Five stars is probably too much for this; in truth it's at three and a half stars. But for me, this book had an impact that can't be denied: I discovered this book whilst taking a Marxist politics course in my first year of uni. I was distinctly unimpressed by the Marxist politics, but this book managed to perfectly state my uneasy feelings about the complacency so many of my friends and colleagues had toward the idea of love and marriage as an unshakable moral code.

Kipnis frankly states that she is not, really, against *love* (the title is muckraking more than anything else). Really, she's against the perception that marriage should be a lifelong bond that can never be broken; that affairs or feelings of infidelity are somehow immoral, unnatural and should be grounds for dismissing someone from public office; and other such ludicrous strains of "moral fibre" which permeate our society.

A couple of the chapters, which attempt to mix in Kipnis' own Marxist beliefs, go a bit too far. Not because of the Marxism, but because they dilute her central argument and - to be honest - feel like chapters from another book altogether. However, I heartily recommend this book even if you'll end up disagreeing with a lot of it! No one says you have to change your opinion because you read "Against Love"; but who wants to go through life not even having heard the other side of the debate? ( )

Observations about the nature of monogamous romantic partnerships were more convincing than the 'and this is how it all connects to the American society at large' bits

http://bactra.org/weblog/algae-2015-02.html ( )

This is one of the books which have me wonder whether I am some alien just landed on this planet.

I had a complete and entire problem with Kipnis' arguments and deductions. Nothing was even remotely logical or even just a bit reasonable. Her list of what people can't do gave me some of the biggest WTF-moments of the year. I was yelling repeatedly exactly that term, out loud, while reading.

In the end I gave up, this was completely juvenile. ( )

This woman is becoming my favourite writer. She just TAKES THINGS ON. Her writing style is breathless, filled with long expostulatory sentences and mad alliteration and just the most wonderful rantings. I've just started Against Love and I am already totally hooked. Can't wait to read Bad Behaviour. ( )