‘These stories put Krauss's lyric, precise prose – and, more importantly, her inquisitive and unsparing mind – on full display … The title story is at once moving and pitiless. It is a daring story even in the context of a daring collection, and it proves wholly that aesthetic simplicity has not reduced the scope of Krauss's intellectual and creative powers at all’ NPR

‘Reading To Be a Man feels like talking all night to a brilliant friend … this fine collection continues to haunt a reader's heart and mind’ Washington Post

‘Brilliant, beautifully crafted … Many of the stories examine the ethical, emotional, and experiential legacies that parents and friends pass on to the next generation … With exceptional precision, concision, grace, wisdom, and insight, Nicole Krauss creates a magnificent collection of stories that explore what the narrator effectively asks her son in the last lines of the final tale: Who will you be?’ New York Journal of Books

‘Serpentine short stories that plumb human bonds and self-exploration, in settings from Tel Aviv to post-9/11 New York’ Vanity Fair

‘A beautiful, unique book … Krauss’s creative framing, perspective, focus on love, sex, motherhood, and foreign lands are the common elements found throughout this extraordinary collection’ Chicago Review of Books

‘This collection delves into the mysteries of relationships and sexuality … In every story, tiny details and emotional acuity provide a vivid look at how life goes on’ Entertainment Weekly

‘Many of the themes that appear in the rest of Krauss’ oeuvre are also present here: the tensions between community and isolation, between religious legacy and individual freedom, between the needs of the body and the desires of the mind … To Be a Man is a collection to get lost in. And when one emerges on the other side, the world still shimmers with possibility’ Washington Review of Books

‘Smart, sad and funny explorations of identity and purpose, and of tradition embraced or thwarted’ Minneapolis Star Tribune

‘Krauss’s first story collection succinctly but brilliantly examines sex, power, violence, passion, self-discovery and growing older through unforgettable characters in contemporary New York City, Tel Aviv, Berlin, Geneva, Kyoto, Japan and Southern California … Krauss is incredibly adept at portraying novel-worthy characters in this much shorter form’ PureWow

‘Deeply satisfying … Each tale in the book bends the formal possibilities of the short story in a pleasurably elastic way. Krauss’ ability to tackle novel-worthy subjects at compact length is particularly bracing’ Seattle Times

‘This triumphant first collection from Nicole Krauss crisscrosses the globe in 10 ambitious stories written over two decades that wrestle with sexuality, desire, and human connection … This is a spectacular book’ Publishers Weekly (starred review)

‘This collection of stories from Krauss is a wonder, with the author’s signature straddling of the tragic and the absurd, her particularly Jewish frame of reference, and the extraordinary range of her narrative voice … A tremendous collection from an immensely talented writer’ Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

‘A virtuoso performance … transporting throughout … Krauss displays an ability to capture the hearts and minds of men and women alike … A high point in fiction in 2020’ artsfuse