The Emperor’s Children
by Claire Messud


  
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Book Description

Nearly a decade after they graduated from Brown, three friends try to navigate the rocky waters of love and work in the months before and after September 11, 2001 in Claire Messud’s marvelous The Emperor’s Children. Marina is stuck midway in her attempt to finish writing a long overdue book on children’s fashion; Danielle is scrambling to find new ideas for the television shows she produces; Julius, a freelance critic, keeps both his personal life and his demeaning temporary office work a secret from the two women. Although all three believe that they’re destined for greatness, the only one even slightly within their circle who’s achieved that elusive goal is Marina’s father, Murray Thwaite, writer and public gadfly. Then two new men enter the scene: Ludo, a dashing Aussie who’s come to New York to edit a new magazine (it sounds as though it’s a hybrid of New York Review of Books, The Nation, and Rolling Stone), who sets about wooing Marina and at the same time plotting to discredit her father, and Marina’s college dropout cousin Bootie, who arrives from upstate New York to worship at the altar of his uncle Murray; their actions set in motion events that will affect a wide swath of people. Messud’s vivid storytelling, juggling of multiple viewpoints and plotlines, and solid characterizations (even the most minor characters seem like real people) make this an absolute pleasure to read.