Love Stories

WINNER, INDIE BOOK AWARDS 2022 BOOK OF THE YEAR

Trent Dalton, Australia's best-loved writer, goes out into the world and asks a simple, direct question: 'Can you please tell me a love story?'

In Love Stories, Trent Dalton embarks on an unparalleled journey of the human heart. Inspired by a profound personal moment of love and generosity, Dalton spends two months in 2021, seated on a scruffy old table, seeking stories from the everyday heartbeats that weave the fabric of our lives. With an open heart and unrelenting curiosity, he poses the timeless question, 'Can you please tell me a love story?' to those he encounters, capturing the myriad ways love manifests, endures, and transforms us.

A blind man yearns to see the face of his wife of thirty years, revealing a love that transcends physical sight. A divorced mother finds solace and passion in a clandestine affair with a priest, challenging societal norms and personal morality. A geologist uncovers a poignant three-minute video left by his deceased wife, a brief yet eternal testament to enduring connection. In a moment of quiet reflection, a working mum debates removing photographs of her late husband from the kitchen fridge, each image a token of an undying bond. Amidst a tumultuous forest, a tree lopper experiences a heartache that reverberates like a falling tree. A young girl, in a dramatic act of closure, pens a final love letter to her beloved and sets it aflame. A palliative care nurse acts as a conduit between a dying woman and the angel appearing at her bedside. Finally, a 100-year-old scientist, despite his vast intellect, grapples with the elusive nature of love, the one great mystery he cannot unravel.

Love Stories captures these and countless other vignettes, each a testament to the varied forms love can take. Through heartfelt conversations, Dalton artfully curates a collection that is at once heartwarming, poignant, funny and moving. This book doesn't just share love stories; it explores what it means to love and be loved.

Dalton's narrative is a heartfelt tribute to humanity's greatest and most confounding emotion. Written with Dalton's signature warmth and insight, the stories within this book range from the joyful to the heartbreaking, reflecting the vast tapestry of human emotion. Whether it’s falling in love, falling out of love, or holding onto a love lost, Love Stories illuminates the paths of the heart with an honesty and care that is deeply moving.

The Sydney Morning Herald praises the book, stating, 'It’s the kind of book that has some impact on the reader ... a Chaucerian endeavour, a rich caravanserai of real, living people with something important to tell.'