Best-selling author Nicole Krauss talks about writing and latest novel

Last Friday, Society Zeta Alpha hosted a lecture at their house on Tupelo Lane with Nicole Krauss, author of the international bestselling novel "The History of Love" and, most recently, "Great House." The well-attended event, which attracted both Wellesley students and visitors, lasted for an hour and a half and featured the talk, a Q&A session and a book signing. The author covered a wide range of topics that included her thoughts on the writing process, her progression from poetry to novel writing, a reading from a brief excerpt in "Great House" and further elaboration on specific characters.

Named one of the 20 best writers under 40 this year by The New Yorker, Krauss has written three critically acclaimed novels, titled "Man Walks Into a Room" (2002), "The History of Love" (2005) and "Great House" (2010). Married to Jonathan Safran Foer, the celebrated author of "Everything is Illuminated" (2002) and "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" (2005), Krauss is  nevertheless a formidable author in her own right.

Her novels have been translated into over 35 languages. "The History of Love" has won many awards, including the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing and France's Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger. In 2005, Warner brothers bought the movie rights to the novel, with the movie release planned for 2011. More recently, "Great House" was a finalist for the 2010 National Book Award in Fiction. Additionally, her short stories have appeared in The New Yorker, Harper's, Esquire, Granta, Best American Short Stories 2003 and Best American Short Stories 2008.

During her talk, Krauss kept the audience enthralled by effortlessly interspersing memorable personal anecdotes between topics. She began her talk with the story of her own literary development from writing poetry to writing novels. Noting her aptitude for prose, she said, "I found that I loved writing novels and that they fit me in some ways." Moving on to a discussion of her latest, "Great House," Krauss elaborated on the ideas of "burden of inheritance," self-doubt and moral doubt that permeate the novel. Krauss freely admitted her own uncertainty as an author that she experienced when writing "Great House," in her effort to avoid creating "easy connections" for the reader. In comparing the process of writing to "building rooms," Krauss explained the title of "Great House" by saying, "A novel …is like a house in that it's enormous, imperfect…you can live in it for years and years." She observed that incidents in her own life made appearances in her novels, noting similarities between the centrally important large desk in "Great House" and her own large writing desk. Throughout her talk, Krauss spoke with a pleasing lyricism, reminding the audience of her past experience as a poet.

During the Q-and-A at the end of her talk when asked how she recognizes when to end her stories, Krauss replied, "I really think that novels are structural blueprints of the writer's mind. There's a sense, as I'm working…of what it's beginning to look like…The shape, pattern, and rhythm …becomes very important to me." Other students and visitors maintained an intellectually energetic dialogue between author and audience by posing diverse questions, which ranged from wondering about her source of inspiration to her thoughts on the public lives of authors. Krauss' thoughtful responses brought insight into her own character and work, bringing her talk to a satisfactory close.

Society Zeta Alpha, which is a literary society, worked with funding from the Newhouse Center in order to host this event. In past semesters, Zeta Alpha has invited other literary figures to Wellesley. Past writers include Arthur Golden, author of "Memoirs of a Geisha," Monique Truong, author of "The Book of Salt," and Don Lee, editor of the literary journal "Ploughshares." The Newhouse Center also hosts its own Distinguished Writer's Series.

"Great House" by Nicole Krauss. 289 pp. W. W. Norton & Company. $25