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View Full Version : A Request - Pertaining to the Mechanics and Banality of Romance



Parcae
09-21-2010, 05:21 AM
Dear Forum,

I am new here, but i decided to go ahead and skip posting in the introduction section and just go straight ahead with my somewhat unusual appeal. I have tried to reduce it as much as possible in length, but a certain degree of detail is necessary in order to adequately convey the fundamentals of my request. I thank you in advance for reading.

What i am looking for is a piece of literature that describes in particular and specific detail a romantic relationship between a man and woman. What is most important to me is that the work concentrates on the mechanics of their relationship and avoids as much as possible any forays into idealism and the purely imaginary configurations that some authors tend toward. In other words, no Romeo and Juliet please. It would also be advantageous if the novel was contemporary and attempted to describe love, romance and their related challenges in a modern context while taking into account emotional rather than structural difficulties. The story itself can be centered around either the man or the woman and the choice of perspective is of little import. One further preference would be that the plot take into account as many phases of the relationship as possible with the initial development regarded as particularly salient. Finally, and if possible, the characters should be adults or young adults - the purpose here being to avoid the tepid and emotionally inhibited affairs often symptomatic of teenage romance. Briefly formulated, the characters should be cognizant and appreciative of the idea of love and posess a metric by which to guage it. If this sounds somewhat technical, that was my intention.

The closest i have been able to get to such a novel are certain works by Haruki Murakami such as Norwegian Wood, Sputnik Sweetheart and South of the Border, West of the Sun, with the latter being the absolute closest to what is described above. But the problem remains that far too many authors, even Murakami, prefer to estrange their readers with obtruse plots and symbol-laden rhetoric that does little in the way of building rapport with real-world circumstances and the true emotional barriers that relationships may face.

Finally, the aforementioned criteria are not to be regarded as prequisites in any way. Rather, my intention was to paint a deliberately vague portrait of what i need and have the reader touch up the rest from their personal palette of literary experience. If you know a work that might be relevant, please do not hesitate to post it, even if it does not directly correspond with my cited preferences. I am anyway almost embarassed to have to even request literature, but such a work has avoided me for long enough as to make it necessary.

Again, i wish to thank you for reading and look forward to your suggestions.

Parcae

MANICHAEAN
09-21-2010, 06:28 AM
Mikhail Lermontov. "A Hero of our Time"

Raymond Chandler. "The Little Sister"

kiki1982
09-21-2010, 07:29 AM
The Siege of Lisbon by Saramago?

There is a little bit of symbolism in there, but it is a touching portrait of an old man who falls in love for the first time in his life...

Seasider
09-21-2010, 03:13 PM
:confused: Why?

glover7
09-21-2010, 03:51 PM
I'd say that DH Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover explores the dynamics of a relationship and doesn't really delve into symbolism. It's not set in contemporary times though.

Parcae
09-22-2010, 04:02 AM
Let me first just say thanks for all the suggestions - i will most likely be ordering them from Amazon shortly. A Hero of Our Time and the History of the Siege of Lisbon sounds particularly interesting. I will also be sure to check out Lady Chatterly's Lover.

While browsing these novels on Amazon, i also came across an author named Milan Kundera. He has one book called The Unbearable Lightness of Being which also seems like it may bear some resemblance to my request. Does anyone have any experience with his work? Could you reccommend him?

Again, thanks for the replies!

Pecksie
09-22-2010, 09:48 PM
'The Museum of Innocence' by Orhan Pamuk seems to fit your requirements.

kelby_lake
09-23-2010, 01:52 PM
Betrayal is a good play detailing an adulterous romance and its consequences.