Leopold “Leo” Gursky is the first of The History of Love’s narrators. In the present day of the novel, he is a retired locksmith who lives alone, drifting in and out of his memories. Throughout his life, he “made a profession out of losing” (120), and now he has a bad heart and spends much of his time contemplating death, sometimes fearing it and other times longing for it. As a boy, Leo dreams of becoming a writer, saying, “it was the only thing I wanted to do with my life” (7). Initially, Leo’s writing is ruled by his imagination, and he writes fantastical stories. However, as he grows up, his goals change, and he becomes obsessed with finding the right words to describe his world “because to live in an undescribed world was too lonely” (7). Ultimately, everything he writes is for Alma. When she thinks his writing is too realistic, he tries to make it more imaginative; when she finds it unbelievable, he tries to make it realistic.

When Alma leaves for the United States, Leo continues writing for her, sending chapters of The History of Love across the ocean. During the war, his life falls apart. He loses his entire family and spends years living in forests, eating bugs and worms.