Five novels about love in all its messy glory

From beginnings to break ups, these books capture romantic relationships so very well.

Some of the best stories of all time are love stories. I was thinking this because I seem to be consuming a lot lately, mostly on television: The Time Traveler’s Wife (which is good), Everything I Know About Love (which is great) and Love Life series two (which is excellent and I don’t quite understand why it has been so under the radar in the UK).

When it comes to novels about love, I tend not to want to read neat, fairytale stories (although they can be wonderful too). Instead, I like to read about love in all its messy glory. That’s why I am a little obsessed with the following five books, I think. They capture the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to romantic relationships, while still feeling beautiful and true.

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❤️ Five novels to read if you love reading about love

Us by David Nicholls

Obviously, One Day is one of *the* best love stories of all time - if not books of all time - and I will discuss (argue) with anyone who disagrees. But I’m taking a wild guess and assuming a large majority of Well Read subscribers would have already read it, and perhaps have as exhausted-looking copies on their shelves as I do.

So, Us. In many ways, I see this as a kind of older sibling to One Day. Instead of the excitement of new beginnings, it is a bittersweet portrait of a marriage coming to an end. On their last hurrah trip around Europe, Douglas tries to save the relationship and I remember being so invested that I had to quite literally remind myself it’s not real. Divine.

In at the Deep End by Kate Davies

Nothing in Julia’s love life is going right. She is 26, a civil servant, and is kindly reminded by her best friend and flat mate that she hasn’t had sex in three years. But when she heads out in search of some excitement, it finally dawns on her that she has been looking for love in the wrong places - by which I mean, men.

In at the Deep End is an excellent romp through Julia’s journey of discovery, of both other women and herself. It is don’t-read-in-public, you’ll-be-laughing-on-the-bus levels of funny, and there is also a lot of sex. (A lot a lot.) I loved this book so much I read it in one giddy gulp.

Acts of Desperation by Megan Nolan

Some love affairs are not good for you. Our unnamed narrator, a Dublin university dropout, knows this full well when she embarks on a (toxic) relationship with an older poet, Ciaran, but it doesn’t mean she can tear herself away, either.

This is a story about obsession, delusion and desire. As a young, female Irish author with an acerbic writing style, Nolan has been compared to Sally Rooney, but I actually think that this book might even be better than any of Rooney’s. It is blisteringly good - dark, visceral, and intoxicating.

Ordinary People by Diana Evans

Two couples are dealing with seismic events - for Melissa and Michael, the birth of their first child, and for Stephanie and Damian, the death of a parent - and the ricochets that have been sent through their respective marriages.

Diana Evans’ writing is always extraordinary, and Ordinary People, which takes place between South London and the suburbs in 2008, deals with grief, family, friendship and the fragility of love and relationships so well. I urge you to read it.

Early Morning Riser by Katherine Heiny

I was nervous to read this book at first, because I loved Heiny’s first novel, Standard Deviation, so much - could it ever live up? (NB: Standard Deviation definitely would have been included here were it not for the fact I’ve covered it in the newsletter before). But Early Morning Riser is really quite special; it’s an absolute tonic of a book.

It follows Jane, who moves to a small town in Michigan and falls quickly for Duncan. He is charismatic and easy to love, despite the fact he still mows his ex-wife’s lawn. The novel is written with Heiny’s trademark charm and is an exquisite account of a relationship with all its ups and downs. “Of course it wasn’t perfect,” Jane reflects, “love never is.”

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And finally…

On Thursday, Ruth Ozeki won the Women’s Prize for Fiction for her novel The Book of Form and Emptiness, and as I haven’t read it yet, I would love to know the thoughts of anyone who has. Let me know in the comments or by replying to this email.

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