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A review by guybrush_creepwood
Man Walks Into a Room by Nicole Krauss
3.0
The premise of this book pulled me in immediately. The protagonist is found wandering in the desert with his memory of the past 24 years of his life obliterated by a brain tumor, including his ten year relationship with his wife. Instead of wanting to regain everything he's lost, as those around him expect, Samson feels alienated from the person he once was. His former life feels uncomfortable and distasteful to him, like wearing a stranger's dirty clothes. Shedding his unknown past, Samson returns to the desert at the behest of a charismatic doctor to participate in an experimental procedure. A veteran's nightmarish memory of an atomic bomb test is implanted into his brain. The doctor is convinced that the only way to feel true empathy for others is to experience exactly the same thing they did via a collective memory. But this idea put in practice has unexpected and destructive consequences.
Despite this fascinating concept, the plot seems to plod along. Not a whole lot happens. And since Samson is a stranger to himself, the character development is lacking. This is a novel about ideas and feelings, not plot or character. These ideas and feelings affected me, but the action of the novel seems at times as aimless as Samson's wanderings through the desert.
Although it was a little hard to get through, the book left a lasting impression on me. It provides more questions than answers. Can identity exist in a vacuum, in the present moment, devoid of the past to give it weight and meaning?
My favorite part of the novel was the epilogue, told from the perspective of Samson's estranged wife. It gives us our only glimpse of Samson's adult life prior to this event. Unlike Samson, Anna is burdened with the whole weight of their shared past. Her fear, love, longing, and loss are laid bare in these few sparse pages. It is achingly sad and beautiful and made me glad I stuck it out till the end.
Despite this fascinating concept, the plot seems to plod along. Not a whole lot happens. And since Samson is a stranger to himself, the character development is lacking. This is a novel about ideas and feelings, not plot or character. These ideas and feelings affected me, but the action of the novel seems at times as aimless as Samson's wanderings through the desert.
Although it was a little hard to get through, the book left a lasting impression on me. It provides more questions than answers. Can identity exist in a vacuum, in the present moment, devoid of the past to give it weight and meaning?
My favorite part of the novel was the epilogue, told from the perspective of Samson's estranged wife. It gives us our only glimpse of Samson's adult life prior to this event. Unlike Samson, Anna is burdened with the whole weight of their shared past. Her fear, love, longing, and loss are laid bare in these few sparse pages. It is achingly sad and beautiful and made me glad I stuck it out till the end.