Readings that will make you fall in love: the best books about love
Ah, love: that feeling that moves the world, that gives us the strength to carry on, but that also destroys us until we become walking corpses. Scientists, biologists, chemists—all have written about it! But only poets and writers seem to have found the right words to connect with readers, expressing those ethereal and abstract feelings so difficult to place.
Authors such as William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Margaret Mitchell, Emily Brontë, Charles Baudelaire, Truman Capote or Laura Esquivel They have been able to capture the essence of love In all its forms: from the most pleasurable moments to the most painful. In honor of this emotion, we've created a selection of the best books about love ever written.
The best books about love
Romeo AND Juliet (2006), by William Shakespeare
Yes, It is possible that Starting this list with Romeo and Juliet may seem cliché, but it seems that all the treatises on love come from this work. that were written later, and not including it here could be considered a cardinal sin. The story, as many will know, follows the very young Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, who fall in love with each other after a party at her house.
However, it turns out that both families hate each other to death, and the boys, not knowing what to do without each other, decide to accept death as the only plausible fate, which leads the Montagues and the Capulets to reconsider their mutual disdain. The curious thing about the play is that, according to some, Shakespeare He did not write tragic plays, but rather a satire that mocks love at first sight.
Quotes from William Shakespeare
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"The sea that men make lives after them; good is often buried with their bones."
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"Nothing in his life became him like leaving it; he died like someone who had been trained in his death to throw away what he most cherished. As if it were a careless trifle."
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"A peace has the nature of a conquest; for then both parties are nobly subdued and neither loses."
Pride and prejudice (2015), by Jane Austen
Another chiché? Maybe, but It is absolutely necessary to talk about Pride and Prejudice and the legacy that Jane Austen She left behind her own understanding of love, especially when she herself could have had one of the most beautiful and tragic stories in real life. Her greatest success—this book—describes Victorian rural life and how women needed to marry so they wouldn't be left destitute when their parents died.
In this context, Elizabeth Bennet meets Fitzwilliam Darcy, a young, handsome, and wealthy man who, at first, finds her unattractive and unsuitable due to her poverty. However, This volume shows that love is capricious, and that we do not control who we fall in love with, because Mr. Darcy falls hopelessly under the spell of Lizzy's intelligence, wit, and sweetness, who, in turn, cannot help but love him for his kindness and generosity.
Quotes by Jane Austen
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"Vanity and pride are different things, although they are often used interchangeably. Pride is related to our opinion of ourselves; vanity, to what we would like others to think of us."
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"There's nothing I wouldn't do for those who are truly my friends. I don't have the option of loving people halfway; that's not my nature."
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"I have struggled in vain. I no longer wish to do so. My feelings cannot be contained. Allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you."
Breakfast at Tiffany's (1990), by Truman Capote
From now on we are going to break all the schemes to immerse ourselves in these love stories that are not always happy, these stories filled with frustration, pain, fear and despair. Because?: because love is full of nuances, And they all need to be explored. Here, the talented Truman Capote portrays Holly Golightly, a complex protagonist trying to shape her own world.
She, attractive without being particularly beautiful, lives in a universe full of luxuries, with men who admire her and would give even what they don't have for her attention. Even so, Holly doesn't want to be tied to anyone: she lives in a permanent provisional state, Always in the present, from a prisoner in Zing Zing to an old bartender who adores her. Holly is a mix of innocence and mischief, of cunning and authenticity.
Truman Capote Quotes
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"His enemy was anyone who was what he wanted to be or who had something he wanted to do."
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"Friendship is a full-time occupation if that person is truly your friend. That's why you can't have too many friends; there wouldn't be enough time for everyone."
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"A conversation is a dialogue, not a monologue. That's why there are so few good conversations, because two good conversationalists rarely get together."
gone With the Wind (2020), by Margaret Mitchell
This is not a love story like any other: is one of the best. Here, the author places us in 1861, on Tara, an American plantation located in the state of Georgia. Scarlett O'Hara lives there, in love with Ashley Wilkes, who, in turn, is about to marry Melanie Hamilton. However, the country is about to start the civil war, and all the young southerners seem eager to go.
The only reluctant one is the attractive adventurer Rhett Butler. He likes Scarlett, but she remains in love with Wilkes, who finally announces their engagement. Later, the protagonist makes the decision to marry Charles, Melanie's brother, whom she can't even stand. Years later, After the war, Scarlett must face terrible situations, such as death, hunger, and a move to Atlanta, where Melanie awaits news of Ashley and Butler reappears.
Quotes by Margaret Mitchell
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"Maybe... I want the old days back, and they'll never come back, and I'm haunted by the memory of them and the world crumbling before my eyes."
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"Sir," she said, "you are no gentleman!" "A fair observation," he replied casually. "And you, miss, are no lady."
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"Dear Scarlett! You are not helpless. Someone as selfish and determined as you is never helpless."
Wuthering Heights (2020), by Emily Brontë
The Brontë sisters were very talented, and in this article, we'll discuss two of them. Emily Brontë was ahead of her time, a woman of overwhelming sensitivity who managed to transcend the role and time. His book tells the love story between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, two completely opposite characters who experience a passionate and stormy bond.
The story is set on the bleak Yorkshire moors, where the Earnshaw family adopts Heathcliff. After the adoption, Catherine and the orphan boy develop a forbidden relationship that becomes increasingly intense.Years later, she marries in search of a better social position, which triggers his hatred and revenge. This is a masterfully and beautifully written work.
Quotes by Emily Brontë
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"If everything else were to perish and he remained, I would still exist; and if everything else were to perish and he were annihilated, the universe would become a mighty stranger."
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"I've had dreams in my life, dreams that have stayed with me forever and changed my ideas; they've flowed through me again and again, like wine through water, and altered the color of my mind. And this is one: I'm going to tell it, but be careful not to smile at any of it."
Jane Eyre (2017), by Charlotte Brontë
Here is another masterpiece by one of the Brontë sisters. Although this one is not as tragic as Wuthering Heights, it still maintains a Gothic style, very typical of the time and, in particular, of the Brontës. The novel narrates the misadventures of Jane Eyre, A young orphan who is abused by her relatives and locked up in a school for young ladies, where she is also mistreated.
However, some time later the school improves, and she graduates as a teacher. But when her own governess marries, she leaves school and decides to look for another job. Later, she is hired by Mr. Rochester, a reclusive man with a tragic past with whom she falls deeply in love. From then on, Both must overcome the tests of destiny, faith and the social stigmas of the time.
Quotes by Charlotte Brontë
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"I don't think, sir, that you have the right to give me orders just because you're older than me or because you've seen more of the world than I have; your claim to superiority depends on how you've used your time and experience."
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"Jane, be still; do not resist like a wild, frantic bird tearing its feathers in despair. I am not a bird; nor am I caught in any net; I am a free human being, with an independent will; and now I strive to leave you."
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"I am no angel," I assured her; "and I shall not be one until I die: I shall be myself. Mr. Rochester, you must not expect or demand anything heavenly from me, for you will not get it, any more than I will get it from you, which I do not expect at all."
