by Trianne Harabedian
Lately, I’ve been in the mood for calm books. Not boring books, just to clarify. I want to be captivated, to wonder what is going to happen next, to be emotionally invested in characters and their lives. But I feel like my life has been chaotic enough without adding the stress and urgency of a page-turner. So if you’re ready to start the summer with a book that feels like a breath of fresh sea air, that keeps you interested while maintaining a slightly ominous sense of literary distance, that reminds you writing can be both simple and beautiful, then you need to read A Theory of Love by Margaret Bradham Thornton.
The story begins on the west coast of Mexico. Helen, a reserved British reporter, meets Christopher, a French-American lawyer. It’s her first time in Bermeja, interviewing people for work, while he often travels to his childhood vacation home. At first, Helen resists Christopher’s charm, almost believing he is too good to be true. But they exchange numbers, and by the time they both find themselves in London, it’s clear this flirtation is going to be a full-blown romance.
Even as their relationship begins, Christopher is preoccupied by his growing legal firm. He and his partner are enjoying unexpected success for lawyers so young and inexperienced. They are constantly busy, either working for extremely wealthy clients or attending their lavish social functions. Christopher promises Helen that this season won’t last forever, that he will have time for her soon, but Helen feels increasingly out of place in his world. She invests in her work instead and begins traveling around the world, writing interesting stories for newspapers. Through it all, they continue to go back and forth to Bermeja. They relive the tranquil magic of when they first met, then return to the social and business chaos of London.
As the novel progresses, you become increasingly sure that everything is about to fall apart. Instead of growing together, the couple is growing apart. Their socialite friends are too accommodating. And something shady is going on with the law firm. I was completely invested in Helen and Christopher’s story, fascinated by the elite culture they attempt to infiltrate and rooting for their relationship. But even as everything disintegrates, Thornton’s writing style maintains a sense of distance. So when things do crash, you aren’t completely devastated because, in a way, you always knew it was coming.
This book was a rare and lovely combination of engaging and relaxing. Even as I was pulled away from the book by life’s chaos, I could never stay away for too long. It was a little literary oasis, a beach off the west coast of Mexico where we fall in love and then fall apart.
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