The name of my Journey Narrative is "The history of Love" written by Nicole Krauss. Although there are really 3 plots going on throughout the entire novel; they all become heavily intertwined into one story narrated by Leo Gursky.
The History of Love takes place in modern day New York. The story starts and finishes in the same place but travels to many places in between both geographically and temporally.
The narrative opens up with Leo Gursky discussing what would be written about him in his obituary when he dies, "tomorrow or the next day". This is the first point in which the primary conflict is exposed.
The narrator goes on to struggle with his desire to be indelible vs. his history that has already been lost in the holocaust. The structure of the narrative is obituary1--Leo's history--obituary2. Leo starts the story envisioning his death and goes on to tell the story of doing everything he could in order to be seen and noticed every day of his life.
There is a point in the book in which Leo tells the story of the time his cousin tried to take a photograph of him shortly after he arrived in New York. His cousin attempted three times to take a picture of him and each time nothing showed up. Leo insisting upon proving is was not just an error, sat his cousin down and took a photo of him. After this point Leo describes the countless attempts of capturing a permanent image of himself, until one day he sees a faint outline of his face. What he calls "the opposite of disappearing". This acts as the space of transformation
The analysis of the journey narrative within My kinsman Major Molineux by Nathaniel Hawthorne is the most similar to that of The History of Love . Looking at the journey as Robin getting off the fairy in the new town, the town shaping his transformation, Robin in the new town, is very similar to the journey of Leo. Leo arrives in New York Having lost his history, Leo puts his story together, Leo dies in New York, leaving the history he thought he lost.
