Reading this novel was a form of meditation for me. With each passing page, the words delicately carried me to a quiet, somber place. The beauty in the passages, the insights and the stories are lasting. While there was much beauty, almost every sentence touched me in some meaningful way -- it was painful to read of the four main characters’ suffering and solitude. But boy, could I relate to at least an aspect of each of their lives.
Because of the meditative effect I experienced while reading GREAT HOUSE, I chose to pick up the book for short intervals of time, basking in its quiet rhythm unlike most dialogue-driven novels. I was often overwhelmed by this trance-like feeling and needed to reflect and absorb many of Krauss’ lovely passages.
This is a book for people who value books and the craft of writing. One of the main characters, Isabel, describes her feelings about not accumulating domestic items, such as a pot, a chair, a lamp for fear of being weighted down:
“The only exception was books, which I acquired freely, because I never really felt they belonged to me.”
There are many other lovely passages and sentences to mention, ones that will stay with me forever:
Lotte’s husband, upon describing the mystery of his beloved wife, says this about her undressing late one evening:
“The revelation of her body twice a day was one of the greatest pleasures of my life.”
The devastating relationship between Dov and his father:
“Looking down into the crib at your tiny face contorted by screams of grief—there is nothing else to call it, I’ve never heard any baby cry like you—I was guilty before I’d even begun. I know how this sounds; after all you were only a baby. But something about you attacked the weakest part of me, and I backed away.”
GREAT HOUSE is a special book to be savored and treasured, one sentence at a time.
Because of the meditative effect I experienced while reading GREAT HOUSE, I chose to pick up the book for short intervals of time, basking in its quiet rhythm unlike most dialogue-driven novels. I was often overwhelmed by this trance-like feeling and needed to reflect and absorb many of Krauss’ lovely passages.
This is a book for people who value books and the craft of writing. One of the main characters, Isabel, describes her feelings about not accumulating domestic items, such as a pot, a chair, a lamp for fear of being weighted down:
“The only exception was books, which I acquired freely, because I never really felt they belonged to me.”
There are many other lovely passages and sentences to mention, ones that will stay with me forever:
Lotte’s husband, upon describing the mystery of his beloved wife, says this about her undressing late one evening:
“The revelation of her body twice a day was one of the greatest pleasures of my life.”
The devastating relationship between Dov and his father:
“Looking down into the crib at your tiny face contorted by screams of grief—there is nothing else to call it, I’ve never heard any baby cry like you—I was guilty before I’d even begun. I know how this sounds; after all you were only a baby. But something about you attacked the weakest part of me, and I backed away.”
GREAT HOUSE is a special book to be savored and treasured, one sentence at a time.
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