Alain de Botton’s book of essays on love and romance written in novel prose about an unnamed narrator in the beginning to the end of a romance. When I started the book, I found out that it is on Peter Boxall’s 1001 Books to Read Before You Die. That was a pleasant surprise, and it is nicely unconventional to be put in on the list. While is technically fiction, it really is a book of essays in an unconventional format. I have read de Botton’s The Art of Travel and found his subdued, analytical writing style and subtle humor very comfortable to read. The book works for me completely because I am a romantic and philosophical. I found myself relating to it such as Number 17 in False Notes discusses a lover’s view of their partner compared to the family/parents view of them, and I think this is very true and honest especially in my case. In family, I seem to be viewed as this other person compared to the world. It also has the aforementioned humor which involves diagrams, equations, and other sly random funny bits. I liked this, but then again, I think the style, essays, and romanticism worked for me personally that may not interest others.