In addition to high-flying adventure, death-defying space battles, new-age mysticism, and cool-looking characters and locations, from its beginnings Star Wars has always included romance in some form. Han Solo bonded with Princess Leia during the harrowing conflict between the Rebel Alliance and the Empire, Padmé Amidala fell in love with Anakin Skywalker against all odds at the outset of the Clone Wars, and Poe Dameron had memorable bromances with both Finn and the lovable astromech droid BB-8.
In the spirit of those lasting (though often tumultuous) emotional connections, Lucasfilm Publishing and DK have partnered to release a fun new book entitled Star Wars: I Love You. I Know. – Lessons in Love and Friendship, which extracts insightful relationship advice from many of the most famous couples to come out of A Galaxy Far Far Away.
In her introduction, author Amy Richau (StarWars.com) says the enclosed examples “will inspire you to reach out with your feelings and find ties strong enough to endure the decades, overcome conflicts, and maybe even save a galaxy.” But the first clue that Star Wars: I Love You. I Know. is intended more as a playful Valentine’s Day gift than a serious meditation on intergalactic romanticism is that it comes in pretty much the exact size and shape as a greeting card– though it’s admittedly a little bit thicker at a breezy 64 pages in length. The inside cover even features a “To” and “From” inscription with blank spaces like you might see on a box of chocolates. So I believe the idea here is that you might see this book on the shelf at a Barnes & Noble and pick it up for an affordable $10 to include with flowers or candy as a quick and easy present for that special someone (who is hopefully also into Star Wars as a concept, because why the heck would you be dating them otherwise?) on this coming February 14th.
Considering that assumed purpose for this book’s existence, I think it certainly works as a spontaneous Valentine’s Day impulse buy that will likely earn some chuckles and maybe even a few sighs of recognition from one’s significant other– or even a friend who’s been notoriously unlucky in love– as we approach the February holiday. Richau starts out with some of the more obvious star-crossed cases from the Skywalker Saga films like the above-mentioned Leia and Han and Anakin and Padmé, then moves into examples from Star Wars animation and the anthology movies like Hera Syndulla and Kana Jarrus from Rebels and Tobias Beckett and Val from Solo, with images, quotes, and a brief summary/lesson accompanying each pairing. The contents of I Love You. I Know. are divided into five sections: “True Love,” “Family,” “Friends,” “It’s Complicated,” and “Enduring Love,” so it’s not just the kissy-kissy bits that are represented here, but also moments between siblings, parents and their children, and lifelong pals, all of whom have somehow managed to forge attachments in the thick of the franchise’s neverending interplanetary intrigue and warfare.
My personal favorite thing about reading through this book (which only took me about fifteen minutes, by the way, so don’t expect anything too dense), however, was laughing out loud to myself as I came across some of Richau’s more outside-the-box choices. Orson Krennic’s relationship with the Death Star, for example, was not one I had considered to be romantic, though it makes perfect sense in retrospect, especially when described as “destructive.” I also got a kick out of the author's tongue-in-cheek observation that “even when you have the high ground, you can’t always trust the ones you love,” when discussing the mentor/protege duo of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker. It’s that kind of cleverly referential writing that will make Star Wars: I Love You. I Know. worth picking up for the right kind of recipient. I’m guessing you probably already know whether or not you happen to have a person in your life who would enjoy this type of book. If you do, you luckily still have a few weeks to grab it before the big day.
Star Wars: I Love You. I Know. is available now wherever books are sold.