To Be a Man: Nuanced and provocative short stories
Book review: Debut collection by Nicole Krauss, the bestselling author of The History of Love, examines what it means to be human
To Be a Man, a collection of short stories by Nicole Krauss, scrutinises masculinity in all its guises. Photograph: Getty Images
Much celebrated for her critically acclaimed novels, including the bestselling The History of Love, Anglo-American Krauss has published her debut short-story collection.
To Be a Man presents 10 stories, seven of which were previously published. These include Future Emergencies, which first appeared in 2002, the same year as her debut novel, Man Walks Into a Room. That this story offers a post-9/11 New York where citizens inhabit the city wearing gas masks out of fear of an unnamed threat reads now as remarkably prescient.