Brooklyn Bookbeat: Brooklyn writer looks to literary classics for lessons in love
Despite the expanding array of communication options that exist today — including, of course, the recent proliferation of dating websites — finding true love can seem difficult as ever. Modern-day technology and dating conventions have certainly increased options and opportunities for meeting people; still, sometimes the sheer number of options, not to mention the abundance of dating advice offered in self-help books and magazines, makes us crave simplicity.
Brooklyn author Maura Kelly and Manhattan-based writer Jack Murnighan, frustrated by the contemporary dialogue surrounding romance, decided to look in an unusual direction — backwards — in an effort to clarify their love lives. The two sifted through classic novels, finding the literary characters they studied to be surprisingly inspirational. Kelly and Murnighan were so compelled by their findings that they co-authored a book, “Much Ado About Loving: What Our Favorite Novels Can Teach You About Date Expectations, Not-So-Great Gatsbys, and Love in the Time of Internet Personals.”
With lighthearted humor, the writers convincingly contend that while classic authors like Jane Austen and Herman Melville knew nothing about OkCupid or post-date texting etiquette, the characters they created were certainly (and perhaps more purely) entangled in messy and confusing romantic situations that reflect the same dramas many of us face today.