- Hardcover: 400 pages
- Publisher: Doubleday; Collectors edition edition (1 Aug 2007)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0385612613
- ISBN-13: 978-0385612616
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.8 x 4.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (119 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,072,906 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Random Acts Of Heroic Love
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Product Description
Daily Mail
'Two strikingly different tales of love and grief are gradually revealed to have more in common than just the tenactiy of both men to cling desperately to the memory of love...a lush, romantic novel'
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Sunday Express
'Really is as special as its press suggests...beautifully told...an amazingly assured debut'
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
223 of 236 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
RANDOM ACTS OF HEROIC LOVE is a fantastic debut novel by a very talented writer. Scheinmann spent six years writing his debut, and as you read, you can certainly see how it could be viewed as a labour of love. I think this book has been a cathartic experience for Scheinmann, and it just so happens to be a tremendous piece of work.
The book esentially follows two stories - one is of Mortiz Daniecki in 1917. As a survivor of the war, he is captured and put into a POW camp. Yet this is not where his story ends, for what keeps Mortiz fighting to get through the war and back home is the young love he has left behind there, Lotte. Before Moritz heads off to be a soldier, they share a kiss together and it is this kiss that spurs Moritz on; the memory of her sustains him and gives him reason to live. Once he escapes from the camp, Moritz then faces an arduous journey walking his way home, to his love and the life he had before.
The second story is set in 1992 and follows Leo Deakin. At the age of 25, Leo wakes up in hospital having survived a crash whilst travelling in South America. Upon waking, Leo discovers that his girlfriend Eleni did not survive the crash, but he cannot remember anything about it. As he struggles to rebuild his memory of what happened, whilst coming to terms with his loss, you follow him on this journey.
Through these two stories, Scheinmann has managed to explore the many issues of bereavement, love, survival, hope and travelling on physical aswell as philosophical journies in great depth and to great effect. Even if you have never lost a loved one, or been separated from your love, I am sure that you will be able to appreciate and understand the power of the emotions behind this extraordinary novel. What makes it even more so remarkable is that the journey Moritz makes across Russia was actually undertaken by Scheinmann's grandfather. Leo's experience of losing his partner at a young age is also another experience related to Scheinmann, so this knowledge shows just how much of his soul he has exposed within these pages.
I would recommend RANDOM ACTS OF HEROIC LOVE to anyone who believes in the power of love. This is a great book, it shall stay with you long after you have closed the pages.
The book esentially follows two stories - one is of Mortiz Daniecki in 1917. As a survivor of the war, he is captured and put into a POW camp. Yet this is not where his story ends, for what keeps Mortiz fighting to get through the war and back home is the young love he has left behind there, Lotte. Before Moritz heads off to be a soldier, they share a kiss together and it is this kiss that spurs Moritz on; the memory of her sustains him and gives him reason to live. Once he escapes from the camp, Moritz then faces an arduous journey walking his way home, to his love and the life he had before.
The second story is set in 1992 and follows Leo Deakin. At the age of 25, Leo wakes up in hospital having survived a crash whilst travelling in South America. Upon waking, Leo discovers that his girlfriend Eleni did not survive the crash, but he cannot remember anything about it. As he struggles to rebuild his memory of what happened, whilst coming to terms with his loss, you follow him on this journey.
Through these two stories, Scheinmann has managed to explore the many issues of bereavement, love, survival, hope and travelling on physical aswell as philosophical journies in great depth and to great effect. Even if you have never lost a loved one, or been separated from your love, I am sure that you will be able to appreciate and understand the power of the emotions behind this extraordinary novel. What makes it even more so remarkable is that the journey Moritz makes across Russia was actually undertaken by Scheinmann's grandfather. Leo's experience of losing his partner at a young age is also another experience related to Scheinmann, so this knowledge shows just how much of his soul he has exposed within these pages.
I would recommend RANDOM ACTS OF HEROIC LOVE to anyone who believes in the power of love. This is a great book, it shall stay with you long after you have closed the pages.
85 of 91 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I loved this book from the first page right through to the last. It is essentially two stories in one novel and I was totally hooked from the first page. Each story was thoroughly absorbing and appear to be completely separate from each other (one is set in 1917 the other in 1995, one is a Russian solider and one is an English student) and the ending is absolutely fitting in their conclusion. Brilliantly written - each of the two narrative voices remain seperate throughout the book and each are thoroughly convincing.
If you are a romantic person, or you are looking for some validation of your own love for someone or if you are just a plain old believer in the power of love this is the book for you. It is a love story that isn't a sex story and is passionate without being slushy. I would recommend it to romantics and hard-hearts alike.
If you are a romantic person, or you are looking for some validation of your own love for someone or if you are just a plain old believer in the power of love this is the book for you. It is a love story that isn't a sex story and is passionate without being slushy. I would recommend it to romantics and hard-hearts alike.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Personally, I feel that the difference in reviews is down to what you expect from a book. Initially I was a bit dumbfounded by the book, it does seem to kind of, not lead anywhere, and I was initally quite bemused by the two stories merged into one (i.e. one chapter one story, the next a different story). However, as I read the book on holiday I managed to get really stuck into it, and found it incredibly enchanting, a book that really showed insight into two quite contrasting stories. There were a few cliche's, but hey, cliches are only used because they are so good! I found the writing very honest and although a few parts of the novel were not accurate, you have to put that aside and get lost in this amazing book! read it as a person, not as a book critic - and you'll love it!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Pleasantly surprised!
I really enjoyed this, it was passed on to me as part of a book circle and I never would have given it a second glance usually. Read more
Published 13 days ago by Marie
BRILLIANT READ.
What a read, this writing superseads the normal popular books. It is absorbing from the word go. It lost me in thoughts and breaths needed to be taken intermittendly for... Read more
Published 7 months ago by itchybeard
A compelling read.
As I was reading this book, I reflected on how much I was enjoying the story of Moritz Danieki, the 1st world war soldier, much more than Leo, the rather angst young man who has... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Columbine
Oh dear...
This was so badly written I thought that it had been poorly translated from another language. I actually checked the author bio on the cover and was surprised that the author was... Read more
Published 13 months ago by fiveheid
How far would you go for love?
I loved this book.
Random acts of heroic love tells the stories of Leo and Moritz and the lengths they go to for love. Read more
Random acts of heroic love tells the stories of Leo and Moritz and the lengths they go to for love. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Miss R. Olijnyk
touching, and insightly beautiful.
the great thing about this book is that it is not just a story, but a lesson in love and bereavement. Read more
Published 15 months ago by puddingmmm
Two stories about love.
This book is about the endurance of love found and lost and starts off in the present day with a horrific bus crash in South America which leaves one of the main characters racked... Read more
Published 16 months ago by isisjem
Heartbreaking
This dual-time narrative follows the stories of two very different men who can't let go of the women they love. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Rachel
I wish this book on all my enemies
When you strip off all the sentimental language you are left with a plotless account of the personal tragedy of a middle class British PhD student losing his girlfriend in a bus... Read more
Published 17 months ago by H. A. Sayala
this book has everything...
A friend gave me this when she had finished reading it, and I'm so glad she did. I agree with others that it's a slow starter, but very soon I couldn't put it down. Read more
Published 18 months ago by cross-chrissy
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