I just like Krauss' writing. Honestly doesn't matter what she's writing about. Her stories have a current that pulls you along; its quiet, but forceful.

In To Be a Man, a collection of ten short stories, Nicole Krauss reveals a panorama of characters through life challenges and turning points. While, as the title hints, the author is concerned with masculinity, she also renders a variety of characters—heroic and otherwise—through a lens that focuses on elements of common humanity.

The author weaves present-time situations with emotional, ancestral echoes: destruction, deep unburied grief, unknowable family members who were killed. The past continues to propel These characters as they find courage to build new lives and relationships. Most characters grapple with the Holocaust’s traumatic abyss.

Provocative themes for book club discussion include: Jewish diaspora, contemporary family dynamics, divorce, friendship, love, duty, violence, identity.

Krauss’ high-tensile narratives consistently twist moments of fate. What are people compelled to do, and what actually happens? These are questions for God, or writers like Krauss, who task contemporary characters with universal dilemmas.

Full review to come on BookBrowse.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper for this excellent collection of stories.

In To Be a Man, Nicole Krauss writes about modern Jewish men and women in a seemingly old-fashioned way. Dialogue and action sit side-by-side in long-ish paragraphs. Wisdom is doled out by a sage narrator. Characters deal with existential, religious, and family problems.

I was wholly won over.

I've had some mixed experiences with Nicole Krauss but I felt more connected to her characters in these short stories than I usually am in her novels. I had listened to her interview with Michael Silverblatt on KCRW Bookworm, but still was not prepared for how much Israel is a central location for these stories, largely Tel Aviv. It did add its own element that helped them feel more distinct. It is an interesting choice, to focus on all male characters and how they relate to the always female narrator.

My favorites were:

"I Am Asleep but My Heart is Awake," about a woman in her father's apartment after his death, a place she had never seen but she starts to realize was his actual life, as opposed to the part of his life he spent with her. Oof.

"End Days" about marriage, divorce, and just the perfect ending

"The Husband" and it's not what you think.

I included this collection in my roundup of fall books to look forward to in the Boston Globe. I appreciate the naked honesty and candor along with the lovely depth of characterization in this short story collection. I know Krauss from The History of Love which I adored, so it's nice to see her range through these great and surprising short stories.

This reader is thrilled with the first story collection from talented novelist Nicole Krauss. It crisscrosses the globe in 10 ambitious stories written over two decades that feature male characters as fathers, lovers, friends, children, seducers, and even a lost husband who may never have been a husband at all. The men are the focus, but of course they are in relationships with women and children that support, challenge and defeat them. Read a story at a time and savor each one.

Nicole Krauss is an absolute master. The History of Love and Great House are two books that I have recommended again and again because of the stark sincerity of her characters and the way she can hollow you out with the loss and love she so deftly crafts.
I was excited to read short stories by Krauss since I had only read longer texts of hers, texts that (like Foer's) lend themselves well to the page instead of audio as she leans on visual structure, symbols, and text breaks to impart cadence, reflection, and emotion.
Perhaps it was the ARC I read, but there was little visual structure Krauss played with within these stories. Instead, she struck sharply and swiftly. Dependent on the story, the combined emptiness and richness of her characters and mood were consistently striking.
This is a great book for a literary, thoughtful book club. I dare you to read this and not want to talk about it endlessly.

These stories were very well-written, but often seemed as if they were extracts of novels. The format of short stories leads many readers into the review-hellhole of “wanting more,” but in my case, it was needing more. However, the final story (“To Be a Man”) is the best thing I’ve ever read by Krauss, a real interior Cusk-ian tour-de-force, and if that’s the direction Krauss is moving into with her writing, I’ll definitely be picking up her next work.

First I want to say that I'm not used to read Short Stories. I'm more of a novel reader although, in other moments of my life, I did read a lot of short fiction. I also will say that I didn't like Nicole latest novel. So I was a little cautious about this book. And I'm so glad I read it because I loved it. As it's is to expect in a collection of stories, some of them were more interesting and appealing to me than others, but all of them are well written, very deep and full of beautiful images. I especially liked Switzerland, The Husband and To Be a Man.
Thank you for the ARC!
I would recommend this book emphatically!

A first story collection from one of my favorite authors. I read Future Emergencies back when it was published in Esquire back in '03, when it really captured life post 9/11. It was interesting how much is still resonated during Covid-19, that it wouldn't have six months ago.. A lot of good stories in this wonderful collection.

I have mixed feelings about this short story collection. I've never read anything by Nicole Krauss, and I'm happy I did because she is a fantastic writer. There's 10 stories in total but unfortunately, I only enjoyed 5 of them. The highlights were: "Switzerland", "I Am Asleep but My Heart is Awake", "End Days", "Seeing Ershadi", and "Future Emergencies".

I really tried to enjoy the other 5 stories but I kept getting distracted. The storytelling was a little wonky and lacked excitement. I also think the synopsis was a little confusing. I've read much better short story collections than this one, but I would gladly read anything Nicole Krauss' publishes in the future. She's got a way with words.

Thank you, Netgalley and Harper Collins for the digital ARC.

Release date: November 3, 2020

To Be A Man is a collection of stories from the many stages of life. Stories of what it is like to come of age, to grow old, to be a man, or to be a woman. I struggled to feel for any of the characters. I am a huge fan of this author, but this book was not for me.

I love Nicole Krauss- History of Love is one of my favorite books. This was a great collection; loved the pandemic story, so timely!