- Hardcover: 270 pages
- Publisher: Viking/Allen Lane; illustrated edition edition (29 Jan 1998)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 067087597X
- ISBN-13: 978-0670875979
- Product Dimensions: 23.1 x 16 x 2.5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 4,440,222 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Synopsis
A daring attempt to decipher the mysteries of how and why two people fall in love underscores the romance of two young lovers--Artie, a boyish computer wiz from New York and Louise, a committed artist from the Midwest.
From the Publisher
Publishers Weekly Review
Two pairs of appealingly flawed, starcrossed lovers are divided and reunited by fate, chance and the forces of history and memory in Howard's vibrant and touching seventh novel, set in New York on the cusp of the millennium. The relationship of farm-bred artist Louise Moffet and Park Avenue-raised Artie Freeman founders when Lou becomes fed up with Artie's fecklessness. An unemployed computer whiz, Artie has been emotionally unmoored since his countercultural mother died in an accident without having revealed the identity of his father. Artie's widowed grandfather Cyril, retired from a career on Wall Street and struggling with increasing blindness, waits stoically for death until Sylvie Waite, a woman from his past, suggests that they can find happiness together. One couple will muddle through their difficulties, the other will succumb to one of life's ironies, and Howard (Natural History) charts their course with her customary wit and eloquence. Drawing on her keen instincts for historical relevance and social barometers she knits into the episodic narrative snippets of history; biographical details (of Alexander Graham Bell, Virginia Woolf, Benjamin Franklin, Bill Gates, Diderot); astronomy and astrology; science and technology; and predictions from the Old Farmer's Almanac (this repository of folklorish wisdom and prognosticator of the future provides the framework for her lovers' progress from month to month). Sinewy prose that embraces the vernacular as well as expressing the profound is one of the pleasures of this provocative novel of ideas. (Publishers Weekly, Oct. 13, 1997; STARRED)
Two pairs of appealingly flawed, starcrossed lovers are divided and reunited by fate, chance and the forces of history and memory in Howard's vibrant and touching seventh novel, set in New York on the cusp of the millennium. The relationship of farm-bred artist Louise Moffet and Park Avenue-raised Artie Freeman founders when Lou becomes fed up with Artie's fecklessness. An unemployed computer whiz, Artie has been emotionally unmoored since his countercultural mother died in an accident without having revealed the identity of his father. Artie's widowed grandfather Cyril, retired from a career on Wall Street and struggling with increasing blindness, waits stoically for death until Sylvie Waite, a woman from his past, suggests that they can find happiness together. One couple will muddle through their difficulties, the other will succumb to one of life's ironies, and Howard (Natural History) charts their course with her customary wit and eloquence. Drawing on her keen instincts for historical relevance and social barometers she knits into the episodic narrative snippets of history; biographical details (of Alexander Graham Bell, Virginia Woolf, Benjamin Franklin, Bill Gates, Diderot); astronomy and astrology; science and technology; and predictions from the Old Farmer's Almanac (this repository of folklorish wisdom and prognosticator of the future provides the framework for her lovers' progress from month to month). Sinewy prose that embraces the vernacular as well as expressing the profound is one of the pleasures of this provocative novel of ideas. (Publishers Weekly, Oct. 13, 1997; STARRED)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Hardcover
This is a fantastic novel that is satisfying on so many levels. Milan Kundera has said that he believes the contemporary novel is stuck in the 19th century, and has not lived up to its potential for play and wonder. I hope he has read "The Lovers' Almanac" because this book is a splendid amalgamation of poetry, philosophy, and good storytelling. While not shying away from weighty subjects, it is Howard's light touch, the way she flits from idea to idea, that makes this such an exciting read.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
1 review
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
A magical piece of work by a master alchemist.
2 Sep 1999
Format:Hardcover
This is a fantastic novel that is satisfying on so many levels. Milan Kundera has said that he believes the contemporary novel is stuck in the 19th century, and has not lived up to its potential for play and wonder. I hope he has read "The Lovers' Almanac" because this book is a splendid amalgamation of poetry, philosophy, and good storytelling. While not shying away from weighty subjects, it is Howard's light touch, the way she flits from idea to idea, that makes this such an exciting read.
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