Great House by Nicole Krauss

Great writing, heavy reading....

          So I've read a few books since my first blog. The first was Great House by Nicole Krauss. I really enjoyed this book but would not recommend this for any light readers. It tells the story of four separate people who all have owned a particular desk. The story is told in two parts each four chapters long. The book opens with a reclusive writer, Nadia. She was given the desk by Daniel Varsky, a Chilean poet, who was murdered before he was able to retrieve it. She receives a call from someone claiming to be his daughter and gives up the desk to later regret it. There are also the stories of a old man reflecting on his two sons and their differences, a student who falls in love with a socially awkward boy whose father is an antique furniture dealer, and a man whose wife's past is still a mystery to him. The desk itself is not really as important in the story as you would think. It's the connection between all the characters and it looms in the background of all the stories. Krauss refers to it once as a "lone physical representation of all that was otherwise weightless and intangible." That to me describes what the desk means to the troubled characters in this book.

           If you like a book with a complex storyline and twists and turns this book is not for you. The beauty of this book is Krauss's way of describing her complex characters and their emotions. She puts it perfectly. It took me longer to read this book than normal because I had to absorb every word and pause to reflect on how right on she is in her descriptions. I would recommend this book but not to everyone. Decide for yourself if you're willing to take it on and if you do, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.