''Great House'' is the third novel by the American writer

Nicole Krauss Nicole Krauss (born August 18, 1974) is an American author best known for her four novels '' Man Walks into a Room'' (2002), ''The History of Love'' (2005), ''Great House'' (2010) and '' Forest Dark'' (2017), which have been translated into 35 l ...

, published on October 12, 2010 by W. W. Norton & Company. Early versions of the first chapter were published in ''Harper's'' ("From the Desk of Daniel Varsky", 2007

'' Best American Short Stories 2008'', and ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' ("The Young Painters", June 2010). ''Great House'' was a finalist for the 2010

National Book Award The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The Nat ...

in Fiction.

Book description

For 25 years, a reclusive American novelist has been writing at the desk she inherited from a young Chilean poet who disappeared at the hands of

Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (, , , ; 25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean general who ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990, first as the leader of the Military Junta of Chile from 1973 to 1981, being declared President of ...

’s secret police; one day a girl claiming to be the poet’s daughter arrives to take it away, sending the writer’s life reeling. Across the ocean, in the leafy suburbs of London, a man caring for his dying wife discovers, among her papers, a lock of hair that unravels a terrible secret. In Jerusalem, an

antiques An antique ( la, antiquus; 'old', 'ancient') is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely ...

dealer slowly reassembles his father’s study, plundered by the Nazis in Budapest in 1944. Linking these stories is a desk of many drawers that exerts a power over those who possess it or have given it away. The book's title, ''Great House'', is the name by which the

yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are st ...

Yavne Yavne ( he, יַבְנֶה) or Yavneh is a city in the Central District of Israel. In many English translations of the Bible, it is known as Jabneh . During Greco-Roman times, it was known as Jamnia ( grc, Ἰαμνία ''Iamníā''; la, Iamnia) ...

, founded by the first-century rabbi

Yochanan ben Zakkai :''See Yohanan for more rabbis by this name''. Yohanan ben Zakkai ( he, יוֹחָנָן בֶּן זַכַּאי, ''Yōḥānān ben Zakkaʾy''; 1st century CE), sometimes abbreviated as Ribaz () for Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai, was one of the Tan ...

, became known after his death. Its source is this passage from the Bible, in the Second Book of Kings, chapter 25, verse 9: "He burned the house of God, the king's house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every great house he burned with fire."

Dedication

The book is dedicated to Krauss's two children, both boys.

Reception

''Great House'' has received very positive reviews from critics. Patrick Ness of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' described the book as "subtle and fractured, almost demanding a second reading to put all the pieces together. Mainly, though, ''Great House'' is a meditation on loss and memory and how they construct our lives...''Great House'' is a smart, serious, sharply written novel of great care and yearning." Rebecca Newberger Goldstein of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' described the book as "a high-wire performance, only the wire has been replaced by an exposed nerve, and you hold your breath, and she does not fall." Janet Byrne of '' Huffington Post'' stated "It's a daunting undertaking, one that not every writer under 40 would choose or can do justice to, but Krauss's talent runs deep. And she cannot write a bad sentence: pound for pound, the sentences alone deliver epiphany upon epiphany."Janet Byrne (April 10, 2010
"Nicole Krauss's 'Great House' Reviewed"
'' Huffington Post''. Retrieved December 5, 2012.

References

External links

*
Great House
' information on NicoleKrauss.com *
Great House
' information on wwnorton.com (publisher website)
NPR review by Maureen Corrigan
(October 12, 2010)
Bookslut review by Anya Groner
(October 5, 2010) {{Nicole Krauss 2010 American novels Novels about writers Novels by Nicole Krauss Novels set in New York City Novels set in Israel W. W. Norton & Company books