“Bend a people around the shape of what they lost, and let everything mirror its absent form.”
from Great House by Nicole Krass
Just finished this novel, an incredible work of art with words. I haven’t read a book in years (perhaps ever) containing sentence upon sentence filled with so much detail and ideology, each requiring its own moment of reflection.
What the book lacks in plot, it fills with meaning and poetic descriptions of memories, feelings, and dreams. There is an absolute beauty to the tragedy experienced by each of the four sets of characters, separated by generations and countries (and joined in some way or another by writing).
It’s an interesting thought Krauss seems to place at the core of her theme - how much do we define ourselves by what we don’t have?
One other quote:
“…no matter the view of the window, the style of the architecture, the color of the evening sky, the distance between oneself and oneself remains immutable.”
