The Course of Love
by Alain de Botton
A novel following Rabih and Kirsten from meeting to long marriage, interrupted by de Botton's italicised commentary on what is really happening: attachment styles, sulking, children, affairs, the end of romanticism. It is the long-marriage companion to Essays in Love and the better book.
Read it if…
you are in a long relationship and want to understand its ordinary difficulties.
Skip it if…
you want pure fiction; the commentary is half the book.
Three things you will actually use
- Compatibility is an achievement of love, not a precondition.
- Sulking is a failure to teach.
- Marriage is choosing which problems to have.
Do this first
Read the chapter on sulking and show it to your partner.
Our verdict
The long-marriage companion.
Compare with other Relationships books
Why You Will Marry the Wrong Person
The School of Life · Relationships
Short, dry, corrective.
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