Claire Messud: The Emperor?s Children

[Mirabell]

Messud?s novel is dominated by light banter, and she?s an incredible prose writer. However, she amasses so many details, builds such complex, soapish plots, that the power of her ideas is somewhat lost now and then. It is still a very good novel, but digging through a huge pile of well-written but empty, because ultimately self-referential, sentences, can be taxing at times. Some readers may find the effort not worth it.

Fools: Claire Messud’s “The Emperor’s Children” shigekuni. (http://shigekuni.wordpress.com/2009/05/22/fools-claire-messuds-the-emperors-children/)


The book is really very good.

[john h]

I've read all of her books and this one is definitely her best. I found it very engaging and enjoyable.

[Mirabell]

it's being adapted into a movie!

Knightley On For The Emperor?s Children (http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=27385)

[chrisphillips]

Thanks for the recommendation in the A Confederacy of Dunce thread. I've got a second hand copy on its way to me now.

[Mirabell]

Really hope you like it.