Customer Reviews

Where the God of Love Hangs Out: Fiction

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Amy Bloom is a great writer. Period. She, in this reviewer's opinion, is perfection. Every word is just right, every character someone you could know. And one feels privileged having been allowed to breach the forcefield of her imagination.

WHERE THE GOD OF LOVE HANGS OUT is an often funny, always awe-inspiring journey into the lives of very different American families who experience the common traumas of life, such as aging and death. Throughout the eras, we see these families growing up and growing apart, falling in love, cheating, and learning to live with --- and without --- one another. Every moment is authentic, genuine and utterly unique. Bloom's quiet mastery of her craft takes us into the heart of a group of human beings who will feel like members of your own family by the time the last page is turned.

One such group is best friends Claire and William. William is an overweight bon vivant with a penchant for cigars, comfort foods and said best friend. Although they are married to kind, attractive and doting people, their attraction to each other gets the best of them, and they launch a full-fledged infidelity attack during a late-night movie viewing. Their affair continues for some time, despite both of them having what seems like very loving marriages. Eventually, they extricate themselves from their marriages and come together only to find out that happily isn't really ever after. Do they deserve what they get? Is there any hope for a relationship created on lies and deception? There are no judgments here, no aspersions cast --- Bloom just offers the emotional parameters that define their choices and allows the reader to make their own decisions about the consequences.

This is just one of the stories in this book and perhaps the one that will cause the reader less distress than any other. One such tale, for example, concerning the truly shocking but understandably emotional responses to death that brings a woman and her stepson unnaturally close, has repercussions that last well beyond their simple home life.

Bloom doesn't pick her battles; rather, she presents situations and allows the characters to play out their responses to them in their own ways. None of them act in a manner most would expect, and yet all of their actions make sense given the sensory clues Bloom chooses to pepper throughout her stories.

WHERE THE GOD OF LOVE HANGS OUT has a beautiful Magritte-like cover of cherries and a natural setting that shows storm clouds on a horizon. From front cover to back, this collection of stories will blow into your life and stay with you long after the literary storm is over.

--- Reviewed by Jana Siciliano

I love Amy Bloom and as such own all of her previous books. So I was a little annoyed when I realized that three of stories in this book had been previously published in Come to Me and Even a Blind Man can See How Much I Love You. I understand collecting things previously published in magazines, but in other books makes me nuts. I buy a lot of books and don't need to buy anything twice. That being said - the stories are lovely - managing to convey romance, regret and a sense of the miracle of life all at once. If you haven't already read her other collections this one is certainly worth it.

Amy Bloom reached the bestseller list with her novel "Away", the strange but fascinating tale of a young Jewish woman 100 years ago who decides to cross a continent alone in search of her missing daughter. This new book is a collection of short stories that are linked by several sets of characters. In that regard, this collection resembles "Olive Kitteridge", the pulitzer prize winner from Elizabeth Strout. It's similar writing insofar as Amy Bloom has the complete skill set- beautiful style, deep and memorable characters, brilliant exploration of human relationships. Warning, these stories involve intense situations of loss, love, longing, and survival, and it is too much to absorb at one sitting- the book should be read over several days in small doses. It's also not for fans of Patterson or Dan Brown, because you have to get very involved in it and go slow. But it is very rewarding. I would definitely read whatever Bloom puts out. Bloom teaches creative writing at Yale University.

Amy Bloom is one of my favorite authors. Some of her short stories--in Love Invents Us, Come to Me and A Blind Man Can See How Much I Love You--are among the best I've ever read. And her latest story collection, Where the God of Love Hangs Out, is a worthy addition to this list.

There are two sets of interrelated stories in this collection and some unrelated ones. The first set chronicles William and Clare, lifelong friends who, unbeknownst to their spouses, are falling in love with each other late in life. The stories are told from both William and Clare's points-of-view and see them both through ups and downs. The second set follows Julia, the new widow of a famous jazz musician, and her stepson, Lionel, as they make their ways through life. The other stories touch on various aspects of love, life and relationships, and each is memorable in its own way.

Bloom is at her best in this collection. In thinking about these stories, I'm struck by something a reviewer of this book said in Entertainment Weekly: Bloom's writing doesn't stop you in your tracks, but it grabs your heart. I'd agree. Don't miss this book.

Amy Bloom's Where the God of Love Hangs Out clearly aims to be a series of meditations on unusual instances of love. It examines the bearers of that love, their relationships to each other and to small but widely varying peripheral casts, and does its best to make no judgments, to present them to us and make way for our own assessment. As a treatment of the subject of love in all its agony and splendor etc., the stories are an impressive success. But as a series of engrossing and moving tales, they are far less so.

The book is divided into two primary sequences of stories chronicling two rather unusual couples, punctuated by several shorter stand-alone pieces. Characters are often well developed and detailed, and the manifestations of love are, of course, interesting and compelling in their own way. But where Bloom falls short is in her efforts to make them likable, to draw us in and force us to invest ourselves in their troubles and triumphs.

The first sequence follows William and Clare, aging extramarital lovers whose respective spouses are more suited for each other than for them. The second follows Lionel and Julia, a stepmother/stepson pair brought together by a connection that I never entirely bought into. These relationships are ambitious in scope, and occasionally they do ring true enough to move the reader, but a great deal of time is spent on circumstances surrounding the love, so that almost no attention is paid to the love itself. The characters that result are often hollow and bare, in spite of the careful effort on the part of the author to flesh them out and make them come alive for us.

There are a handful of moments in the collection that reached me, the most powerful of which occurred in the final lines of the independent story "Between Here and Here." But for the most part the men and women that populate this book are busy making each other and themselves miserable, which is only interesting to a point. And by far the greatest misstep Bloom makes is to rely too much on the presence, immediate or not, of death in her stories--the device is so frequent as to become distracting.

Stylistically, the experience is a joy; Bloom's words are well-chosen and to the point. But for those looking for more than a strictly literary read (and by that I mean a warmer, chewier take on traditional romantic love), this is an overwhelmingly bittersweet, if not downright unhappy, book that deals with its subject in a detached and intellectual manner, leaving it feeling more than a little sterile. This is not to say that it can't be a fun or rewarding read, but don't let the title fool you: wherever the God of Love hangs out, it's not here.

I thought this was a well written collection of short stories, but struggled to enjoy what I was reading. I did not like the subject matter in several of the stories, and found myself racing to get the book over instead of wishing it would last longer. Obviously I am in the minority here, since the other reviews are positive, but I did not enjoy this collection, though I can appreciate Amy Bloom's talent and writing.

Amy Bloom is an amazing author. In her latest collection of stories, she creates startlingly dense and rich vignettes, filled with unforgettably complex characters, conflicted and sometimes inexplicable emotions, each story a window of truth. She's exceptional at telling people's stories, their secrets, at pulling me into her character's lives, at surprising me. She clearly knows a thing or two about love and loss and life, about painting a picture with words.

I would only ask that the stories be longer, as I always want just a little more. I'll read anything she writes.

This book was a joy to read. I could hardly put it down. It has real people in it- with real situations and emotions that anyone can identify with. The stories take unexpected twists and turns. The only downside is that the stories actually end. The cover of the book is a treat as well. Definitely one that will face out on my bookshelf.

Amy Bloom never seems to write about the kind of love found in romance novels, but, as we all know, those types of stories are merely fantasy, something we like to throw ourselves into to pretend it is real and it is we who are the characters.

No, this does not interest Bloom. What interests her is the type of love that is based on yearning or loss or absence of something or someone. It's atypical. It's not...normal. And that is why I love reading Bloom's stories.

In this collection of short stories, you'll find a woman and man desperately needing each other while married. They sneak, cheat and lie, but eventually come together. You'll feel the longing, the need, the sadness, the loss. We are not perfect animals. We need and want and some of us are brave (and maybe stupid) enough to go out and take what we want.

You'll also find a more taboo subject in this book -- incest? Is that what we can call it? I guess it is. It is a quick love built out of death and loss and need to feel something. It is a love that crushes relationships and tears people apart. Can it be overcome? You'll have to read and see.

I love Bloom's take on love. Her characters are real and wonderfully developed. Her words flow and vibrate with emotions we've all felt but maybe don't talk about. Her stories can be shocking, but she's not writing them for shock value. All these things are there in our world; Bloom is just brave enough to write about it.

Everyone should read this novel by Amy Bloom. It is so full of people like you and me. She doesn't try to answer our questions, why do I love this person and what is love, anyway? As a famous blogger says, 'Shit Happens"!

Amy Bloom tells us how the ways we love affects our lives-- yesterday, today and tomorrow . Why do people fall in love, no one knows and that is the point. If you have the wonderful bloom of love than enjoy it, savor it and chalk it up to good luck. In this collection of love stories we meet many odd couples, and feel their love and pain.

In the first story the couple who start out together, end up with their best friend's partner. How and why? Who knows?

And, then Julia and Lionel, step-mother and son. Their love is unusual and lasts a lifetime, but we all understand.

``I had always planned to kill my father,'' announces the narrator in Between Here and Here, the third story. But she discovers in his old age, another man.,

A man, advancing in his age, falls in love with a diner owner only to see what real love is like from his daughter-in-law's drama.

A college student talks on the phone every night to her missing roommate's mom. Maybe Anne isn't dead, maybe she escaped

The other stories all resonate, what we finally realize is that our happiness is worth whatever we go through to find it. The mix of love, sex, humor and death all seem to feel just right. Amy Bloom has a wicked sense of humor, sometimes dark , but at times I found myself laughing out loud. And the people, they are you and me and our neighbors down the street. Go, everyone and tell your friends and neighbors about this novel, they will thank you, or give it as a gift, a gift of love.

Highly Recommended. prisrob 04-12-10

Away: A Novel

A Blind Man Can See How Much I Love You : Stories