Love Will Tear Us Apart
Sarah Rainone2009

A bittersweet, darkly comic novel from a lyrical new voice, Love Will Tear Us Apart tells the story of six childhood friends reunited at a wedding where secrets are revealed, hearts are broken, and new meaning is given to the phrase “You can’t go home again.”

High school sweethearts Lea and Dan are getting married–and no one’s surprised. After all, they’re both perfect–so perfect that their “friends” can’t help but be reminded how screwed up they are in comparison. As an awkward night wears on, and getting wasted is the only way to make it through, a killer soundtrack–from Madonna to Nirvana, the Geto Boys to the Grateful Dead–takes us back to the first cracks in their friendships, their shaky transitions into adulthood, and the few moments of love and connection that have defined them through the years.

By turns a Nick Hornby–esque ode to the way music shapes our memories and an elegy to lost youth in the manner of Bret Easton Ellis, Love Will Tear Us Apart doesn’t aim to capture some supposed “voice of a new generation” but rather tells the story of a generation more comfortable with letting music speak on its behalf.