Forest Dark

Jules Epstein, a man whose drive, avidity, and outsized personality have, for sixty eight years, been a force to be reckoned with, is undergoing a metamorphosis In the wake of his parents deaths, his divorce from his wife of than thirty years, and his retirement from the New York legal firm where he was a partner, he s felt an irresistible need to give away his possessions, alarming his children and perplexing the executor of his estate With the last of his wealth, he travels to Israel, with a nebulous plan to do something to honor his parents In Tel Aviv, he is sidetracked by a charismatic American rabbi planning a reunion for the descendants of King David who insists that Epstein is part of that storied dynastic line He also meets the rabbi s beautiful daughter who convinces Epstein to become involved in her own project a film about the life of David being shot in the desert with life changing consequences.But Epstein isn t the only seeker embarking on a metaphysical journey that dissolves his sense of self, place, and history Leaving her family in Brooklyn, a young, well known novelist arrives at the Tel Aviv Hilton where she has stayed every year since birth Troubled by writer s block and a failing marriage, she hopes that the hotel can unlock a dimension of reality and her own perception of life that has been closed off to her But when she meets a retired literature professor who proposes a project she can t turn down, she s drawn into a mystery that alters her life in ways she could never have imagined.Bursting with life and humor, Forest Dark is a profound, mesmerizing novel of metamorphosis and self realization of looking beyond all that is visible towards the infinite. Best Read [ Forest Dark ] Author [ Nicole Krauss ] – kino-fada.fr But at a certain point the helplessness of our shared love for the children had reached a kind of apex, and then began to decline until it was no longer helpful to our relationship at all, because it only shone a light on how alone each of us was, and, compared to our children, how unloved In our own ways, we had each come to understand that we had lost faith in our marriage And yet we didn t know how to act on this understanding, as one does not know how to act on the understanding, for But at a certain point the helplessness of our shared love for the children had reached a kind of apex, and then began to decline until it was no longer helpful to our relationship at all, because it only shone a light on how alone each of us was, and, compared to our children, how unloved In our own ways, we had each come to understand that we had lost faith in our marriage And yet we didn t know how to act on this understanding, as one does not know how to act on the understanding, for example, that the afterlife does not exist Nicole, yes, I di...I ve read all three of Nicole Krauss previous novels and one thing they all have in common is the writer is well concealed behind all the formal artistry In this new novel of hers there s a character called Nicole speaking in the first person with an intelligence at the height of its powers So the first exciting thing about this was the feeling of intimacy with which Krauss seems to speak her mind There are two narratives here The writer Nicole is struggling to write a new novel and is I ve read all three of Nicole Krauss previous novels and one thing they all have in common is the writer is well concealed behind all the formal artistry In this new novel of...Giving up after 100 pages I have definitely enjoyed Krauss s other novels but I just did not connect with either of the two characters in the dual story lines Just too much of an effort to wade through.If I were a professional book reviewer which I m not I might well have given Forest Dark five stars After all, it s cerebral, intelligently written, thought provoking, and brilliantly complex.But I am simply a reader who likes to capture my reading experience and share my thoughts with others And for me, ...Last month I was finally introduced to the writing of Nicole Krauss Craving Jewish themed books to read over the holidays, I had selected her National Book Award finalist Great House and neither the subject matter nor the writing disappointed Shortly after completing this work starring a desk, I starting seeing reviews for Krauss new book Forest Dark Seeing that it is similar in format and that it takes place in Israel, I decided to make reading Krauss latest work before the end of the year Last month I was finally introduced to the writing of Nicole Krauss Craving Jewish themed books to read over the holidays, I had selected her National Book Award finalist Great House and neither the subject matter nor the writing disappointed Shortly after completing this work starring a desk, I starting seeing reviews for Krauss new book Forest Dark Seeing that it is similar in format and that it takes place in Israel, I decided to make reading Krauss latest work before the end of the year a priority of mine As with her previous book, Krauss has spun a gem with Forest Dark that left me awed.Recently I read the work of Clarice Lispector who has been called by many the greatest Jewish writer since Franz Kafka While Lispector s work was powerful and existential, it did not leave me wowed Krauss , who has noted that she has been influenced by Kafka and features him greatly in her work, has left me wowed on nowthan one occasion In Forest Dark an aging Jewish philanthropist named Jules Epstein ... No young child naturally believes that reality is firm.Experiencing a small tear in the fabric of reality can keep the door of doubt ajar.From my late teens to early twenties, I earnestly sought a mystical, personal relationship with God I cast my net narrowly the Anglican church but deeply, devoting hours to bible study, prayer, services, singing, and so on ...The Empty SpaceI read this book eagerly and with absorption my reactions ranged from admiration to love All the same, I could easily describe it in such a way that no one would buy it a first person narrative by an author unable to overcome her writer s block, interleaved with the story of a wealthy lawyer who gradually withdraws from normal life The two stories are not even connected, for heaven s sake In the hands of a lesser writer, this could spell disaster But Krauss is not a lesser The Empty SpaceI read this book eagerly and with absorption my reactions ranged from admiration to love All the same, I could easily describe it in such a way that no one would buy it a first person narrative by an author unable to overcome her writer s block, interleaved with the story of a wealthy lawyer who gradually withdraws from normal life The two stories are not even connected, for heaven s sake In the hands of a lesser writer, this could spell disaster But Krauss is not a lesser writer she remains her magnificent self I found this one of the most stimulating new novels I have read since, well, Krauss s own Great House. I ll try to explain why.It s a small point, but I enjoyed the setting The one time I worked in Israel, I stayed in the next hotel down the beach from the block like Tel Aviv Hilton, which plays a significant part in both stories a connection of a kind, I suppose I have visited the hill town of Safed S fa...Sometimes when writing a review I m torn between expressing my personal opinion of the book I ve read and trying to imagine how others will feel about the book In other words I don t want to recommend a book others won t like This is a book I loved reading but suspect others will struggle with Because the narrative threads are at times obscure and difficult to reconcile Forest Dark is a very Jewish n...Impressive in scope and structure, yet rather frustrating If you re hoping for another History of Love, you re likely to come away disappointed while that book touched the heart this one is mostly cerebral Metafiction, the Kabbalah, and some alternative history featuring Kafka are a few of the major elements, so think about whether those topics attract or repel you Looking deeper, this is a book about Jewish self invention and reinvention, and in that respect is a bitsuccessful than Impressive in scope and structure, yet rather frustrating If you re hoping for another History of Love, you re likely to come away disappointed while that book touched the heart this one is mostly cerebral Metafiction, the Kabbalah, and some alternative history featuring Kafka are a few of the major elements, so think about whether those topics attract or repel you Looking deeper, this is a book about Jewish self invention and reinvention, and in that respect is a bitsuccessful than Krauss s ex husband Jonathan Safran Foer s uncannily similar contribution, Here I Am a failing marriage, an old dog, a trip to Israel She s taken a page from Foer s first book, though, in making one of her protagonists a Jewish writer named Nicole whose marriage is coming to an end Blink and you ll miss it her name is given only once, at 19% in the Kindle book Nicole s necklace, found in Hilton pool There are two stories here 1 Jules ...I thought Nicole Krauss s Great House was excellent and I was looking forward to this very much Sadly, I thought Forest Dark was self regardingly flashy and ultimately empty.The book centres around two Jewish characters who are, in their different ways, having crises of identity and reassessing both their lives and their relationships with Israel and Judaism Jules Epstein is a hugely successful businessman who begins to give away his possessions and have a sort of holiday from being himself, I thought Nicole Krauss s Great House was excellent and I was looking forward to this very much Sadly, I thought Forest Dark was self regardingly flashy and ultimately empty.The book centres around two Jewish characters who are, in their different ways, having crises of identity and reassessing both their lives and their relationships with Israel and Judaism Jules Epstein is a hugely successful businessman who begins to give away his possessions and have a sort of holiday from being himself, while Nicole is a writer struggling with writer s blo...

• English
• 22 July 2019
Nicole Krauss
• ebook
• 304 pages
• 0062431013
• Nicole Krauss
• Forest Dark