

Sinossi
Nell'inverno del 1972, a New York, Nadia vive reclusa in una casa vuota, a fare i conti con la solitudine dopo un abbandono e con le difficoltà del suo mestiere di scrittrice. L'incontro di una sola notte con un giovane poeta cileno le cambierà la vita: lui decide di lasciarle in prestito i suoi mobili e di tornare in Cile, dove verrà inghiottito dalle carceri di Pinochet. A Nadia resta in eredità un'enorme scrivania, dotata di diciannove piccoli cassetti, uno dei quali impossibile da aprire. E quando dopo venticinque anni riceve la telefonata di quella che si presenta come la figlia del poeta, Nadia si rende conto di non volersi separare da qualcosa che è diventato parte integrante della sua identità. Si tratta, forse, della stessa scrivania su cui da sessant'anni un antiquario di Gerusalemme sta cercando di mettere le mani, nel tentativo di ricostruire pezzo dopo pezzo lo studio di suo padre, saccheggiato dai nazisti a Budapest in una notte del 1944. E per un periodo sembra essere appartenuta anche a un'altra scrittrice, Lotte Berg, fuggita a Londra dalla Germania nazista: solo alla fine della loro vita insieme il marito di Lotte, un professore universitario inglese, capisce di non aver mai conosciuto a fondo la donna che ha amato di un amore struggente, e che proprio in quei cassetti nascondeva un terribile segreto.
- ISBN: 8823521076
- Casa Editrice: Guanda
- Pagine: 342
Recensioni
So I say again: writing a book of short stories, fitting them together Tetris-like, and calling it a novel DOES NOT MAKE YOUR BOOK A NOVEL. Also telling your publisher to put "a novel" on the cover after the title DOES NOT MAKE YOUR BOOK A NOVEL. If you write a collection of short stories, IT IS OK
As I sit down to assess the past year with Rosh Hashanah fast approaching, I decided to read a Jewish author who I have never read before. Recently in one of the groups I am in here on Goodreads- the Reading for Pleasure book group- I took a turn holding the quill for the group's Pepys Project, a di Leggi tutto
How Did She Do What She Just Did? I looked forward to reading this novel for several years, was apprehensive in the first couple of chapters, persisted, got my bearings, then in the second half grew confident that it would blow my mind (which it did). The novel makes demands on you, you have to exert Leggi tutto
I’m surprised this was written after History of Love because for me, though perhaps more grown up, it’s less accomplished. The design is brilliant but let down by the execution. There are four first person narratives, all of them Jewish. The Holocaust is rarely overtly mentioned but it haunts the en Leggi tutto
After reading The History of Love, I promised myself to read something else by Nicole Krauss when I had the chance. I found Great House at a local thrift store for $1, and it was one of the best dollars I ever spent. There are several narratives to follow and they are tied together by a desk, a desk Leggi tutto
I’m more a genre guy than a literature reader, but I’ve been trying to branch out lately. I’m glad I did because I’ve read some amazing things that I probably wouldn’t have tried otherwise. However, it only takes one book like this send me running back to the mystery or sci-fi section for comfort. I Leggi tutto
How to Extract Empathy Krauss is a mistress of extracted empathy. She can drag it out of you even when you fight it, particularly empathy for writers: for Nadia, a writer prevented by success from writing what she ought; for Dov, an Israeli, prevented by apparent paternal sadism from becoming a write Leggi tutto
This is the worst book I've read in years! The narratives are incredibly disjointed and confusing. None of the characters is interesting enough to warrant the energy required of the reader to piece together their stories in a meaningful way. The writing itself is trite and one gets the feeling that
A common criticism of this book is that it’s more like four short stories than a novel. It’s true the four narratives, with a little tinkering, could stand alone as brilliant inspired stories. There’s a suspicion too that Nicole Krauss has difficulties writing novels. Only two in ten years – in star Leggi tutto
This book is not about a house, great or minute. It’s about a (view spoiler) [desk. (hide spoiler)] Okay, so maybe metaphorically speaking it could be about a great house, like as if we all live in the ‘great house’ of life blah blah blah but, really, it’s about a (view spoiler) [desk. (hide spoiler)] I’m not complaining. I really really like the (view spoiler) [desk. (hide spoiler)] (aside: you Leggi tutto
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