The Secret Lives of People in Love by Simon Van Booy

I picked up this collection of short stories after reading Emily’s review over at Books, the universe and everything.The author has a very unique way of writing, he can find the extraordinary in the most common, trivial things and can convey his characters’ emotions, hopes and thoughts in a moving way. The main subjects in all the stories are love and loss. Most of the characters are people who are left behind, lonely, isolated, perhaps even tragic.

This is definitely not a cheerful read. I read on my morning commute, but the stories are powerful and I found they stayed with me, making me a little bit gloomy through the day. Still, I would definitely recommend this book because in the end, it is a collection of beautifully written, thought provoking stories. Just make sure you follow this with some P.G. Wodehouse for instant lift of spirits!

A few parts that I liked:

“When somebody leaves this plane – or, if you like, goes into another room – those left behind sometimes try and stop loving – but this is a mistake, because even if you have loved only once in your life, you’re ruined.“

“Perhaps photographs can fake happiness, but never grief.“

“You might say that praying is useless if I don’t believe in God anymore, but let me tell you my opinion: praying for someone is a way to love them without ever having to know them.“

“Now I see it was such an insignificant event to the world. But then every beautiful moment in my life has been an insignificant event to the world.“

Incidentally, I found this beautiful article by Simon Van Booy in the Guardian. Check it out!