To Be a Man is a collection of short stories set around the globe: Switzerland, Japan, Tel Aviv, New York, and more. All of the stories focus on the relationship of a primary character with those in their lives that exist or come in different forms; fathers, mentors, lovers, friends, husbands, even strangers.  There are a total of ten stories. A teenager falling for a married man, a struggling scholar back from dead, a grieving daughter, a town gripped with an unknown fear are just some of the storylines that To Be a Man covers. Each story takes us deep into the mind of the character and thus, establishes this journey as the main theme. 

How did it make me feel?

First things first, I am absolutely in love with Nicole Krauss’s writing. This was my first book of hers and I believe this will be the author I’ll be turning to again. The simplicity with which she paints the intricate shades of her characters is absolutely commendable. 

When it comes to the stories, however, they were hit and miss for me. I did enjoy reading them, mostly because of her writing style but the stories themselves did not hit the mark for me. A couple of them did, but mostly I found a bit of a disconnect somewhere. I’m also not sure if the title is representative of the overall theme.

But having said that I love this power of short stories where you as a reader have so much room for imagination. For me, this gives these stories a different volume and dimension that I love. Short stories stay with me a long time because of how I get to take that world and extend it into my own imaginative one.

I would recommend To Be a Man, just for its beautiful writing. Get it from Amazon. If you use my link to buy, I may get a small commission at NO additional cost to you! It will help me keep my blog running! 🙂 Thank you for your support!