PRINTRead This: Love, In Theory
Short stories find a balance between love and logic
Photo courtesy of University of Georgia Press
September 20, 2012 | 12:00 a.m. CST
No need to choose between an intellectual read and light-hearted love story with E.J. Levy’s Love, In Theory.
Levy’s first book of fiction, released Sept. 15, has already been named a winner of the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction.
Related ArticlesA former associate professor of creative nonfiction at MU, Levy is well-versed in fiction and nonfiction writing.
Although Love, In Theory is a collection of love stories, Levy avoids unrealistic, sappy content and paints a picture that makes readers think, “Hey, I do that, too!”
The relationships within the book explore different concepts of love, such as same-sex relationships and familial love. In one short story, “Theory of Enlightenment,” Levy shows a woman whose lover leaves her for God. (He leaves for an ashram in the Catskills.) The down-to-earth characters are complemented by Levy’s infusion of philosophy, physics, drama, sociology and religious enlightenment. In fact, she wrote this collection when she noticed people have a tendency to separate love and intellect.
The stories are just the right length for a reader who can’t commit to an entire book, and at times you’ll feel as if the story were written about you.
So go on and indulge with this clever recipe of intelligent romance.
