Love, In Theory
E.J.Levy
University of Georgia Press
September 15, 2012
224 pages
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4/5 Books
In this funny, brainy, and thoroughly engaging debut collection, an award-winning writer considers contemporary romance through the lens of scholarly theories to illuminate love in the Information Age.
In ten captivating and tender stories, E.J. Levy takes readers through the surprisingly erotic terrain of the intellect, offering a smart and modern take on the age-old theme of love—whether between a man and woman, a man and a man, a woman and a woman, or a mother and a child—drawing readers into tales of passion, adultery, and heartbreak. A disheartened English professor’s life changes when she goes rock climbing and falls for an outdoorsman. A gay oncologist attending his sister’s second wedding ponders dark matter in the universe and the ties that bind us. Three psychiatric patients, each convinced that he is Christ, give rise to a love affair in a small Minnesota town. A Brooklyn woman is thrown out of an ashram for choosing earthly love over enlightenment. A lesbian student of film learns theories of dramatic action the hard way—by falling for a married male professor. Incorporating theories from physics to film to philosophy, from Rational Choice to Thorstein Veblen’s Theory of the Leisure Class, these stories movingly explore the heart and mind—shooting cupid’s arrow towards a target that may never be reached.
About The Author:
E. J. Levy is an award-winning writer. Her short stories and essays have appeared in Best American Essays, The New York Times, The Kenyon Review, and Paris Review, among other places, and have earned a Pushcart Prize, a Nelson Algren Award, a scholarship to Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, and twice been named among the year’s 100 Distinguished Stories in Best American Short Stories, among other honors. She is editor of Tasting Life Twice: Literary Lesbian Fiction by New American Writers (Avon), which won the Lambda Literary Award. This is her fiction debut.
Connect With The Author:
Website
My Review
E.J. Levy has put together a collection of stories that will make you laugh…or make you cringe. Her writing style is completely unique and at times refreshing after reading some intense romance stories. Each short story tells something different, yet coincides with each one after it.From start to finish, the reader will be entranced in stories of love.
I’m a single mom of two. I was married for a time….thought I was completely in love with the man I was married to. Boy, was I ever wrong! Once the vows were said, the real image of the man I married came out. Control freak, cheating, and so much more. After we divorced ,I made myself a promise to never go through that again. I just don’t want to subject myself to those kinds of issues out there. Sure, I’m sure that someday I’ll change my mind, but right now, I love reading about love and romance,not experiencing. Ms. Levy’s book is book that can keep me in tune with romance, love and reality all in one collection of stories.
Each of these stories are filled with characters that are life-like and steal your heart. The plots of the stories are true-to-life and the emotions can be felt as if they are my own. Breaking down love and theorizing it, dissecting it, and putting it into a book that will take the reader on a high of ups and downs, Ms. Levy has done a fabulous job displaying what real life and real love can be like.
Ms. Levy has quickly made a spot on my must-read authors list, and I am anxious for more 4 Book worthy stories from this talented lady! If you are looking for a book that will take you a wild ride and set you down in unexpected places, grab this book up. It’s a fast read; I read it in a day and a half. You’ll be ready for more of her work when your finished! Well done, Ms. Levy!
Thank you so much for your generous review and encouraging words! You made my week and make it way easier to go to the writing desk this morning! Thank you! So glad you enjoyed Love, In Theory!
Thanks for being on the tour!