Krauss and Foer in The Book Book

On my way to and from work I'm listening to a taped version Nicole Krauss's History of Love borrowed from the library.

I have a very vague memory of a short story of hers in the New Yorker that caught my fancy. This book is very Jewish. It's about immigrants from Europe, who live in New York, who've lived in Israel and South America. The tape version is being read by several voices in the first person. One is an old man at the end of his life. One a girl who is trying to make her widowed mother and her younger brother happy. It has humor and depth and I suppose it is a history of love. The language is simple and it kind of folds in on itself.

I went googling this morning, looking for images of the author and of the book itself. I found quotes:
Once upon a time there was a boy who loved a girl, and her laughter was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering.
and
Nothing makes me happier and nothing makes me sadder than you.

Those aren't exactly the kind of quotes that appeal to me. The book isn't exactly the kind of book that appeals to me. But still I'm spending time with it and it's creeping into my consciousness and maybe changing me a little.

The book is dedicated to Krauss's four grandparents and to her husband Jonathan Safran Foers. He writes books too, novels, and a non-fiction book he might be best known for called Eating Animals.

I read part of an except from it that's available here. It's nothing I don't know. I come from generations of farmers. I understand what it takes to raise animals for food. It's not always pretty. I read about the abuses of animals, the animals that die, that are killed, the suffering, the sheer mistakes that are made in converting life to life.

I say, ok, I get it. I will quit eating meat. And eggs. I already only eat eggs when someone else cooks them for me. I worry a little if I give up cheese if I'll get enough protein. I don't drink much milk anyway. I like black beans and rice and salsa enough to live on them. I like fruits of all kinds. I can give up brats and hamburger and italian sausage and the occasional chicken breast. And tuna. I eat tuna from a can once in a while.

I can do those things. And maybe I will. But does it matter? Will doing any of those things make any difference?

I try to imagine a world of vegetarians. And I can't. Can you help me?

Last updated August 17, 2014