The Course of Love

A Novel

By: Alain de Botton

Narrated by: Julian Rhind-Tutt

"The Course of Love is a return to the form that made Mr. de Botton's name in the mid-1990s….love is the subject best suited to his obsessive aphorizing, and in this novel he again shows off his ability to pin our hopes, methods and insecurities to the page." (The New York Times)

The long-awaited and beguiling second novel from Alain de Botton that tracks the beautifully complicated arc of a romantic partnership, from the internationally best-selling author of How Proust Can Change Your Life. De Botton's essay "Why You Will Marry the Wrong Person" (The New York Times, May 28, 2016), which draws from The Course of Love, was the number-one most emailed article for days.

We all know the headiness and excitement of the early days of love. But what comes after? In Edinburgh a couple, Rabih and Kirsten, fall in love. They get married, they have children—but no long-term relationship is as simple as "happily ever after". The Course of Love is a novel that explores what happens after the birth of love, what it takes to maintain love, and what happens to our original ideals under the pressures of an average existence. You experience, along with Rabih and Kirsten, the first flush of infatuation, the effortlessness of falling into romantic love, and the course of life thereafter. Interwoven with their story and its challenges is an overlay of philosophy - an annotation and a guide to what we are reading.

This is a romantic novel in the true sense, one interested in exploring how love can survive and thrive in the long term. The result is a sensory experience - fictional, philosophical, psychological - that urges us to identify deeply with these characters and to reflect on his and her own experiences in love. Fresh, visceral, and utterly compelling, The Course of Love is a provocative and life-affirming novel for everyone who believes in love.

©2016 Alain de Botton. All right reserved. (P)2016 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"[Narrator] Julian Rhind-Tutt's voice is tender, seductive, secretive, or open, as needed. Whichever tone he uses, listening to him is always a joy.... Rhind-Tutt keeps the listening worthwhile and far from routine." ( AudioFile)

Interesting exploration...

This book really nails the human experience. Worth a read to better understand how we process and how we are effected by life and love.

Life-changing

Relationships are difficult. People can be tricky to deal with. Love requires constant effort and communication. Few books have been able to capture the malaise of modern love, but de Botton shows off his philosophical acumen on the subject with style and pinpoint accuracy. I can safely say that this is a book that, after my reading, has incontrovertibly altered my life's course for the better.

Where was this book when I was 20 (or 40)!

Perfect. Poignant. Priceless. This book is a velvet hammer taken to our infuriatingly inadequate ideas of romantic and married love. If you are seeking truth to gird yourself with as you “find the right person” and “settle down”, or importantly, are trying to understand why you can’t, don’t waste another afternoon before listening to this diamond of a book.

MUST READ for anyone in a relationship

An insightful short book that gives an interesting assessment on the course of a relationship -- the normal highs and lows, trials, tribulations, and challenges that are faced. After reading this book, This book made me THINK, which is quite a gift. Audible 20 Review Sweepstakes Entry

Great audio

The audio was really clean and understandable. The book itself was dull in moments but relatable

Finest Course on Love!

This novel perfectly marries one couple's story of love with the psychological & sociological insight of a master teacher. Professor de Botton is the Maria Montessori of marriage. I am deeply grateful that such a book exists.

An exceptional book

This is an exceptional book with so many life lessons wrapped up in and engaging story

Wonderful

An honest look into love that is insightful and thoughtful. A fantastically wonderful listen that is sure to entertain as well as educate.

Realist and refreshing look

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is a realist look at the cycles of a love story. a real love story not a fairy tail but a true human experience of loves evolution.

Eye-opening book

Great new take on our modern views on love and how flawed they can be, told through an entertaining and very detailed story of the journey of two people in love. juicy and educaional. highly recommended!