Nicole Krauss, by Anne Gouty

Nicole Krauss Introduction

By Anne Gouty

                  Nicole Krauss is the author of three novels. The first novel, Man Walks into a Room (2002), was  about a man who loses his memory due to a brain tumor; the book follows him on his journey to find who he is. This book earned Nicole Krauss the title "one of America's best young writers" by Esquire Magazine for its unique voice. The reviews for her first attempt were nothing but good, as were the reviews for her second book The History of Love . This work of fiction written in 2005 follows the path of two very different characters, Leo Gursky, an old man whose main goal is to be seen on the day that he dies, a day he thinks is coming soon, and Alma Singer, a fourteen year old girl who is determined to keep her family happy and together, and find the woman that she was named for. The paths both of these characters take to get to each other cross and wind in ways that the reader does not expect, but the story is always filled with emotion. Krauss's third novel Great House has the same segmented sort of storyline as her second book and follows several very different people on their own separate journeys that take turns and twists that intrigue the reader. Krauss likens the way the story unfolds and becomes one story to a desk with many drawers that all mean different things to different people.  Krauss's newest book has gotten great reviews just as all of her books, for her unique voice that weaves a story that is fun for the reader to follow and makes connections that seem to transcend the human condition.