Love, In Theory, by E. J. Levy

Love is never simple.  Sometimes love means sacrifice.  Sometimes love means forgiveness.  Sometimes love can not be conform to social constraints.  Sometimes love is temporary.  In this collection of short stories, we are are able to view love in many forms, new love, lost love, destroyed love, and theoretical love.

This collection of short stories is unlike anything I have ever read.  These stories are so smart, so deep, so powerful.  Not all literature needs to be highly intellectual in order to be good, but it just so happens that this particular collection is so intellectual, so philosophical, I had to consume these stories on a one by one basis, reflecting on each one before moving on to the next.

The characters on these stories are raw and real.  I see so much of myself, and the people I know, in the variety of characters and situations in these stories.  I really appreciate the fact that a wide variety of love and romantic situations are explored, heterosexual, homosexual, fidelity and infidelity, the complexity of love intersecting with religious faith.  We see several themes reoccurring across different stories, but playing out differently depending on the story.

I find Levy to be an incredibly gifted writer.  I was amazed with each story in this collection.  If you are someone who typically does not like short stories, I encourage you to still give this book a chance, as it is far from typical.  I found more depth and meaning in just one of these stories than I have found in some full length novels.  I really think this book will appeal to many readers.

I received a review copy of this book courtesy of TLC Book Tours, in exchange for an honest review.  You can view the rest of the tour here.

 

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