A review of “The Course Of Love” by Alain de Botton
The author de Botton is known mainly for his philosophical works and this book purports to be a rare venture into fiction, but it hardly qualifies.
It has a fair degree of characterisation, being all about Rabin Khan and Kristen McLelland who marry, have children, and struggle to keep their relationship alive and respectful, but there is no real plot and minimal dialogue plus interventions from the author every few pages commenting from a psychological point of view on what is going on and what the principals are feeling.
The novel – if we can call it that – seeks to provide an antidote to romanticism. It argues that “there is no one more likely to destroy us than the person we marry” and the theme of the work is that “love is a skill, not just an enthusiasm” suggesting that therapy is in some ways “the greatest invention of the age”.