Princeton Reads
FREE ADMISSION to all screenings and talks. |
Princeton Reads Coordinator: Kristin Friberg Princeton Public Library (609) 924-9529 ext. 257 Princeton Reads Committee: Leslie Burger; Susan Conlon; Lindsey Forden; Janet Hague; Shelly Hawk; Janie Hermann; Amy Hiestand; Andre Levie; Anne Levin; Martha Perry-Liu; Tim Quinn; Allison Santos Princeton Reads programming has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Because democracy demands wisdom. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this programming do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities. |
Special Thanks
Special thanks to the planning committee for Memory and the Work of Art: A Princeton Community Collaboration, including the Arts Council of Princeton; Bernstein Gallery, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs; L’Avant-Scene, The French Theater Workshop at Princeton University; The Lewis Center for the Arts; McCarter Theatre Center; The Princeton Singers; Princeton Symphony Orchestra; Princeton University Art Museum; Princeton University Concerts; Princeton University Department of Music; Princeton University Library; and Westminster Choir College of Rider University.
We also wish to thank the University of Texas, Arlington One Book 2008-2009, for sharing their excellent resources; WW Norton for allowing us to use their discussion questions; community retailers for their continued support of Princeton Reads; and our own planning committee.
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Princeton Reads 2011
Nicole Krauss 
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss is the latest selection for Princeton Reads, a community-wide reading program that encourages everyone to read and discuss a selected book. We invite you to join us in a community-wide discussion around the themes of love, memory, and resilience.
Free tickets available at the box office two hours prior. Advance tickets available at Frist Campus Center or by calling (609) 258-9220. A reception will follow. Books will not be sold at this event.
Click here to reserve your copy. Click here to download a pdf of the resource guide.
The author will appear Nov. 15 at Richardson Auditorium of Alexander Hall, and is part of the yearlong community collaboration, Memory and the Work of Art.
Memory and the Work of Art is a yearlong community collaboration to mark the tenth anniversary of September 11, 2001. Organized by arts and cultural organizations at Princeton University and throughout the Princeton community, the complete schedule of events may be located at princeton.edu/memory. The fall brochure may be found here.
| Biography | Book Discussions |
| About the book | Events |
| Characters | Literary Worlds |
| Discussion Questions | Further Reading |
Nicole Krauss is the author of the international bestseller The History of Love, which was published by W.W. Norton in 2005. It won the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing, France’s Prix du Meilleur Livre Etranger, was named #1 book of the year by Amazon.com, and was short-listed for the Orange, Médicis, and Femina prizes. Her first novel, Man Walks Into a Room, was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Award for First Fiction. In 2007, she was selected as one of Granta’s Best Young American Novelists, and in 2010 The New Yorker named her one of the 20 best writers under 40. Her fiction has been published in The New Yorker, Harper’s, Esquire, and Best American Short Stories, and her books have been translated into more than thirty-five languages. She recently completed a Cullman Fellowship at the New York Public Library. Her new novel, Great House, was published in October, 2010.
She lives in Brooklyn, New York.
80-year-old Leo Gursky lives on Manhattan's Delancey Street and spends his days trying to get people to notice his existence; 14-year-old Alma is searching for her namesake, a character in a book, The History of Love, which Leo wrote decades ago, for his own love, while still in Poland.
The History of Love weaves the stories of these two unlikely characters into a book that affirms our ability to conquer isolation and find connection with one another and the world that surrounds us.
Bruno: Leo’s boyhood friend who became Leo’s companion during his later years.
Leo Gursky: Polish Holocaust survivor living in New York who seeks to maintain visibility.
Zvi Litivinoff: Friend of Leo’s from Poland who immigrated to Chile during the Holocaust. He later publishes the novel The History of Love in Chile.
Isaac Moritz: Successful author and son of Alma Mereminski and Leo Gursky.
Alma Mereminski: The love of Leo’s life and the name of every female character in the novel The History of Love.
Misha Shklovsky: Russian boy who moves to Brighton Beach, NY and befriends Alma Singer.
Alma Singer: 14-year-old living on Long Island who writes about her family’s past in her journal and becomes interested in her mother’s mysterious correspondent, Jacob Marcus.
Bird Singer: Alma’s brother. He believes he is a lamed vovnik and is obsessed with building an ark.
Charlotte Singer: The mother of Alma and Bird.
David Singer: The father of Alma and Bird.
- Leo Gursky and Alma Singer make an unlikely pair, but what they share in common ultimately brings them together. What are the similarities between these two characters?
- Leo fears becoming invisible. How does fiction writing prove a balm for his anxiety?
- Explore the theme of authenticity throughout the narrative. Who’s real and who’s a fraud?
- Despite his preoccupation with his approaching death, Leo has a spirit that is indefatigably comic. Describe the interplay of tragedy and comedy in The History of Love.
- What distinguishes parental love from romantic love in the novel?
- Why is it so important to Alma that Bird act normal? How normal is Alma?
- When Alma meets Leo, she calls him the “oldest man in the world.” Does his voice sound so ancient?
- Uncle Julian tells Alma, “Wittgenstein once wrote that when the eye sees something beautiful, the hand wants to draw it.” How does this philosophical take on the artistic process relate to the impulse to write in The History of Love?
- Many different narrators contribute to the story of The History of Love. What makes each of their voices unique? How does Krauss seam them together to make a coherent novel?
- Survival requires different tactics in different environments. Aside from Alma’s wilderness guidelines, what measures do the characters in the novel adopt to carry on?
- Most all of the characters in the novel are writers—from Isaac Moritz to Bird Singer. Alma’s mother is somewhat exceptional, as she works as a translator. Yet she is not the only character to transform others’ words for her creative practice. What are the similarities and differences between an author and a translator?
- What are the benefits of friendship in the novel? Why might Alma feel more comfortable remaining Misha’s friend rather than becoming his girlfriend?
- The fame and adulation Isaac Moritz earns for his novels represent the rewards many writers hope for, while Leo, an unwitting ghostwriter, remains unrecognized for his work. What role does validation play in the many acts of writing in The History of Love?
- Leo decides to model nude for an art class in order to leave an imprint of his existence. He writes to preserve the memories of his love for Alma Mereminski. Yet drawings and novels are never faithful renditions of the truth. Do you recognize a process of erasure in the stories he tells us?
- Why might Krauss have given her novel the title The History of Love, the same as that of the fictional book around which her narrative centers?
The Literary Worlds of The History of Love
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss contains references to many authors and books from around the world. Below are a few examples that are important for an understanding and appreciation of the book.
Isaac Babel (Russia,1894-1940): Babel is the author of The Odessa Tales (1916) and is widely admired for his sophisticated treatment of place and language. The Soviet authorities found Babel’s aesthetic sensibility a threat and had him killed. Both Leo Gursky and Zvi Litvinoff in The History of Love are admires of Babel. Notice how Leo’s description of Babel echoes Zvi’s description of Leo’s writing style. (114-116)
Miguel de Cervantes (Spain, 1547-1616): Charlotte Singer tells her daughter Alma that Cervantes is “The most famous Spanish writer.” Cervantes is the author of Don Quixote de la Mancha (1605), a novel about a man who loved reading so much that he went mad. Like The History of Love by Nicole Krauss, Don Quixote is full of multiple voices and stories. (146)
Antoine de St. Exupery (France, 1900-1944): St. Exupery (or Saint-Ex as Alma Singer calls him) was a French aviator who wrote one of the most beloved children’s books of all times, The Little Prince (1943). Saint-Ex is one of Alma’s heroes for a good reason: like her, he is an explorer who connects people together. (50, 104)
Nicanor Parra (Chile, 1914-): Parra is one of Latin America’s greatest living poets. He is the author of Poems and Anti-Poems (1954), which Charlotte Singer translates into English. Jacob Marcus reads the translation and asks her to translate Zvi Litvinoff’s book The History of Love. Parra wears an astronaut lapel pin, like Jacob Marcus does. (55,94,103)
Bruno Schultz (Poland, 1892-1942): Both Jacob Marcus and Alma Singer read Schulz’s The Street of Crocodiles (1934). Schulz’s style is similar to episodes from Zvi’s The History of Love. Schulz, who was Jewish like Leo, was killed by the Nazis in 1942. (103, 144, 194)
Please check back for more discussion locations and times.
Event title: The History of Love Book Discussion
Date: November 2, 2011
Time: 10:30 am
Location: Princeton Public Library, Quiet Room, 1st Floor
Led by librarian Martha Perry-Liu.
Event title: The History of Love Book Discussion
Date: November 8, 2011
Time: 7 pm
Location: Princeton Public Library, Quiet Room, 1st Floor
Led by librarian Janet Hague.
Event title: The History of Love Book Discussion
Date: November 10, 2011
Time: 10:30 am
Location: Princeton Public Library, Conference Room, 2nd Floor
Led by librarian Kristin Friberg.
Event title: About Family
Date: October 30, 2011
Time: 3 pm
Location: Princeton Public Library, Community Room
Community Without Walls On Stage presents a collection monologues and skits focusing on the various ways in which we experience family.
Event title: Radio Diaries: 15 Years of Stories
Date: November 3, 2011
Time: 7 pm
Location: Princeton Public Library, Community Room
Radio Diaries’ founder and executive producer, Joe Richman presents an overview of past work from the popular NPR program, demonstrating how the best documentaries are the ones that happen by accident.
Event title: Remembrance: An Intergenerational Perspective of the Holocaust
Date: November 6, 2011
Time: 2 pm
Location: Princeton Public Library, Community Room
Imprisoned in Terezin and Buchenwald during World War II, Leopold Lowy was one of the lucky ones; he and his son, Jon share their family remembrances on how this information was passed down and if and how it will be passed on to remaining generations.
Event title: PSO Soundtracks Lecture
Date: November 9, 2011
Time: 4:30 pm
Location: Princeton Public Library, Community Room
Princeton Symphony Orchestra Music Director Rossen Milanov leads a discussion in connection with the PSO’s November 13 Classical Series concert Dreams, Memories, and Truth. Tying the concert’s works to the themes of Princeton University’s ongoing community-wide project, Memory and the Work of Art, Milanov will explore how memory shapes the creative process of composers and other musical artists, as well as audiences’ perceptions of music.
Co-sponsored by the library and PSO.
Event title: PBS StoryCorps Shorts
Date: November 12, 2011
Time: 2 pm
Location: Princeton Public Library, Community Room
PBS StoryCorps Shorts take viewers on an animated journey through America with stories about an indomitable Sunday school teacher, a strong willed grandmother and a husband’s love and loss on September 11, 2001. Co-sponsored by the library and American Documentary/POV.
Event title: Nicole Krauss, Writing The History of Love
Date: November 15, 2011
Time: 6:30 pm
Location: Richardson Auditorium, Princeton University
Nicole Krauss, author of The History of Love, this year’s Princeton Reads selection.
Free tickets will be available at the box office two hours prior to the event, but may also be reserved in advance by calling 609-258-9220. Sponsored by Princeton Public Library, Princeton University Art Museum and NEH
By Nicole Krauss
Great House
Man Walks into a Room
Other Resources
Conway, Chris. (2010, January 31). Critical Approaches to The History of Love by Nicole Krauss. Retrieved from http://drconway.wordpress.com/ <2011-07-20>
THE HISTORY OF LOVE. . Publishers Weekly, 2/21/2005, Vol. 252 Issue 8, p154-154, 1/5p. (Book Review)
"The History of Love," the Contemporary Reader, and the Transmission of Holocaust Memory. Lang, Jessica. Journal of Modern Literature, Fall2009, Vol. 33 Issue 1, p43-56. Available through Literary Reference Center.
Narratives Of Grief Fill Krauss' 'Great House'
Source: Fresh Air. (Oct. 12, 2010): From Literature Resource Center.
Teisch, Jessica. "Nicole Krauss." Bookmarks Nov.-Dec. 2010: 25+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 20 July 2011. (Interview)
Nicole Krauss. Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2005. Available through Literature Resource Center. (Biography)
The Street of Crocodiles By: Carlisle, John C., Magill’s Literary Annual 1978, Available through Literary Reference Center. (Work Analysis)
Princeton Reads programming has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Because democracy demands wisdom. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this programming do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
