Hope Book Club, Ep 39: Stories of Love

In this episode, our book club reviewers have been celebrating love in all its forms.

In Love Stories, much-loved novelist and journalist Trent Dalton collects stories of love from the streets of Brisbane as an antidote to the heartache and pain of the pandemic. What results is an unashamedly sentimental collection of real-life tales of love, heartache, and unexpected joy!

Sex and Vanity is Kevin Kwan’s modern re-telling of EM Forster’s Italian romance, A Room with a View. Kwan puts an Asian-American spin on his version and, just like Crazy Rich Asians, this story features the uber-wealthy elite who have more money than sense.

Still Life by Sarah Winman tells the story of Ulysses, a British soldier who starts a new life in Italy after he inherits a villa in Florence. During world war two, he meets art historian Evelyn Skinner, who crossed paths with the novelist EM Forster in Italy. Over four decades, the two unconventional friends become family to each other, drawing a collection of eclectic friends into their orbit. It’s a celebration of art, beauty, and love in all its forms.