The Course of Love: An unforgettable story of love and marriage from the author of bestselling novel Essays in Love

Alain de Botton

Apr 2016 · Penguin · Narrated by Julian Rhind-Tutt

About this audiobook

Penguin presents, the unabridged, downloadable, audiobook edition of The Course of Love by Alain de Botton, read by Julian Rhind-Tutt.

SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER

From one of our great thinkers on modern life and the human condition - an unforgettable story of love and marriage from the author of bestselling novel Essays in Love as well as The Consolations of Philosophy, Religion for Atheists and The School of Life

'The Course of Love probes the very heart of marriage, its shifts and squalls, its great adventure, with such forensic tenderness. I laughed a lot, too' Deborah Moggach

'Engaging, sympathetic, acutely perceptive... There's a refreshing honesty in what de Botton has to say' Guardian

'Anyone who is, has been, or would ever like to be, in a satisfying, successful relationship, would do well to read de Botton' Irish Independent

'He debunks the myth of the happily ever after with a painfully familiar, often hilarious detailing of petty arguments, the occasional extra-marital fling, the moments of loneliness and the declining frequency of sex... It's not only hugely enjoyable but life enhancing too' Daily Mail

Modern love is never easy. Society is obsessed with stories of romance, but what comes after happily ever after?

This is a love story with a difference. From dating to marriage, from having kids to having affairs, it follows the progress of a single ordinary relationship: tender, messy, hilarious, painful, and entirely un-Romantic. It is a love story for the modern world, chronicling the daily intimacies, the blazing rows, the endless tiny gestures that make up a life shared between two people. Moving and deeply insightful, The Course of Love offers us a window into essential truths about the nature of love.

Ratings and reviews

Very thought through, well worded and explained, help- and insightful. Thank you very much. I will digest it and listen to it in a few weeks again. A better and detailed way of bringing otherwise eventually dry information through (within a story). Well done! What it makes me wish for in a new book is hearing about two people who aren't marrying and committing to sexual loyalty as well as child free relationships or even friendships. I will think and use the understood lessons and apply them onto those scenarios myself and see how that will look. It isn't about uncovering romanticism as a danger but other forms of idealistic ideas, perhaps.

The Infatuation chapter is not completed. The other chapters would be also uncompleted recorded, I guess.

Easy to identify with this book.

About the author

Alain de Botton is the bestselling author of fifteen books, including The School of Life: An Emotional Education, How Proust Can Change Your Life, The Consolations of Philosophy, The Art of Travel and The Course of Love. He is the founder of The School of Life (theschooloflife.com).