The Secret Lives of People in Love by Simon Van Booy

Photo courtesy of Simon Van Booy

The Secret Lives of People in Love by Simon Van Booy is a superbly crafted collection of short stories set in Paris, Rome, Greece, New York, and Kentucky.  This novel is an achingly beautiful study in loss, grief, and isolation and the harrowing process of either finding or remembering one’s true love in the midst of overwhelming pain.  It has been a long time since I’ve read a collection of short stories, possibly since my college english days.  I’m so glad that I accepted this ARC, because this book was just breathtaking and moving. 

If you are looking for a light and fun read, then you are out of luck.  However, if you are looking for a soulful collection of stories so realistic and relatable, yet so distant and melancholy that you gasp every few pages, then this is your book.  To me, some of the best books out there are the ones that make you feel deeply, and The Secret Lives of People in Love is one of those books.  I’m a fan of drama and pain, and there is plenty of both packed into this collection. 

To do the collection justice, instead of recapping some of my favorite stories (to be honest, there are too many to keep this post readable) I thought I’d share some of the author’s best lines from his book.   

Death end a life, but not a relationship. – Conception

“Wish we’d gone when we had the chance,” she said, “but life just swallows you up, doesn’t it?  Just swallows you up with its everyday things.” - Everyday Things

…she winked at Serge and explained to the class how the word for the bottom of a shoe and the name for a person’s spirit were pronounced without any difference. – Apples

I have stopped going to doctors.  They only believe what they think they know.  They are like priests – blinded from spirituality by religion. – Distant Ships

I haven’t said a word in twenty years, but there was a time when you wouldn’t have been able to shut me up.  I’ve lived so long without the pain of language.  My life is a letter with no address. – Distant Ships

“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.” – Where They Ride is a Mystery

I suppose the key to a good life is to gently overlook the truth and hope that at any moment we can all be reborn. – Little Birds 

Photo by Ken Browar, courtesy of Simon Van Booy

To purchase The Secret Lives of People in Love, click here.

To visit Simon Van Booy’s website, go here.