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katieparker's review
1.0
This book is about a man named Samson Greene, who is found in the middle of the Nevada desert without any idea of who he is. Doctors at the hospital he is taken to find a tumor in his brain and remove it, but even then he doesn’t fully recover. He regains his memories up to age 12, but the subsequent 24 years are a complete blank. He can’t remember his wife, what he did for a job, or the fact that his mother is dead. And so it goes, with him adapting to his new condition and deciding which life he wants: the one from his past, or the one in the present.
I chose to read this book specifically because it was short (I was a couple days behind my 52 books in 52 weeks timeline) and had been on my reading list for a few years. It was for these reasons that I didn’t expect it to take me two weeks to finish, but that’s what happened. There’s just not much to say about it except that I never got into the story, and I found the narrative to be extremely bland and generic. That’s not to say it’s devoid of plot, but it was far less engaging than I expected, and I was completely distracted by the never-ending analogies used to communicate what Samson was experiencing. (The word “like” appears more than 300 times in the book’s 230 pages, and while I’m sure not all of these are used in similes, I think it’s safe to say that most of them are.) I was disappointed to not like this book, since I thought The History of Love was pretty good, but it seemed amateurish and repetitive to me, and that’s that.
I chose to read this book specifically because it was short (I was a couple days behind my 52 books in 52 weeks timeline) and had been on my reading list for a few years. It was for these reasons that I didn’t expect it to take me two weeks to finish, but that’s what happened. There’s just not much to say about it except that I never got into the story, and I found the narrative to be extremely bland and generic. That’s not to say it’s devoid of plot, but it was far less engaging than I expected, and I was completely distracted by the never-ending analogies used to communicate what Samson was experiencing. (The word “like” appears more than 300 times in the book’s 230 pages, and while I’m sure not all of these are used in similes, I think it’s safe to say that most of them are.) I was disappointed to not like this book, since I thought The History of Love was pretty good, but it seemed amateurish and repetitive to me, and that’s that.
karostol's review
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
librariandest's review
4.0
Can you imagine losing your memory and not really wanting it back? This book could be alternatively titled How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Void.
pearloz's review against another edition
2.0
Can’t tell if it was a good idea poorly executed, or a bad idea written well. Either way, not for me. 2.5
natashie_f's review
4.0
“A man in a desert can hold absence in his cupped hands knowing it is something that feeds him more than water.” – Michael Ondaatje.
But what if what is absent is you – your memory, your identity, the things about you that people love? Man walks into a desert not knowing WHO he is. Man walks into a room not knowing WHERE he is. What happens when man decides it’s best that way?
This debut novel by Nicole Krauss is a thoughtful exploration of what it means to be human - especially among other humans. Like many other readers, I was drawn to this novel after reading ‘The History of Love.’ Although it does not possess the same intensity and addictiveness as the aforementioned novel, the reader is nevertheless subtly challenged to reconsider their notions of identity and what constitutes human relationships.
The ethics and morality of love, forgiveness, and human progress both personal and universal is effortlessly crafted into this story of thirty-six-year-old Samson Greene who suddenly loses all his memories after the age of 12, waking up to a wife he does not recognize and having to resume a life he does not remember living. Samson’s childhood recollections are as intimate as his forgetfulness is alienating, the result of which is that the reader is both empathetic of and unsettled by his experiences.
This novel shows that it is not just sharing in the suffering of others that inspires a human connection. Nor is it sharing in the happiness of others. A delicate balance between self-reliance, self-creation, and experience of the other has to be achieved. Sometimes it takes a desert within you to reach it.
But what if what is absent is you – your memory, your identity, the things about you that people love? Man walks into a desert not knowing WHO he is. Man walks into a room not knowing WHERE he is. What happens when man decides it’s best that way?
This debut novel by Nicole Krauss is a thoughtful exploration of what it means to be human - especially among other humans. Like many other readers, I was drawn to this novel after reading ‘The History of Love.’ Although it does not possess the same intensity and addictiveness as the aforementioned novel, the reader is nevertheless subtly challenged to reconsider their notions of identity and what constitutes human relationships.
The ethics and morality of love, forgiveness, and human progress both personal and universal is effortlessly crafted into this story of thirty-six-year-old Samson Greene who suddenly loses all his memories after the age of 12, waking up to a wife he does not recognize and having to resume a life he does not remember living. Samson’s childhood recollections are as intimate as his forgetfulness is alienating, the result of which is that the reader is both empathetic of and unsettled by his experiences.
This novel shows that it is not just sharing in the suffering of others that inspires a human connection. Nor is it sharing in the happiness of others. A delicate balance between self-reliance, self-creation, and experience of the other has to be achieved. Sometimes it takes a desert within you to reach it.
smderitis's review
3.0
I'm left with mixed emotions after finishing this book. The writing was wonderful in parts, but the majority of the story felt flat to me. Overall, it had interesting points on memory and the human connection and as a reader, I felt a connection of great sadness for many of the characters, but I can't chalk this up as one of my favorites.
icecreamjane's review
2.0
It was interesting for a while...and then it got weird. And then it got boring. The whole time I just felt like he was wandering around with no point and no aim...and the book had no point and no aim. Maybe that was the point. Since he had no memory?
Either way, it wasn't her best.
Either way, it wasn't her best.
oregon_small_fry's review
4.0
Just re-read this (july 2009) and I STILL wish they got back together
I wish they got back together.... :(
I wish they got back together.... :(
estherdb's review against another edition
2.0
In college I took a course on contemporary Jewish American literature during which I read Krauss' "The History of Love". I absolutely fell in love with this novel. Maybe that's why my expectations for this one were so high. Too high to live up to, perhaps.
I was sucked into the novel's premise: man loses memory (that is from age twelve to the present) yet remains a perfectly functioning individual. The consequences of "awakening" without remembering who you currently are, obviously are huge. Because, what makes up human identity if not your memories? Seeing that they ultimately are the things that shape most of your personality as an adult: you are what you've experienced.
It was interesting to see how Samson interacts with his wife and the world in general facing this issue. And for about 150 pages, it was an interesting rollercoaster ride. But then... Krauss lost me.
After a while I also started feeling as though Krauss kept repeating herself. I sometimes caught myself thinking "Is it me, not paying enough attention and not giving this enough thought, or am I really rereading the same thoughts over and over again only slightly altered?"
Examples? "Memories are important", "Ray is unaware of the terror he has caused me", "how dare Ray implant that intense memory into my brain (even though I totally gave him permission to do so)", etc. By the way: I have no issues with the slighlty SciFi-esque memory experiment, but I found Samson's reaction to the successful experiment way too explosive, abrupt and kind of irrational.
What I found a little puzzling is that, considering that some parts of this novel are set in New York and that the timespan of this novel encompasses 9/11, the drama itself is not mentioned at all, not a word. Maybe that was the point, but if it wasn't, weird. (At a time I thought that Samson's memory loss had started around 9/11 and that Krauss was giving us her view on how some people try to cut out the blindingly horrible terrors that happen to us. This would've been reinforced by Max - a Holocaust survivor - 's dementia. But no such thing: Samson's memory loss manifested itself in May 2000. My theory would've added an interesting layer to the story, but unfortunately, it was not meant to be.)
Style-wise: at times Krauss' language felt too artsy, pretentious and a little too much. Sometimes, less IS more.
Ultimately, I found this novel quite lacking and disappointingly so. All I can say, is that it could've been so much better.
I was sucked into the novel's premise: man loses memory (that is from age twelve to the present) yet remains a perfectly functioning individual. The consequences of "awakening" without remembering who you currently are, obviously are huge. Because, what makes up human identity if not your memories? Seeing that they ultimately are the things that shape most of your personality as an adult: you are what you've experienced.
It was interesting to see how Samson interacts with his wife and the world in general facing this issue. And for about 150 pages, it was an interesting rollercoaster ride. But then... Krauss lost me.
Spoiler
The drama with the implanted memory business, the host of seemingly unimportant characters (Lana, Winn, the guy in the casino, the religious travelling girl, dr. Lovell, Max, and even Ray and Donald): in the end, are they really that significant for the story. I think not. BTW, the entire business with stealing those slides from the hospital seemed pretty far-fetched and downright stupid, if you ask me. And the whole trip down south with Uncle Max felt quite unnecessary too, to be honest. (Why don't we get any more updates on how Max is doing?)After a while I also started feeling as though Krauss kept repeating herself. I sometimes caught myself thinking "Is it me, not paying enough attention and not giving this enough thought, or am I really rereading the same thoughts over and over again only slightly altered?"
Examples? "Memories are important", "Ray is unaware of the terror he has caused me", "how dare Ray implant that intense memory into my brain (even though I totally gave him permission to do so)", etc. By the way: I have no issues with the slighlty SciFi-esque memory experiment, but I found Samson's reaction to the successful experiment way too explosive, abrupt and kind of irrational.
What I found a little puzzling is that, considering that some parts of this novel are set in New York and that the timespan of this novel encompasses 9/11, the drama itself is not mentioned at all, not a word. Maybe that was the point, but if it wasn't, weird. (At a time I thought that Samson's memory loss had started around 9/11 and that Krauss was giving us her view on how some people try to cut out the blindingly horrible terrors that happen to us. This would've been reinforced by Max - a Holocaust survivor - 's dementia. But no such thing: Samson's memory loss manifested itself in May 2000. My theory would've added an interesting layer to the story, but unfortunately, it was not meant to be.)
Style-wise: at times Krauss' language felt too artsy, pretentious and a little too much. Sometimes, less IS more.
Ultimately, I found this novel quite lacking and disappointingly so. All I can say, is that it could've been so much better.