Like the parrots, lovebirds and magpies that flit in and out of its pages, Adverbs, by Daniel Handler, is a work of nimble and elegant prose on the infinite forms that love can take. Although easily read, this novel is no children's book, and certainly not one in the vein of Handler's well-known A Series of Unfortunate Events, which he wrote under the penname Lemony Snicket.

Set in San Francisco, Adverbs explores ordinary (and sometimes extraordinary) events and exchanges between a rotating cast of young adult characters. Handler intertwines their lives and occasionally his own in short vignettes, using no apparent chronological order. Motifs (such as birds, ghosts, and volcanoes, among others) and reappearing characters tie the stories together, although it is often unclear whether multiple usages of the same name refer to the same character. This approach didn't bother me once I stopped trying to figure out which characters were the same person. I felt the novel's non-linear and fragmented organization contributed to its tone of young, postmodern angst.

Handler consciously creates little variation in his character's voices; nearly all, including the author himself, speak in a direct, unadorned California diction. The childlike quality of this prose can be precious and borderline pretentious, and it feels forced at times. Handler's ideas do prevail by the end of each chapter in often poignant, provocative moments, particularly in the tales of loss and isolation. Handler knows what he's talking about, and the delicacy and insight of his stories are a testament to this understanding. Yet a less self-conscious style may have been better for more subtly delivering these powerful ideas.

Nevertheless, the novel is inspiring in its unique delivery of a timeless idea: love is not so elusive, as we humans tend to fret. And as Handler says, it is the way that love happens, however unexpectedly, that is important: "It is not the diamonds or the birds, the people or the potatoes; it is not any of the nouns. The miracle is the adverbs, the way things are done. It is the way love gets done despite every catastrophe, and look – actually look! – the potatoes have arrived!"