Novels about love - recommendations

mawsh

I tend to gravitate towards novels with really strong love stories at the center.

Just looking for any recommendations for modern novels or recently published novels that mightn't have crossed my radar as I think at this stage I've gone through all the classics. Or any Irish novels which stick out?

Some of my favourite love stories are:

The Pursuit of Love/ Love in a Cold Climate
White Palace
Wuthering Heights
Far from the Madding Crowd
The English Patient
The Heat of Day
Rebecca
A Room with a View
The End of the Affair
The Go-between

buck65

Love in the time of cholera?

Death in Venice.

lly

How about the time travellers wife....

Not really too high level, but one of my favourite as the love story is key to it and its very moving... Suggested it as Rebecca is on your list and that is another of my favourite books

Jobin

One Day by David Nicholls is incredible

MultiUmm

At Swim, Two Boys by Jamie O'Neill is an excellent book.

I recommended this book in another thread the other day and I can't praise it highly enough.

However, as the title may have given away, it's not a heterosexual novel.

If you don't have any hang ups about reading a book with two male characters in love than it's definitely one to keep an eye out for.

It's an Irish novel, set in Dublin during the rising so as you can imagine it has political/ historical themes.

Once you sink your teeth into it I can guarantee you won't regret it.

Darlughda

I really like Lionel Shriver's books that focus on relationships.
In particular 'The post birthday world'.

Hanif Kureishi's 'Intimacy' stayed with me a long time also. That is about a break up, but anyone who has lived with a partner in a long term relationship would probably find a lot of it rings true.

missusblagh

Isabelle Allende's books are gorgeous.
The description of the relationships isn't soppy- it looks at love from a very human and physical point of view, there's never any 'destiny' , 'meant to be', crapstuff in it.

Also, the protagonists don't necissarily end up with the person you'd think, which I like.

I don't know if this is what you're interested in, but I'd recommend:
Daughter of Fortune, and Portrait in Sepia, they're my favourite.

House of Spirits is her most famous one, but I actually haven't go around to reading it yet!

(Oh and most of the books are based in South America you should know)

CuriousOne

buck65 wrote: »

Love in the time of cholera?

Yes, indeed. An exquisite read - http://www.scribd.com/doc/7356780/Marquez-Gabriel-Garcia-Love-in-the-Time-of-Cholera

Enjoy.

Eliot Rosewater

Fiesta: Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway is, off the top of my head, the most enjoyable love novel Ive read. Its not a positive love story though. The characterization in it is immense! Along with all the usual Hemingway greatness.

Morzadec

Lolita.

Not a conventional love story but still a brilliant book that has a love story (of sorts) at the centre of it. Not quite sure if it's what you're looking for but I would suggest giving it a read.

toomevara

Morzadec wrote: »

Lolita.

Not a conventional love story but still a brilliant book that has a love story (of sorts) at the centre of it. Not quite sure if it's what you're looking for but I would suggest giving it a read.

Best opening line ever....

damselnat

I know you mentioned modern/recently published novels, but I'm still going to throw The Age of Innocence out there...takes a bit of a push to get through the first few chapters, then turns into a subtle, sophisticated, elegant love story...one of the few books I was really sceptical with all the way through, then suddenly very affected by at the end!

BossArky

Morzadec wrote: »

Lolita.

+1

missusblagh wrote: »

Isabelle Allende's books are gorgeous.

+1

I much perfer Isabelle Allende to Gabriel García Márquez. They are both considered "magical realism". Allende's stuff is actually interesting. My mind would wander reading GGM.

Denerick

I am a man, and hence, have no emotions. I recently read a book which dealt with the theme of married live, the death of love, mediocrity etc. (Sinclair Lewis, 'Main Street') For platonic love you can't go much further than 'The Road' by Mc Carthy.

Also, 'Baudalino' has a strong love interest near the end.

OxfordComma

I'm also an emotionless male, so my advice is probably worthless The Time Traveler's Wife (I really hate the Americanised spelling of "traveller" :mad:) is a good love story that I finished recently. I would have recommended Wuthering Heights but you listed it in your first post...