From Powells.com
Hot new releases and under-the-radar gems for adults and kids.
Staff Pick
This book is essential reading for anyone who seeks to make a relationship last past the honeymoon phase. If you've ever felt confused, saddened, or misled by the discrepancy between what "true love" is supposed to feel like and the genuine hard work of a romantic partnership, you will surely relate to Rabih and Kirsten's struggles. Recommended By Ariel K., Powells.com
The Course of Love follows a couple, Rabih and Kirsten, from the beginning of their relationship to its more troubled middle. As de Botton says, "What we typically call love is only the start of love." This book is full of wisdom that anyone, from a looking-for-love type, to a many-years-married type, can learn from. It’s a novel and a therapy session in one. Recommended By Moses M., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
"An engrossing tale [that] provides plenty of food for thought” (People, Best New Books pick), this playful, wise, and profoundly moving second novel from the internationally bestselling author of How Proust Can Change Your Life tracks the beautifully complicated arc of a romantic partnership.
We all know the headiness and excitement of the early days of love. But what comes after? In Edinburgh, a couple, Rabih and Kirsten, fall in love. They get married, they have children — but no long-term relationship is as simple as "happily ever after." The Course of Love explores what happens after the birth of love, what it takes to maintain, and what happens to our original ideals under the pressures of an average existence. We see, along with Rabih and Kirsten, the first flush of infatuation, the effortlessness of falling into romantic love, and the course of life thereafter. Interwoven with their story and its challenges is an overlay of philosophy — an annotation and a guide to what we are reading. As The New York Times says, "The Course of Love is a return to the form that made Mr. de Botton’s name in the mid-1990s…. love is the subject best suited to his obsessive aphorizing, and in this novel he again shows off his ability to pin our hopes, methods, and insecurities to the page."
This is a Romantic novel in the true sense, one interested in exploring how love can survive and thrive in the long term. The result is a sensory experience — fictional, philosophical, psychological — that urges us to identify deeply with these characters and to reflect on his and her own experiences in love. Fresh, visceral, and utterly compelling, The Course of Love is a provocative and life-affirming novel for everyone who believes in love. "There’s no writer alive like de Botton, and his latest ambitious undertaking is as enlightening and humanizing as his previous works" (Chicago Tribune).
Review
"Assured...The author deftly delivers both sides of the marriage, exploring the incompatible interplay of romantic love and practical love...Part literary novel, part self-help handbook, The Course of Love certainly illuminates the subtle and not-so-subtle fissures of one modern marriage and what it takes for two people to stay together through the years...this nontraditional novel is generous in its spirit and message." San Francisco Chronicle
Review
"[De Botton] analyzes Rabih's feelings, especially, with the finesse of a therapist — and in fact there is more than a whiff of the couch in this exemplary tale…Readers looking for insights and guidance will find plenty." NPR
Review
"This book is like a self-help book for dating and relationships, disguised as a novel...We understand what each person is thinking and why, with de Botton’s insights sprinkled in. It made me rethink what it means to be happy in a relationship." The Cut (NYMag.com)
Review
"There's no writer alive like de Botton, and his latest ambitious undertaking is as enlightening and humanizing as his previous works." Chicago Tribune
Review
"For me, the publication of any book by Alain de Botton is as much a reason for celebration as it is for cerebration, and his novel The Course of Love is a satisfying look at relationships and the perils of romantic love. This public philosopher writes with verve." Wall Street Journal (WSJ.com)
Review
"The Course of Love is a return to the form that made Mr. de Botton’s name in the mid-1990s…. love is the subject best suited to his obsessive aphorizing, and in this novel he again shows off his ability to pin our hopes, methods and insecurities to the page." The New York Times
About the Author
Alain de Botton is the author of numerous works of fiction and nonfiction, including On Love, How Proust Can Change Your Life, The Consolations of Philosophy, The Art of Travel, and The Course of Love. He lives in London where he founded The School of Life, an organization devoted to fostering emotional health and intelligence.