“Where is love? Under the moonlight in Vermont, or on the moon over Miami, or in autumn in New York, or April in Paris?”

In his latest book, the venerable author of MAKING TOAST and KAYAK MORNING explores the many manifestations of love --- from affection, courtship and passion to enchantment, resignation and respect. Rosenblatt freshly defines love --- the “sublime mess” --- through a series of short poetic narratives, personal stories, vignettes and stream-of-consciousness meditations. His intimate voice is devoted (“The story I have to tell is of you... It begins and ends with you. It always comes back to you”), desirous (“Would you be an angel and unbuckle my belt, take down my pants...?”), funny (“George Clooney and Johnny Depp excite you, you’ve made that clear. And shoe stores, they get you all stirred up as well”), practical (“Why would I choose some wild and crazy fantasy when I could read Alice McDermott?”), sensual (“I lick the salt on your skin, ah love. Your skin is my philosophy”) and sweet.

"Brimming with lyrical musings and offering uniquely experiential perspectives, THE BOOK OF LOVE is delightfully inventive, imaginative and deep."

On the topic of marriage, Rosenblatt is satirical (“Of the six marriages announced on page eighty-three of the Sunday paper, 2.2 will fail, 2.3 will last, 1.5 will fail and last”), carefree (“Go it anyway, Bride and Groom. Damn the statistics”), tender and wise. In an almost aside, he tells a newly married couple, “People often think love’s simple because it arises naturally, in one’s nature. But love is no simpler than nature is simple. It makes demands. It requires corresponding actions. It takes concentration, patience, trust.” He quotes Philo (“Be kind, for everyone you meet is carrying a great burden”), then adds, “If you live in an atmosphere of kindness, it will enhance your love of each other. Love insists on kindness.”

Throughout his memoir, Rosenblatt richly describes his love of the natural world, detailing the winter blue bays, sprigs of yellow berries and the “stalactites of sun rays.” And just as he is attuned to the gushing sound of the Atlantic, he finds pleasure in music (from Gershwin to Lady Gaga), writers (including Shelley, Cummings and Auden) and writing, emphasizing art’s potent ability to make “sorrow endurable, evil intelligible, justice desirable, and love possible.”

Brimming with lyrical musings and offering uniquely experiential perspectives, THE BOOK OF LOVE is delightfully inventive, imaginative and deep.