A Vertext of �The History of Love 134-159
The History of Love pg 135
Flood [the title of this section]
The History of Love pg 135
1. HOW TO MAKE A FIRE WITHOUT MATCHES
Finding Alma Mereminski
Little Alma & Misha
Bird finding his “place”
Leo and his childhood book
Uncle Julian & his wife
The History of Love pg 136
“Don’t step there,” [Bird] said… “It’s too deep.”
See the title
The History of Love pg 136
“But why did someone kill them?” he [Bird] asked.
“Because they needed money and robbed a house,”
I said, and got on the escalator going down.
On the subway home, Bird touched my shoulder.
“But why did they need the money?”
The History of Love pg 137
“Don’t you see?” I said. “He could change every detail, but he couldn’t change her.” “Because, to him she was the only thing that was real.”
The History of Love pg 137
“They think you were my girlfriend,” Misha announced. Just then my toe caught and I tripped… “Well,” I’m not,” I said.
The History of Love pg 137
When we went into the ocean, I watched his body as he dove into the waves, and it gave me a feeling in my stomach that wasn’t an ache but something different.
The Return of Martin Guerre – the one woman who accusses
Him (Arnaud/Martin) of being the devil – “Everytime time I
looked at him it made me feel funny – warm…”
The History of Love pg 138
“The old house was filled with his grandmother’s china…and the framed butterflies three generation of Shklovskys had caught as boys. Over time their scales fell away, and if you ran barefoot through the house the china would rattle and your feet would pick up wing dust.”
The History of Love pg 138
When I lay on his pillow, it smelled of him.
I [Leo] thought: From time to time, he [Isaac] slept in this bed. This very bed! His head on these pillows. (earlier)
The History of Love pg 139
I did a search on mass extinctions…If things go on like this, half of all species on earth will be gone in a hundred year. For this reason, I did not put any butterflies on Misha’s card.”
I [Leo] was trying to free the moth, because
Suddenly she clapped her hands shut.
We look at each other in horror. When
She peeled her hands apart again, the
Moth jumped feebly in her palm. (earlier)
The History of Love pg 139
Our [Misha & Alma] breath made little clouds when we spoke.
The History of Love pg 140
[At Misha’s apartment] “There was sand in my bathing suit and between my teeth.”
The History of Love pg 140-141
I didn’t know how to say that even though I’d started out looking for someone who could make my mother happy again, now I was looking for something else, too. About the woman I was named after. And about me.
The History of Love pg 141
[Misha] said “I don’t think it’s the end of world to be my girlfriend.” I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. It took seven languages to make me; it would be nice if I could have spoken just one. But I couldn’t, so he leaned down and kissed me.”
The History of Love pg 141-142
The entire kissing scene 141-142….
The History of Love pg 142
“Misha?” I whispered. “Shh,” he said… “Don’t” I said, and sat up. And then I said: “I like someone else.” As soon as I said it I regretted it…
The History of Love pg 142
[Just earlier] – His father started to shout back at his mother. “What are they fighting about?” I asked. “Merde.”
The Sopranos – “Long Term Parking”� (42:04)
The History of Love pg 142
When I stood, there was the sound of sand scattering.
The History of Love pg 143
12. MEMORIES PASSED DOWN TO ME FROM MY FATHER.
(Tell me what they are – how are they important? How are they different then some other memories she’s been doling out?)
The History of Love pg 144
[writing to his wife about a colleague “Flo”.]
“she [Flo] happens to be someone who cares about the things I care about. ART, Fran, remember art, which, let[‘s be honest, you couldn’t give a rat’s ass about anymore…you hardly bear any resemblance at all to the girl I once—”
The History of Love pg 134-159
What’s happening with Alma’s search for A-L-M-A M-E-R-E-M-I-N-S-K-I ?
The History of Love pg 146
Sometimes I wonder why she [Charlotte] didn’t marry a famous writer instead of a wilderness-loving engineer.
“I I like someone else” (earlier, Alma to Misha)
The History of Love pg 147
“I’m [Misha] going to see a movie.” “With who?” “Girl I know.” My stomach turned inside out.
The History of Love pg 148
When I opened my eyes, Uncle Julian was standing above me… Tell me and I promise I’ll let you go back to sleep. What do you want to be?...
“I don’t know. Maybe a painter.” I said.
The History of Love pg 149
[Alma on finding Bird’s diary] “it said PRIVATE. Once Misha told me that there was no word in Russian for privacy. I opened it.
The History of Love pg 149
I have been a normal person for three days in a row…
The History of Love pg 152
I decided that if there is a nuclear
bomb before I get to Israel and ashes
fall everywhere like snow, I’m going
to make angels.
The History of Love pg 153
On his last morning in Poland, after his friend pulled his hat down over his eyes and disappeared around the corner, Litvinoff walked back to his room…He took out the brown paper package he’d been holding inside his coat…in his friend’s familiar handwriting, was written: To be held for Leopold Gursky until you see him again.
The History of Love pg 156
“He [Zvi] learned to live with the truth. Not to accept it, but to live with it. It was like living with an elephant.”
The History of Love pg 156
[Zvi] took to wearing a heavy coat everywhere, in whose inside pocket he kept a worn and wrinkled piece of paper that he’d carried with him for years, and which had begun to rip at the folds.
The History of Love pg 156
At the school, the children gave themselves cootie shots behind his back if he brushed up against them.
The History of Love pg 157
She [Rosa] was wearing a green dress…
The History of Love pg 157
All of a sudden Rosa leaned forward and kissed him. Or at least she tried to kiss him, but Litvinoff, taken off guard, backed away, leaving Rosa tipped forward at an awkward angle, neck outstretched.”
The History of Love pg 158
And because it felt good to mumble, he mumbled some more. They were words he knew by heart because he’d been carrying them on a piece of paper folded in his breast pocket since that night, all those years ago, when he’d watched over his friend, praying for him not to die. He’d said them so many times, even when he didn’t know he was saying them, that sometimes he actually forgot that the words weren't his.
The History of Love pg 159
So one morning Litvinoff fished out the empty envelope, whose contents now sat safely on his desk. Then, choking back tears, he lit a match and watched his friend’s handwriting burn.
The History of Love pg 135
1. HOW TO MAKE A FIRE WITHOUT MATCHES
The History of Love pg 135
Flood [the title of this section]
I did a search on mass extinctions…If things go on like this, half of all species on earth will be gone in a hundred year. For this reason, I did not put any butterflies on Misha’s card.
Bird: “What there’s going to be is a flood”