On Love

Rating:
Summary: A charming and amusing philisophical take on love
Review: This book provided me with an amusingly familiar take on the quirky and illogical behavior one adopts while falling in and out of love. There is much focus on the silly little theories one derives from the depths of their heart and mind, and then they are transferred into a philosophical and intellectual framework, creating a charming juxtaposition between rational and irrational emotions stirred by love. Recommended to those who have loved and lost more than once.

Rating:
Summary: Not a Many Splendered Thing
Review: I enjoyed reading Mr. De Botton's non-fiction work, so I thought I should sample his fiction. Maybe I made a mistake in trying to read On Love as if it was a novel. There is the occassional poigniant comment regarding love and relationships that might allow this book to work as a "self-help" piece. But it certainly does not work as literature. This tale of love is basically a twenty page short story enveloped by two hundred pages of psycho-babble. The heroine, Chloe, is moderately interesting, but the narrator is an absolute bore. His endless analysis of all the minutia in the relationship borders on unbearable. I don't see how such a person could have a meaningful relationship with a goldfish, let alone another human being. If you are looking for validation of your sorrows, On Love might be a good read. However, if you are looking for an interesting story to read, I would look elsewhere. Steve Martin's Shop Girl might be a good alternative. On Love is the literary aquivalent of using an elephant gun to kill a mosquito!