Friday, April 26, 2013

'Great House' by Nicole Krauss


Great House, Nicole Krauss (3.5)
It isn’t until the last 20 pages that you understand why this book is titled ‘Great House’. Those pages also bring together the four distinct stories interwoven throughout the book. The stories span 50 years and 2 continents and each tells of love and loss in different ways with a mystery that you sense will unfold at the end. The one tying feature throughout is the presence of an antique writing desk. Ms. Krauss has an enviable poetic writing style that almost makes the desk another character in the book. I enjoyed the process of reading this book, even as I was rushing to finish and uncover the mystery. Her characters are unique and interesting, though all sad in their own way. I suppose they would likely not be as interesting if they were happy. The somber theme may have kept me from rating this a 4.0.

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