On this Valentine’s Day, people finds themselves reflecting on that all-important word: love.
The theme of love has been a recurrent one in the history of literature. In early days, authors such as William Shakespeare, Leo Tolstoy and Jane Austen all explored the subject of love in their writings. Love is unique in that it is a constant. It goes on through different decades and different centuries, yet the elements always stay the same.
Here are a few books with love in the title and love between the pages.
Written by Per J. Andersson, The Amazing Story of the Man Who Cycled from India to Europe for Love is a true testament of the power of love. It begins with an impoverished young man who was born in a small village in eastern India. P.K. received a palm leaf at the time of his birth bearing an astrologer’s prophecy that stated: “You will marry a girl who is not from the village, not even from the country; she will be musical, own a jungle and be born under the sign of the ox.” Incredibly, it was a prophecy that would come true but only after one remarkable bicycle journey that would take P.K. from the jungles of eastern India to the forests of Sweden. Part memoir, part travel log, this true love story is a must read.
With Love, Wherever You Are is a beautifully written work of fiction by author Dandi Daley Mackall. Based on the true-life events involving the author’s parents, this is a love story of a couple who met, married and served in Europe during the Second World War. Helen, an army nurse, and Frank, an army lieutenant, find themselves in a whirlwind romance that quickly leads to marriage. Soon after their marriage, they are on the front lines of Europe battling for their lives and those around them. For months, their only form of communication are letters. Will there be a marriage to return to if they survive this seemingly never-ending war? A touching story that balances the perils of war with the commitment of love.
Author Gurjinder Basran brings us a heartfelt story of love and loss in her second novel, Someone You Love Is Gone. Having just lost her mother to a lengthy illness, Simran finds herself not being able to cope with the incredible void left in her life. The previous couple of years were devoted to caring for her mother but, suddenly, her mother does not exist anymore. Told through alternating times, the present and the past, the author is able to cross continents and generations while supplying the reader with various forms of Indian culture and customs. Praise for Basran for writing a realistic and emotional exploration of grief.
Award-winning author Sherman Alexie has written a beautiful memoir in You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me. Family relationships are never simple and the author’s bond with his mother, Lillian, was definitely more complex than most. Lillian threw her family into a life of chaos with her drinking but later shed this addiction when she risked losing everything. Having survived a violent past, she selflessly cared for others, except perhaps the children that so desperately wanted her time and affection. With her passing, Sherman struggles with the ghosts of the past. Writing this memoir was his way of reconciling the complicated relationship the two of them shared. This is a stunning memoir filled with love, anger, laughter, and harrowing childhood memories that few can imagine, much less survive.
These and other books about the power of love are available at the Terry Fox Library.
A Good Read is a column by Tri-City librarians that is published on Wednesdays. Caroline Wandell works at Terry Fox Library in Port Coquitlam.
