false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172787162m/217081.jpg 217081 4 Amy Bloom's 1993 collection, <i>Come to Me,</i> is filled with yearning mysteries of romantic and familial love that are far more complex than the phrase "love story" allows. The first sentence of the first story, "Love Is Not a Pie," evinces the contradictions, layers, and interconnections of her narrator's existence--and hooks the reader entirely. "In the middle of the eulogy at my mother's boring and heart-breaking funeral, I began to think about calling off the wedding." The title phrase means exactly what it says: Lila's mother didn't have a finite amount of affection and was lucky not to be forced to choose between love's accepted forms and a more unusual one: "People think that it can't be that way, but it can. You just have to find the right people." Lila realizes that she needs to get out of her engagement because she isn't ready for normality. <p> The unusual pervades these stories, and Bloom handles some outsized events with delicacy and humor. In "Sleepwalking," a new widow sends her stepson away after they've slept together, because she wants him to have a normal life. The author makes us aware that there's something terrible and foolhardy about this woman's decision. Several other characters find themselves in equally desperate situations, their only consolation being recollections of earlier bliss, often sensual: "It was like nothing else in my life, that river of love that I could dip into and leave and return to once more and find it still flowing." For them, memories of past happiness makes present sorrow bearable. 936759 1993 Come to Me (Macmillan Paperback First) total:611|5:194|4:262|3:124|2:26|1:5| 611 2447 852 64 5 2 false false Thu Dec 13 19:50:40 -0800 2007 Thu Dec 13 19:54:49 -0800 2007 more...]]> 1 1 false false Wed Nov 12 04:17:52 -0800 2008 Sat Nov 15 13:08:34 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Mar 31 00:00:00 -0800 2003 Mon Jan 26 14:50:35 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 26 14:53:14 -0800 2009
Having read her other books, Love Invents Us, and A Blind Man Can See How Much I Love You, I think "Come To Me," is Amy Bloom's finest by far.

Each story broaches delicate issues of life...more...]]> 4 1 false false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sat Jul 14 16:29:23 -0700 2007 Sun Aug 12 09:58:36 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 1 false false Wed Mar 19 10:06:01 -0700 2008 Wed Mar 19 10:12:14 -0700 2008 I do want to read Even a Blind Man Can See I Love You, because you recommended Kit and also b...more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Nov 30 22:36:22 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 01 19:37:23 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 1 false false Mon Nov 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Tue Jul 17 07:55:14 -0700 2007 Tue Jul 17 07:55:34 -0700 2007 5 1 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Mon Mar 12 21:30:14 -0700 2007 Mon Mar 12 21:30:14 -0700 2007 5 0 false false Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 22 06:53:25 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 22 06:53:25 -0700 2009 Even though I'd read it before, these stories were fresh and startling. I...more...]]> 0 0 false false Thu Nov 29 07:45:17 -0800 2007 Thu Nov 29 07:49:20 -0800 2007
"Amy Bloom's Come to Me and A Blind Man Can See How Much I Love You. These two collections capture longing ...more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Fri Jul 24 18:15:47 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 24 18:16:42 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Thu Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Sun Sep 20 21:00:32 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 20 21:00:32 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Thu Aug 20 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 16 04:49:16 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 16 04:59:58 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue May 13 09:05:58 -0700 2008 Thu Nov 13 07:18:20 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Aug 18 13:00:42 -0700 2008 Wed Oct 22 19:35:18 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Dec 22 10:54:51 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 22 10:56:09 -0800 2008 This is a very powerful collection of stories about non-traditional relationships and unusual characters. I loved it!]]> 3 0 false false Mon Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jan 26 20:18:09 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 26 20:19:20 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Wed Jan 07 19:22:39 -0800 2009 Fri Mar 27 19:37:32 -0700 2009 more...]]> 0 0 false false Wed Jan 21 13:11:57 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 21 13:12:52 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Wed Dec 03 12:44:20 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 03 12:44:43 -0800 2008 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=217081