Man Walks Into a Room

By: Nicole Krauss

Narrated by: Richard Poe

Nicole Krauss’ Great House was a finalist for the National Book Award. Her critically acclaimed debut novel Man Walks Into a Room follows Samson Greene, who, during the removal of a brain tumor, loses his adult memories. Feeling lost as an outsider in his own life, Samson agrees to participate in a scientific experiment in which memories are grafted from one brain to another.©2002 Nicole Krauss (P)2011 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

“[M]ysterious and compelling. . . . Krauss brings to her work a poet’s gift for seizing upon small but potent details. . . . [A] novel that . . . is hard to forget.” ( Los Angeles Times Book Review)

“By turns creepy, witty, austere, and vibey. . . . A major contribution to the art of collective obliviousness, a lonely meditation on the nature of memory and loss.” ( Esquire)

“A provocative first novel. . .beautifully written, intellectually engaging. . .Krauss has a remarkable feel for what is ultimately unfathomable.” ( Chicago Tribune)

The story is amazing

This novel had me sitting at the edge of my seat as I listened to it each day on my way to work and home. I found the drive passing so much faster with this little gem of a science fiction novel, but it has a lot of true events in it which make it interesting in another facet. Overall, I wouldn’t mind listening to this again in a year or two.

disappointing

After reading "The History of Love", I keep diving into other Nicole Krauss novels hoping for something that even comes close to that brilliant piece of writing but unfortunately finding that my disappointment gets greater each time.

Disappointed--really wanted to care

What would have made Man Walks Into a Room better?

The story's main problem is that it never managed to convince me why I should care. Care for the story or the characters. I found myself screaming at the ceiling of my car while listening ("Are you serious?!!" or "You've got to be joking?!!") in disbelieve at how bored I was at times or at how irrelevant things seemed.

What could Nicole Krauss have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

The writer seemed unaware or not yet able to image what a reader needs to stay interested or connected to her characters and to the story. I absolutely LOVED (LOVED!!!!) The History of Love. Seems like she's grown tremendously as a writer to be able to pull off History but fail so utterly in her first attempt.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Man Walks Into a Room?

The final chapter!!! Did not understand why Krauss thought I would be interested in that. Really odd and out of touch choice.

Great story idea, poor execution

Would you try another book from Nicole Krauss and/or Richard Poe?

I absolutely loved The History of Love, Nicole Krauss' later novel. It was so beautifully written, poetic, touching, interesting. This book, however, is a huge disappointment. The writing is juvenile, awkward, and forced. The plot line and characters are weak. And the narrator does a very poor job, especially with dialogue. His voice is breathy and trails off at the end of each sentence. He is overly dramatic. His style reminds me of a 1950's radio show narration.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

The redeeming quality of this novel is simply that it's based around a fantastic concept, which should be a seed for a well cultivated story, but rather it's left to dry out and disappoint.

Any additional comments?

Waste of a credit.