'De Botton is a national treasure.' - Susan Hill, author of The Woman in Black
A unique love story and a classic work of philosophy, rooted in the mysterious workings of the human heart and mind.
Perhaps it is true that we do not really exist until there is someone there to see us existing, we cannot properly speak until there is someone who can understand what we are saying in essence, we are not wholly alive until we are loved.
A man and woman on a flight from Paris to London, and so begins their love story. From first kiss to first argument, infatuation to heartbreak, de Botton illuminates each stage of their relationship with a clarity both startling and tender.
With the verve of a novelist and the insight of a philosopher, Essays in Love unveils the mysteries of the human heart. It is essential reading for anyone seeking instruction in the art of love.
'The book's success has much to do with its beautifully modelled sentences, its wry humour and its unwavering deadpan respect for its reader's intelligence ... full of keen observation and flashes of genuine lyricism, acuity and depth.' -- Francine Prose
'Witty, funny, sophisticated, neatly tied up, and full of wise and illuminating insights.' -- P. J. Kavanagh Spectator
'De Botton is a national treasure.' -- Susan Hill
'I doubt if de Botton has written a dull sentence in his life.' -- Jan Morris New Statesman
'Single-handedly, de Botton has taken philosophy back to its simplest and most important purpose: helping us to live our lives' Independent
Author
About Alain de Botton
Alain de Botton was born in Zurich, Switzerland in 1969 and now lives in London. He is a writer of essayistic books, which refer both to his own experiences and ideas- and those of artists, philosophers and thinkers. It's a style of writing that has been termed a 'philosophy of everyday life.'
His first book, Essays in Love [titled On Love in the US], minutely analysed the process of falling in and out of love. The style of the book was unusual, because it mixed elements of a novel together with reflections and analyses normally found in a piece of non-fiction. It's a book of which many readers are still fondest.
