letter
reality
Art or Life
Longing for stories
cynicism
party
Virgin conception
Love love
uncertainty
catalyst
Sex, shopping, novels
Washing cycle
value system
Knowing the other person
Predictability
The permanence of love
Power and 007
sacred relationship
Eric's luggage
Why are you loved?
travel
The problem of reading
Pleasure
Diving, Rousseau, and Thinking Too Much
puberty
misogyny
A vacation to yourself
regionality
What kind of person does it make me?
soul
Layers of Truth
question
Passing the buck
A language of one's own
misreading
Who is making the effort?
Putting the Pieces of Love Together
declaration
invite
martyrdom

After moving

The beginning and end of love, a surprising insight into the psychology of men and women.
Wit that takes the weight of academic analysis and seriousness out of the equation

Who could unravel the tedious romance with such sophistication as Alain de Botton? His "Love and Relationships Trilogy" is a novel that has won readers over with its unique analysis of the psychology of love between men and women.
This book also depicts the progression of love in an exciting way, from its birth to its growth and conclusion, through Alain de Botton's characteristically diverse academic analysis and detailed psychological descriptions.


However, the main character of this novel is Alice, a career woman in her mid-20s who will be the main reader of this book.
For readers whose hearts are fluttering with longing and fantasy for love, Alice is a being that resembles them, as if she is a reflection of themselves.
So, you can empathize with Alice's perspective and become immersed in her romance as if by magic.


Through a series of thrilling events that unfold between Alice's dream of romantic love and her boyfriend Eric, the author concisely and humorously shows how ideal love matures into a real-life, mature love.

The power of love comes from the ability to give nothing.
Even if the other person tells you that they are really comfortable with you, there is power in being able to change the subject to a TV program without saying anything.
Unlike in other fields, in love, the strong are those who have no intentions toward the other person, who do not desire or seek anything.
Because the goal of love is communication and understanding, someone who changes the subject, shuts down the conversation, or waits two hours to call back effortlessly exerts power over someone who is weaker, more dependent, and more demanding.


Stendhal expressed the critical view that in a relationship, one person always loves the other more, and thus the power in the relationship is perceived.
Only when both parties maintain a level playing field, when one person says, "I love you," and the other person naturally says, "I love you too," can the existence of power be forgotten.
_Main text, pages 171-172

The author shows the parabolic course of love through Ellis' love story.
In particular, it analyzes and provides insight into various everyday topics that seem completely unrelated to romance, such as climate, architecture, shopping, and religion, by discussing the minor psychological conflicts and views on love that we experience while in a relationship.
Nevertheless, his sentences are neither vague nor ambiguous and are sufficiently persuasive.
Through the process of the main characters perfecting their love, readers can discover the reality and illusion of romantic love that they have likely experienced at least once, and at the same time, obtain the pleasure of deep philosophical thought.

“This is the story of me and my lover,
“It’s a story about you and your lover.”

The novel does not leave those who simply dream of romantic love to praise the romantic melodrama that cannot be watched without tears.
Rather, it adheres to a postmodernist tendency, imbued with broad intellectual play, surprising insights that transcend time, and a new generation's wit that lightens this weight.

In this novel, Alain de Botton presents Alice as a modern-day romantic who dreams of being a 'pure scapegoat for love,' making readers empathize with her situation and feel their hearts pounding over her love and its tragic yet sweet ending.
She also draws on all sorts of romantic elements from literature and art history to create a colorful aura for her dreams and ideals.
On the other hand, the author maintains a cool and rational distance and progresses the 'epic of love' at a very slow pace.

According to Oscar Wilde, art does not imitate life, but life imitates art.
What was Oscar Wilde trying to say with this embarrassing quote? That art has its advantages over life, that a kiss from a three-dimensional lover is just as stereotypical and pathetic as a kiss from a movie.
Wilde's 'romantic aesthetic' was like a verdict she passed on men like Tony.
Tony kissed Alice at the office Christmas party, his breath smelling like onion soup, and his behavior like a dog barking at its owner who hasn't seen him in a long time.
_Page 27 of the text

In this soft love story, the thoughts of great philosophers such as Plato, Thales, and Hegel, as well as Oscar Wilde and D.
The meaning and joy this book gives us is infinite, just from the pleasure of seeing how the definitions of literary figures like H. Lawrence and Flaubert and the artistic meaning of Andy Warhol are exquisitely blended.

Pictures, quizzes, and quotations from philosophers' wordplay
Postmodern love stories

One of the charms of Alain de Botton's writing is that he freely uses visual diagrams, such as pictures and tables, that are not used in conventional novel formats, to express his explorations and thoughts about characters.
Why shouldn't illustrations be included in a novel? In fact, they can be incredibly helpful in analyzing and understanding complex romances.
There seems to be no more reliable tool than this when it comes to comparing the psychological structures of men and women or explaining the progress of a relationship.


Another charm that can be found in his work is the abstract yet meaningful chapter titles.
He deliberately avoids common and ordinary titles and insists on philosophical titles such as 'Pleasure' and 'Layers of Truth'.
Because of this, when you just glance at the table of contents, it gives the impression of having opened a psychology or professional book.
However, compared to the weight of the title, the stories it contains are actually witty and lively.


But more than anything else, the greatest appeal of his work is his ability to look at the oldest and sometimes boring confession in history, “I love you,” through a youthful and sophisticated sensibility.
This book is like a psychological treatise, such as 'A Proper View of Love' or 'Depression in Love'.
As he realized, the words “I love you” can be a question, a trigger, or a starting hand in a game of cards.
However, the truth of romantic love that we feel through his work is not much different from what we have learned through countless romantic experiences.

There's no need to worry so much! Tomorrow, a new love will come to you...