The Emperor's Children (Picador Classic)

by Claire Messud (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  2007

  $3.40

  In Manhattan, just after the century's turn, three thirty-year-old friends, Danielle, Marina and Julius, are seeking their fortunes. But the arrival of Marina's young cousin Bootie fresh from the provinces and keen, too, to make his mark forces them to confront their own desires and expectations. The Emperor's Children is a sweeping portrait of one of the most fascinating cities in the world, and a haunting illustration of how the events of a single day can change everything, for ever. 'Brilliant ...a masterpiece' Independent on Sunday 'Intelligent and unsparing ...The Emperor's Children is likely to be one of the most talked-about novels of the autumn ...Buy two copies; give one to a friend' The Economist 'Messud's prose is a timely and intensely pleasurable reminder of the possibilities of the English language. To use the word clarity about her style dense, chaste, luminously intelligent is to return the word to its origins; this is style as illumination, shining a searching yet sympathetic light on the minds and inner worlds of her characters, and as a radiant mode of moral inquiry' The Times 'As large-hearted as it is ambitious, this is a novel that combines the old-fashioned art of storytelling with a clear-eyed view of the modern world' Sunday Times

• Used

  Paperback
  2007

  $3.40

• Used

  Hardcover
  2006

  $3.40

  Danielle, a junior television producer, is on the hunt for the documentary idea that will make her reputation; Marina, the beautiful daughter of a famous and wealthy liberal journalist and intellectual, is desperate to prove her worth - while unsure exactly of how this is to be achieved; Julius, a freelance writer of devastating book reviews, is determined to live a fabulous Manhattan lifestyle on a budget of nothing at all. The Emperor's Children follows these three friends - and their overlapping social and family circles - through their day-to-day lives, their perceived struggles and successes and their constant search for meaning and authenticity. Sweeping in scope, minutely perceptive about the nuances of Manhattan life, with richly drawn characters and vivid prose, The Emperor's Children is a finely textured portrait of a particular place at a particular moment - and a haunting illustration how the events of a single day can change everything, for ever. It reveals Claire Messud as a novelist in bloom, writing at the height of her powers. 'Messud is an expert storyteller. Her style is precise and illuminating...dazzling.' - Observer . 'Messud's ability to filter her rich imagination through brilliantly precise prose allows her to show the kernel of redemption in even the most unlikely of human alliances.' - Sunday Times .

• New

  Paperback
  2007

  $22.57