To Be a Man

A BOOK OF THE YEAR IN THE FINANCIAL TIMES, ESQUIRE, O, THE OPRAH MAGAZINE, TIME MAGAZINE, LITHUB AND BUSTLE

‘Subtle and elegant’ Daily Mail

‘Although women take the lead roles in these remarkable short stories, a dazzling cast of characters spin in their orbit. Themes of power, desire and familial crisis – often set within a wider context of Jewishness – are probed unflinchingly and, at times, with eerie prescience’

Financial Times, Books of the Year

‘Through her beautifully detailed, immersive portrayals, novelist Nicole Krauss explores gender, power and aging … together, the ten stories reflect on what does – and does not – make men and women different’ Time, 100 Must Read Books of 2020

‘Superb … Krauss’s depictions of the nuances of sex and love, intimacy and dependence, call to mind the work of Natalia Ginzburg in their psychological profundity, their intellectual rigour … Krauss’s stories capture characters at moments in their lives when they’re hungry for experience and open to possibilities, and that openness extends to the stories themselves: narratives too urgent and alive for neat plotlines, simplistic resolutions or easy answers’ New York Times Book Review

‘Krauss’s short stories feel like they could each be unspooled into novels of their own … To Be a Man’s tenseness and uncertainties are strangely suited to the current moment’ Wall Street Journal, Best Books of the Autumn

‘One of the great novelists working today … Her power lies not simply in her own ability to interrogate life – but in the way she calls on her readers to do the same’ Financial Times

‘One of our most formidable talents in fiction … From a contemporary master comes an astounding collection of ten globetrotting stories, each one a powerful dissection of the thorny connections between men and women … Each story is masterfully crafted and deeply contemplative’ Esquire

‘Recent first collections of short stories from established novelists such as Zadie Smith, Joseph O'Neill and Jeffrey Eugenides have provided a concentration of high-quality writing, their tales cherry picked from decades of successful publication. Nicole Krauss's debut collection, To Be a Man, joins those ranks’ Times Literary Supplement

‘An intoxicating blend that plumbs the depths of the human condition … A nuanced, provocative exploration on what it means to be human’ Irish Times

‘These ten stories – which focus on the relationships between daughters and their fathers, teenage girls and their older lovers, dancers and choreographers – show us that authority and control are subtle, slippery things, not permanently possessed by one gender’ Stylist

‘The acclaimed novelist’s first short story collection is a marvel’ Herald

‘Stunning. Intellectually and emotionally intelligent and immaculately written’ Louise Kennedy

‘A collection of wonders … To Be a Man offers the pleasure of being in the company of Krauss’ surprising, challenging mind, tugged along by an imagination that’s ever curious about the limits and possibilities of fiction, of time, and of love’ San Francisco Chronicle

‘A sustained shot of brilliance. By turns tight and exuberant, disciplined and expansive, the collection shimmers with insight and moments of perfectly realized beauty. It provokes unabashed laughter, it inspires profound thinking, it delights and disturbs in equal measure’ Boston Globe