The Course of Love

到底該如何定義「從此過著幸福快樂的日子」？當激情與愛戀消逝後，是否才是真愛之路的啟程？經典暢銷書《擁抱似水年華》作者艾倫‧狄波頓最新愛情小說，以哲理探討愛情的真理一段愉快的晚餐閒聊時間，Rabih與Kirsten的好友們總是問著相同的問題：你們是如何相遇？答案永遠很簡單，它是一段快樂的回憶，兩人也樂於與好友分享這段往事。但他們的好友從來沒問過另一個問題，在相識與相愛後，兩人又是過著什麼樣的人生？Rabih與Kirsten在茫茫人海中找到彼此，他們相愛，然後走進婚姻。我們所認知的世界教育我們這就是故事的結局，但事實上，這只是另一段人生的開始。歷經相愛的激情，到許下對彼此的承諾，人生過程中許多隱藏在深處的問題卻開始一一浮現，這就是真正的婚姻生活。這是一個關於現代人兩性關係及如何從中生存的故事，以哲學、心理學探討愛情，當激情逐漸消逝後，兩人之間還剩下什麼？What does it mean to live happily ever after?At dinner parties and over coffee, Rabih and Kirsten's friends always ask them the same question: how did you meet? The answer comes easily - it's a happy story, one they both love to tell. But there is a second part to this story, the answer to a question their friends never ask: what happened next?Rabih and Kirsten find each other, fall in love, get married. Society tells us this is the end of the story. In fact, it is only the beginning.From the first thrill of lust, to the joys and fears of real commitment, to the deep problems that surface slowly over two shared lifetimes, this is the story of a marriage. It is the story of modern relationships and how to survive them. Playful, wise and profoundly moving, The Course of Love is a delightful return to the novel by Alain de Botton, twenty years after his debut Essays in Love.