I have to admit: de Botton and I do not have a good relationship. I keep trying, attracted by the plots of his novels, and I keep failing to like his writing style. I just find it boring and slow. Which is how I feel about this latest book of his too.
The idea behind the novel is really good, it is a novel/essay about the development of a love story, from the "falling in love" to the day to day marriage's challenges. It is a mix between the author's philosophical reflections on the topic and the descriptions of the "real" marriage of two people, Rabih and Kristen. Both the episodes and the reflections are in itself likable and agreeable with, and yet I could not "feel" de Botton's writing. So I was just skipping through the book, glad to reach the end of it. I also did not like at all Rabih's personality, I found him irritating and patronizing.
So that's it now between Alain and I, this was the last chance of love and it failed!
On a final note, how can the hardback cover be so beautiful and the paperback cover so ugly?!?
Overall rating: 4 Plot: 7 Writing style: 4 Cover: 3
Title:The Course of Love
Author: Alain de Botton
Publisher: Penguin
Pages: 240
Publication year: 2016
Plot:
What does it mean to live happily ever after?
At dinner parties and over coffee, Rabih and Kirsten's friends always ask them the same question: how did you meet? The answer comes easily -- it's a happy story, one they both love to tell. But there is a second part to this story, the answer to a question their friends never ask: what happened next?Rabih and Kirsten find each other, fall in love, get married. Society tells us this is the end of the story. In fact, it is only the beginning.From the first thrill of lust, to the joys and fears of real commitment, to the deep problems that surface slowly over two shared lifetimes, this is the story of a marriage. It is the story of modern relationships and how to survive them. Playful, wise and profoundly moving, The Course of Love is a delightful return to the novel by Alain de Botton, twenty years after his debut Essays in Love.
The Author:
Alain de Botton, FRSL is a Swiss-born British author. His books discuss various contemporary subjects and themes, emphasizing philosophy's relevance to everyday life. He published Essays in Love, which went on to sell two million copies
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