I have already lost count, dear readers, of how many emails I’ve received from publishers, from Amazon, from various other bookish outlets to which I subscribe, all touting romance novels for Valentine’s Day. And we still have a week to go (or only a week, I suppose, if Valentine’s Day is your thing…)! We all know that I really love my romance novels, and we here at the Free For All are always ready to support any reader who would like to explore and enjoy romance novels, as well. But the overwhelming focus on the genre this week got me thinking about love stories….And the fact that they are everywhere.
Romance novels deal very specifically in the act of falling in love; in the realization that love makes life worth living. But they are by no means the only genre that focuses on love. In fiction, especially, love often defines the stakes of a plot, whether it be a mystery, a science fiction adventure, or a horror novel.
Love gives a story its high stakes, no matter what that story is. The only reason Benjamin Mears goes after Barlow in ‘Salem’s Lot is because of his love for Susan Norton. Hamlet, considered by many to be the greatest drama ever written, pivots on any number of love stories. Heck, even Richard Kadrey’s Coop Heists, which are officially among the weirdest (and most sublime) books I’ve ever read, feature Coop and his girl Giselle, and that bond is a foundational aspect of this series, and a critical part of Coop’s own development as a character.
And that doesn’t even touch on the other kinds of love stories that can be found in literature. Whether its a love of cooking or creating to the love we have for our pets, to the love we have for our sports teams, love defines us, gives us purpose, and sets the stakes for whatever journey we’re on.
So let’s not pretend that love is a thing that only lives in romances, or that love stories aren’t critically important aspects of the stories that we read and tell. In fact, since we’re on the subject, let’s look at a few books that definitely don’t feature “romance” stickers on them…
Security: One of the most haunting, unsettling, fascinating books I’ve read in a very long time, Gina Wohlsdorf’s debut is also a story about love–the things we are distances we go, the chances we take, and the pain we suffer for it. Though it’s a violent, scary, and super-twisted book about a covert attack on a new building that is billed as the ‘world’s most secure hotel’, it’s the love stories that are revealed in the course of the book that make you care whether anyone survives. Don’t read this book in the dark, but read it. I promise you’ll be surprised, and even a little charmed–even if it’s in spite of yourself.
The Kenzie and Gennaro Series: I have read this series, set in the Dorchester of the 1990’s, multiple times. Dennis Lehane is an absolute master at creating a scene, and sketching characters that are as familiar as your own neighbors. His plots are clever and twisty and raise detective fiction to something close to classic literature. But what I always take away from these books is the love between Patrick Kenzie and his partner, Angie Gennaro. I won’t spoil anything for you by telling you how their story unfolds; read these books for their neo-noir atmosphere; read them for their bitterly prescient discussions of race, class, and power; read them for the thrill of recognizing your home in someone else’s books…but read these books for these two characters, too. Their journey, together and separately, are what makes these books the classics they are.
All Our Wrong Todays: This book is on it’s way to us right now, and is a pitch-perfect blend of science fiction and love story. Elan Mastai’s debut focuses on Tom Barron a young man who lives in an alternate, idyllic 2016, where there is no war, no fear, and technological developments aplenty. But Tom makes a mistake. A critical, stupid mistake that brings him into our screwed up, messy, angry world. But when he’s provided with a chance to return to the world he knew, he begins to realize what I’ve been saying this whole time…that it’s not the things we have, but the people who make our futures worth exploring. That we are defined by love–all kinds of love. We are made human by love. And that love can make any journey worthwhile.