Finding Connection and Meaning
By George Minot
Alfred A. Knopf, $25.95, 368 pages
The title almost gives it away: George Minot’s Om Love is about a couple who meet and fall in love while practicing yoga. But with the next exhale, it must be exclaimed that this novel is so much more! Equal parts love letter, eulogy, yoga lesson, and existential philosophy, the book explores the depths of love and death through the narrator’s romantic relationship with Amanda, as well as through his familial relationships. Taking place in New York City at the beginning of the new millennium, this story has much to be sifted through. Though yogis are sure to have a deeper understanding of his parallels between the narrative and yoga, his imagery is sure to trigger powerful memories and reactions for non-yogis and readers who might be new to this more experimental writing style. For this reviewer, at least, Minot’s poetic stream-of-consciousness beautifully pieces together a representative collage of the universal search for connection and meaning. The Buddha teaches that everything is impermanent, and Minot has a natural and lovely way of navigating the joys and tragedies that accompany such a simple fact.
Reviewed by Kaylan Isenberg
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