The Careful Undressing of Love

Lorna is a Devonairre Street Girl, which means—if the Curse is true—that any man she falls in love with is doomed to an early death. The community on her street in Brooklyn follows rituals that the outside world doesn’t understand: they light candles and keep their hair long and collect lemons when someone they loved has died. When the boyfriend of one of Lorna’s friends dies, she is forced to confront the Curse in a new way. Is it real after all? And, if it is real, what does that mean for Lorna and the people she loves?

Haydu creates an alternate history of New York City and the United States, one where Times Square was the target of bombings that altered the way the nation learned and thought about death and grief. Even with these alterations, the characters and the story are deeply emotionally realized. Haydu’s poetic, vivid, and honest prose makes Lorna’s exploration of love rich, complex, and affecting. Like love itself, The Careful Undressing of Love is beautiful and confounding, invigorating and emotional, and urges contemplation in its resistance to providing easy answers.