Two of my favorite books when I’m down on a relationship or trying to move on are both written by Alain de Botton, one is called On Love (I think in Europe it’s called Essays in Love) and the other is called the Romantic Movement. The reason why these two books helped me through breakups is they both have the same plot. Boy and Girl meet, fall in love, break up. In the end, both books end with a new beginning in a new relationship. He presents love as a cycle. They’re not good books to read while you’re happy in love but when you’re feeling blue, it’s a bit uplifting. You will love again and again until you meet that last person. Now I’m sure there are plenty of books with that plot but Alain de Botton peppered On Love with a lot of philosophical references and as a philosophy major, the references were recognized and appreciated by me. Some people may find his writing cynical, but I find it quite matter of fact.
So yesterday I watched 500 Days of Summer with Jamie. As I’m watching, I start to think about Alain de Botton’s two novels about love I read. It had all the Alan de Botton pieces. Boy and Girl meet. Boy falls in love. Boy gets his heart broken. As I’m sitting there, and am thinking about Botton, Boy, also known as Tony much to my utter surprise and delight, gave one of Alain de Botton’s books to Girl (her name is Summer hence 500 Days of Summer). He gave her, Architecture of Happiness. I’ve been meaning to read Botton’s nonfiction. Maybe I will start with Architecture of Happiness.
I recommend this movie. I’m completely taken by it.
Related Blog Entries:
April 5, 2008- Romantic Movement excerpts
Mar 24, 2008- Romantic Movement and On Love excerpts