The History of Love Characters:

Not many people have been introduced so far but the main character is the narrator, so I figured I would  talk about some characters to start off.

Leopold Gursky: is the narrator of the story.  He tells stories of parts of his past although he is now old, so the book jumps back from past to present time.  He's so far revealed a good amount about himself, like that he immigrated from Poland to Brooklyn after surviving WWII as a Jew.  He originally came to America because he was trying to find his childhood sweetheart, who left Poland before the war.  When he arrived unannounced at her doorstep, she told him that she was pregnant with his child when she left Poland and that she married shortly after giving birth because she figured he was dead.  Gursky asked her to leave with him but she simply said "I can't." Gursky got up and left her, knowing that he could not meet his son who didn't know he existed and that his childhood sweetheart was the only woman he'd ever love.  I haven't yet learned anything more about whether he ever saw her or his son again.  After arriving in Brooklyn and seeing his sweetheart, Gursky started a locksmith business with his cousin.  All of that occurred when Gursky was in his teens and twenties.  Now, he is in his 60s or 70s and does not have a very fulfilling life.  He is unhealthy, unhappy, and lonely.  He sees himself as a failure and has very low self esteem when it comes to body image.  One of the few things he doesn't harshly criticize is his writing.  He reveals that he has been a writer his whole life and that he has written a variety of things.  He's currently working on a story and I think it's about his own life, although I'm not sure.  Although Gursky isn't really happy with himself, he's an all-around nice person and treats others with respect and kindness.

Bruno: is Gursky's best friend.  They've known each other since childhood and are very close.  Bruno moved into the apartment above Gursky after his wife died, so they check up on each other often to make sure they're still alive.  He is a short man with wide brimmed, ill-fitting women's glasses (Gursky explained that he didn't have the heart to tell him).  At one point, Gursky feels guilty that he never told Bruno that he was the better writer of the two, so I'm guessing Bruno was/is interested in writing also.  Gursky also reveals that Bruno once tried to kill himself, so it's clear that those two aren't enjoying life too much.  Bruno sits at the kitchen table with Gursky without saying anything for hours, showing that these two enjoy each other's company and understand each other.