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| Random Acts of Heroic Love | 
 enlarge | Author: Danny Scheinmann
Publisher: Black Swan
Category: Book
List Price: £7.99
Buy Used: £0.06
You Save: £7.93 (99%)
New (40) from £0.45
Avg. Customer Rating:  70 reviews
Sales Rank: 683
Media: Paperback
Pages: 432
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 4.8 x 1.1
ISBN: 0552774227
EAN: 9780552774222
ASIN: 0552774227
Publication Date: January 1, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: paperback in v.good condition.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Written from the heart September 13, 2008
The author lost his girlfriend in a bus accident, as Leo loses Eleni. Although the book is not autobiographical, it is written from the heart. The struggle to resume normal life after such a devestating loss is felt strongly by the reader as we follow Leo through the ensuing months.
Alongside this storyline, is a parallel tale, also based on a true journey; the walk from Siberia to Poland undertaken by the author's Grandfather during the First World War. This is an amazing tale of survival.
Both stories are motivated by love and interspersed throughout the book with sayings and pictures representing various aspects of love.
A beautifully composed book that took 5 years in its completion.
Recommended.
Powerful debut September 5, 2008
This read like two novels for me much of the time and I kept wondering why the author had not just made both these terrific stories into two separate novels. Well it is with good reason and eventually all is revealed and makes sense. Although you will need to make sure you read the epilogue and acknowledgments for full enlightenment.
The stories are those of the two protagonists, Mortiz Daniecki and Leo Deakin, both stories centring on the young mens search for lost love and the powerful effect this has upon their lives. We are first drawn into Leo's story when he finds himself in hospital, it is 1992 and has apparently survived an accident in which his girlfiend Eleni has died. He has no recall of events at first and the story unfolds as he struggles to come to terms with the loss of the love of his life.
At the beginning of the third chapter we are suddenly introduced to Moritz who is dying but wants to ensure that he finishes telling his young sons the story of his desperate journey across Russia during the time of the Revolution and the first World War. The only thing that keeps him going is his love for Lotte, a girl back home that he has only ever shared one kiss with.
Although I felt I was reading two different novels I did like the way that the author linked them together with notebook entries throughout about the behaviour of other animal species with regard to love. I was also fascinated with the physics lectures that Leo attended and his descriptions about the lives of ants! As for Mortiz and his deathbed story of walking thousands of kilometres over a number of years all on the memory of one kiss it is very moving story of the strength of love.
Overall for me it was a compelling read which I recommend highly.
 a real let down September 3, 2008
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
I normally like the Richard and Judy choices, and I thought the title was beautiful and it sounded amazing from the blurb on the back. Normally I would check the inside and read a few pages to check I can get into the authors style. In this case I didn't andI regret it. It is an awfully written book with no cliche left unturned. I gave it 50 pages and then stopped. Maybe I will go back one day and give it another go, but I would avoid it to be honest there are many better books out there.
 Absorbingly detailed.......... August 31, 2008
Although this sort of book isn't what I would immediately go for, I can say that I am honestly still split regards how I feel about it. Reading it was a real labour at times, not that it is by any means a difficult read, and at other times I found myself unable to put it down and read well into the early hours! The narrative is more than detailed and thoroughly absorbing at times, at others I found myself frustrated with the pace and willed it to speed up. Definately worth giving it a go - even if you abandon it, I bet you'll pick it back up again!
Interesting but not compelling August 16, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Overall I enjoyed reading this book, an easy read, nicely written. However some parts was over detailed, slow and predictable.
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