REVIEW: THE LOOK OF LOVE, BY SARAH JIO

 

This story of love in all its forms sweeps across time, from a flower cart in Paris, in 1893, with a woman named Elodie, to The Flower Lady, a Pike Place flower shop in Seattle, in 2012, and its owner Jane Williams.

Our current rendering of the story begins with a woman named Colette DuBois, who meets with Jane to talk about her wonderful gift, the one that allows her to see love in all its forms. Born on Christmas Day, Jane is warned by Colette that she must complete her journey of discovery, writing about the forms of love, before her thirtieth birthday in one year.

And so begins the journey. The Look of Love: A Novel was a delightful story that had its ups and downs, as lovers connected and parted, and revealed the various obstacles they had to overcome.

We learn about Lo, Jane’s assistant, and her obsession with love; she has a need to fill the empty spaces inside with one lover after another. We spent time with her on her houseboat on Lake Union.

Flynn, Jane’s brother, has many loves as well, but is drawn to a fantasy love with a woman in a neighboring apartment. A woman he views only through their windows.

When Jane meets Flynn’s friend Cameron Collins, a medical writer, she fears that he may not be her true love, even though she feels the love. He is too focused on the scientific. But their journey will be a surprising one.

Will each of the characters find the right love for themselves? What will happen to Jane and her gift? And who will she pass it on to? How will their stories end, and who will have a happy ending?

My favorite aspects of the story showed me many sections of Seattle, a city I love, and I felt as though I were right there with the characters. I also enjoyed how the six kinds of love were brought out and shown as they corresponded to each character: Pragma, Agape, Mania, Storge, Eros, and Ludus. Some might find this book overly sugary in comparison to other books by this author, but for me, it was just what I needed. 5.0 stars.