Stop! In the Name of Love

by

Kat Warren

In 1967 I was seventeen so, tracking backward, love for me, after mom and dad, meant Baby Jesus in Bible School when I was five. In the pre- and immediate post-puberty period, love was a) horses, and b) what Buddy Holly, Dell Shannon and the Beatles sang about. At fifteen I read Peyton Place and Candy which clued me into the carnality of romance and not a moment too soon.

At the senior prom I danced with my boyfriend to “our song.” Shamefully, this was Cherish by The Association. Later, love was all beads, long straight hair, patchouli oil, dilated eyes and the Summer of, well, Love scored by the Jefferson Airplane, the Youngbloods, Big Brother with Janis, the Byrds, the Who, Hendrix, the Doors, Velvet Underground and so on. Oh yeah, and some, ahem, carnality at long last.   

That’s the musical version of my historical appreciation of romantic ove early on. The literary aspect likely is more interesting. Love, for some, IS fiction but I escaped that unhappy fate by finding my own true love 36 years ago and holding fast forevermore. So we’ll have to settle for literary fiction; herewith, some of the love stories that move me most.

Foreign Affair by Alison Lurie
This is Lurie’s only true love story and it is as wry and amusing as it is wonderful and caustic. She won the Pulitzer for it, which is ironic because Lurie is rather more famous for her novels of attachments that go very badly awry.

Stones for Ibarra by Harriet Doerr
I confess—this is my all-time favorite love story. An Anglo couple move from San Francisco to Mexico to revive an abandoned copper mine that’s part of the family legacy. Gorgeous, rich and enriching.

The Dreyfuss Affair by Peter Lefcourt
Speaking of love, I love this novel. After all, there are damn few stories recounting the charged but checkered romance of two professional baseball players. When the white shortstop and the black second baseman fall in love, the World Series is jeopardized but players and fans won’t have that. It’s like, J'Accuse! all over again.

Mating by Norman Rush
So many love stories are just that—stories. This tome, however, is granular in chronicling the dynamics of the process of attachment and love and abatement. It takes place in Botswana featuring ex-pat Americans. It’s on my list of best novels in English (that I’ve read) of the last half of the twentieth century (and that’s a list you want to see, right?).

The City of Shadows by Ariana Franklin
Ostensibly a mystery, this atmospherically-protracted love story is set in Berlin and Eastern Europe before and during WWII. Robustly noir, tres involving.

The Queen of the Tambourine by Jane Gardam
This epistolary romance packs a punch to the gut while it turns and twists. Not your usual love story, no siree Bob. Well, Bob’s not in this novel, but these letters from a neighbor to one who broke out of the pack tell a story sweet, sad, imaginative and delightful. And did I say sad?

The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break by Steven Sherrill
I can’t even begin to sketch this novel, but you’ll know it’s something special when the bull carves the beef at a local eatery. Not only that, he ends up with the girl. Just read it as soon as you can. You’ve a treat in store.  

The Giant’s House by Elizabeth McCracken
A librarian falls reluctantly and inappropriately in love with, well, yes, an adolescent giant—and that’s a love story and more to be sure.

Summer People by Marge Piercy
I’m a Piercy fan, it’s true. I’ve been reading her novels most of my life. This one, Summer People, doesn’t seem to be well known, but it’s a terrific read. What could be more fun than a ménage a trios (or qua) on Cape Cod? The striations, levels and nuances here are the heart of a very rich story.

Max Tivoli by Andrew Sean Greer
A reverse love story brilliantly rendered. Usually the guy grows up and marries the girl. That happens in this novel too, but half-backwards.

The Garden of Iden by Kage Baker
A time traveler visits England in 1553 whereupon she falls in love with a Catholic masquerading as a Protestant—both of whom have much to fear from the Spanish Inquisition. It’s such a rewarding novel.  

Justine by Lawrence Durrell.  
Egypt’s Alexandria before and during WWII. Exquisite, exotic, erotic, and—mighty tasty. And a necessary introduction to Durrell who is a great writer of the twentieth century. Besides, he writes wonderful words.
 
Spending by Mary Gordon
This is Gordon’s standout novel. The artist protagonist, inspired by the aftermath of a night of hot sex, conceives the idea for a series of lush painting, Christ Spent, in the spirit of the Italian Renaissance. This is a rich book with lots to say about women, women with women, men, the nature of love and the rarified locale of the setting. Also, there’s a great dog.

Banishing Verona by Margot Livesey
A quixotic of different chops. Livesey’s Zeke and Verona aren’t just star crossed. They’re mismatched from the get go, but that doesn’t mean they can’t go.

Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler
When travel leaves a lover behind, and how he catches up. Besides, everyone needs to read at least one novel by Anne Tyler (I recommend several).

The Silver Metal Lover by Tanith Lee
Eventually, love conquers all, even biology. Jane is a very young woman, insecure and rich. Silver is an android and a minstrel—and Jane’s property. Oddly, this is one of the best love stories I’ve read.
 

Kat Warren is a corporate librarian in Northern California who lives with a fuchsia hybridist, their two elderly cats and too many books to count. Her preferred exercise workout is turning the pages of a good tome whilst guzzling champagne. She loves Bach (particularly the unaccompanied cello suites), beaches, books and a good bacchanal now and again. Kat can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it