Course of Love

SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLERFrom one of our great thinkers on modern life and the human condition - an unforgettable story of love and marriage from the author of bestselling novel Essays in Love as well as The Consolations of Philosophy, Religion for Atheists and The School of Life'The Course of Love probes the very heart of marriage, its shifts and squalls, its great adventure, with such forensic tenderness. I laughed a lot, too' Deborah MoggachModern love is never easy. Society is obsessed with stories of romance, but what comes after happily ever after?This is a love story with a difference. From dating to marriage, from having kids to having affairs, it follows the progress of a single ordinary relationship: tender, messy, hilarious, painful, and entirely un-Romantic. It is a love story for the modern world, chronicling the daily intimacies, the blazing rows, the endless tiny gestures that make up a life shared between two people. Moving and deeply insightful, The Course of Love offers us a window into essential truths about the nature of love.'Engaging, sympathetic, acutely perceptive... There's a refreshing honesty in what de Botton has to say' Guardian'Anyone who is, has been, or would ever like to be, in a satisfying, successful relationship, would do well to read de Botton' Irish Independent 'He debunks the myth of the happily ever after with a painfully familiar, often hilarious detailing of petty arguments, the occasional extra-marital fling, the moments of loneliness and the declining frequency of sex... It's not only hugely enjoyable but life enhancing too' Daily Mail

Publisher's description. Rabih and Kirsten meet, fall in love, get married. Think this is the end of the story? It's only the beginning. With his trademark warmth and wit, Alain de Botton explores modern relationships with a novel that asks what it truly means to love and to be loved., He's completely on the money with the minutiae of marital life and every note rings uncomfortably true. The story is told with great wit and affection... de Botton knows his stuff and the book builds into a truly wonderful and positive analysis of a successful lifelong partnership. It should be compulsory reading for anyone contemplating tying the knot., Engaging, meticulous, acutely perceptive... There's a refreshing honesty in what De Botton has to say, One passage was so spot-on that I read it aloud to my husband... De Botton appreciates, as few writers do, the miracle and subtlety of the so-called ordinary, Well-observed and imbued with a tenderness that feels authentic and uncynical... It may even save some marriages.

Alain de Botton is the bestselling author of fifteen books, including The School of Life: An Emotional Education, How Proust Can Change Your Life, The Consolations of Philosophy, The Art of Travel and The Course of Love. He is the founder of The School of Life (theschooloflife.com).