The Book of Love: Improvisations on a Crazy Little Thing - Paperback

by Roger Rosenblatt (Author)

The beloved New York Times bestselling author Making Toast and Kayak Morning returns with a powerful meditation on a universal subject: love.

In The Book of Love, Roger Rosenblatt explores love in all its moods and variations--romantic love, courtship, battle, mystery, marriage, heartbreak, fury, confusion, melancholy, delirium, ecstasy; love of family, of friends; love of home, of country, of work, of writing, of solitude, of art; love of nature; love of life itself.

Rosenblatt is on a quest to illuminate this elusive and essential emotion, to define this thing called love. Cleverly using lines from love songs to create a flowing ballad--as infectious and engaging as a jazz riff--he intersperses fictional vignettes that capture lovers in different situations, ages, and temperaments along with notes addressed to "you," his wife of fifty years. "The story I have to tell is of you. Of others, too. Other people, other things. But mainly of you. It begins and ends with you. It always comes back to you."

Lively yet profound, poignant yet joyous, The Book of Love is a triumph of intellect and imagination: a personal discourse on love that is both novel and timeless.

Rosenblatt's witty and poignant exploration delivers:

• Witty and Profound Musings: Rosenblatt's signature blend of humor and intellect, where observations on love songs sit alongside deep philosophical questions.
• Vignettes About Love: A collection of short, fictional scenes capturing lovers in different situations, ages, and temperaments, each a perfectly crystallized moment.
• A Celebration of Long-Term Marriage: At its heart, the book is a love letter, with deeply moving notes addressed to the author's wife of fifty years.
• The Philosophy of an Emotion: An ambitious quest to define the undefinable, exploring every facet of love from ecstatic romance and family bonds to the love of home, art, and life itself.

Front Jacket

from roger rosenblatt, author of the acclaimed memoirs making toast, kayak morning, and the boy detective, comes another lyrical meditation on--and celebration of--a universal and elusive subject

In The Book of Love, Roger Rosenblatt looks at love in all its themes and variations--romantic love, courtship, marriage, battle, heartbreak, fury, confusion, melancholy, beauty, delirium, ecstasy; love of lovers, family, friends, of country, of work, writing, solitude, of art; love of nature; love of life itself.

Using lines from love songs to create a kind of verbal jazz riff, as infectious as it is engaging, Rosenblatt intersperses thoughts about love and fictional vignettes that capture a variety of lovers in different situations with notes addressed to "you," his wife of fifty years. "The story I have to tell is of you. Of others, too. Other people, other things. But mainly of you. It begins and ends with you. It always comes back to you." Pieces follow upon one another in a continuous progression, as if composing one long song that flows through the entire mystery and magic of what it means to love and be in love. What is this thing called love? Lively yet profound, poignant yet joyous, The Book of Love is a triumph of intellect and imagination.

"Forget the flowers and candy. This year's ultimate Valentine's Day treat is Roger Rosenblatt's impressionistic riff on what makes the heart beat faster." --O, The Oprah Magazine

--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Back Jacket

from roger rosenblatt, author of the acclaimed memoirs making toast, kayak morning, and the boy detective, comes another lyrical meditation on--and celebration of--a universal and elusive subject

In The Book of Love, Roger Rosenblatt looks at love in all its themes and variations--romantic love, courtship, marriage, battle, heartbreak, fury, confusion, melancholy, beauty, delirium, ecstasy; love of lovers, family, friends, of country, of work, writing, solitude, of art; love of nature; love of life itself.

Using lines from love songs to create a kind of verbal jazz riff, as infectious as it is engaging, Rosenblatt intersperses thoughts about love and fictional vignettes that capture a variety of lovers in different situations with notes addressed to "you," his wife of fifty years. "The story I have to tell is of you. Of others, too. Other people, other things. But mainly of you. It begins and ends with you. It always comes back to you." Pieces follow upon one another in a continuous progression, as if composing one long song that flows through the entire mystery and magic of what it means to love and be in love. What is this thing called love? Lively yet profound, poignant yet joyous, The Book of Love is a triumph of intellect and imagination.

"Forget the flowers and candy. This year's ultimate Valentine's Day treat is Roger Rosenblatt's impressionistic riff on what makes the heart beat faster." --O, The Oprah Magazine