up a copy. Used to loan mine out, but someone decided to write in it (!), so I don’t do that anymore.
Bottom line: a must read for anyone who has ever been in love, like, or had just a little crush. Yes, that was a Jennifer Paige reference.
Bottom line: a must read for anyone who has ever been in love, like, or had just a little crush. Yes, that was a Jennifer Paige reference.
ayzaak's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
5.0
vupasana's review against another edition
2.0
I picked up this book because I adore School of Life and I’ve listened to podcasts he guests in and admired his eloquence. Haish, this book was so hard to get through. I only persisted out of hope that it would get better. It’s too painful to search for meaning behind each gesture, each touch, each word of your lover. I really hated the interactions between Chloe and love interest, nobody likes to be constantly analysed and scrutinised. Ironically, he does bring this up a few times: lovers cannot be philosophers for long; love taught the analytic mind a certain humility...analysis could never be anything but flawed. Maybe I’m not used to reading a more novel like style of writing from him. I think I’ll stick to his videos.
aniahollinshead's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I cannot explain how much I loved this book. De Botton takes you on a cyclical journey of being in love, with the most deliciously written, insightful observations alongside. It was funny, it was engaging, and overall just so beautifully written. Normally I’d knock off 0.25 of a star because of inconsistencies (on one page he talked about how someone threw their right shoe through the window, and on the next page went to collect the left shoe that was now on the street), but I enjoyed it too much to care.
“There is an Arabic saying that the soul travels at the pace of a camel. While most of us are led by the strict demands of timetables and diaries, our soul, the seat of the heart, trails nostalgically behind, burdened by the weight of memory. If every love affair adds a certain weight to the camel's load, then we can expect the soul to slow according to the significance of love's burden. By the time it was finally able to shrug off the crushing weight of her memory, Chloe had nearly killed my camel.”
…
“The camel became lighter and lighter as walked through time, it kept shaking memories and photos off its back, scattering them over the desert floor and letting the wind bury them in the sand, and gradually the camel became so light that it could trot and even gallop in its own curious way - until one day, in a small oasis that called itself the present, the exhausted creature finally caught up with the rest of me.”
One of the best books I’ve read, ever.
“There is an Arabic saying that the soul travels at the pace of a camel. While most of us are led by the strict demands of timetables and diaries, our soul, the seat of the heart, trails nostalgically behind, burdened by the weight of memory. If every love affair adds a certain weight to the camel's load, then we can expect the soul to slow according to the significance of love's burden. By the time it was finally able to shrug off the crushing weight of her memory, Chloe had nearly killed my camel.”
…
“The camel became lighter and lighter as walked through time, it kept shaking memories and photos off its back, scattering them over the desert floor and letting the wind bury them in the sand, and gradually the camel became so light that it could trot and even gallop in its own curious way - until one day, in a small oasis that called itself the present, the exhausted creature finally caught up with the rest of me.”
One of the best books I’ve read, ever.
catherine_mack's review against another edition
4.0
Wow! brutally honest dissection of a love affair and its predictable end. I believe this was de Botton's first published book (could be wrong about that) or at least one of his earliest. His honesty and ability to apply theory to one of the most irrational things we humans do will hook you right in.