Thursday, October 2, 2008

The Secret Lives of People in Love

This is the September selection for the Year of Reading Dangerously Challenge. I had no clue what this book was about until I picked it up. It's a book of short stories that all deal with love in one way or another. Despite the title and the subject matter, all of them aren't "happily ever after" stories. The author looks at many of the complications that often accompany love in the real world. I read the stories over a period of a couple weeks and did enjoy most of them. However, now that I've finally gotten around to writing up a review, I don't really remember that much about any of them individually. I guess if I had to choose a favorite, it would be Snow Falls and Then Disappears. This is simply because of the way that the author (in just a few pages) lures the reader into thinking one thing and then slowly reveals the truth of the situation. It's quite clever. I found myself going back to reread the story to see if there were clues that I missed. I think these are the types of stories that would definitely reveal something new on each reading. So, I'll probably revisit some of these at some point.

6 comments:

Andi said...

Ah yes! The story you mention is one of my favorites from the collection. It's one I'll revisit at some point, and I really wish I'd tackled it this month. So many books, so little time and all.

Lisa said...

andi, I know there's never enough time to get to all the books. You've got quite a lot going on right now, too. Hope everything is going well with the new class.

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed this collection, too. It was a bit whimsical at times and occasionally overwritten, but when it all came together I thought the style was beautiful and quaint and moving.

Lisa said...

litlove, I completely agree.

Andrea said...

They don't have this at any of the branches at my library! If I had realized that a couple of months ago I would have requested it, but I didn't have time when I found out. I was disappointed that it's another book I can't read for the challenge, but right now I can't afford to buy books!

Lisa said...

andrea, I understand tight budgets! Hopefully, you'll still be able to get a hold of it some time even if its after the challenge. I enjoyed the collection quite a bit.