The Emperor's Children (Vintage)
by Claire Messud
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Book Reviews of The Emperor's Children (Vintage)
Book Review: Really surprised at the negative reviews
Summary: 3 Stars
I finished this book in three days and didn't find it hard to get through at all. I actually did not even notice anything weird about the structure of the sentences or find that I needed to use a reference book to understand anything. I found it to be more of a light read that is an interesting and amusing satire and kept me reading to find out what would happen to each of the characters that precisely because of their self absorption and flaws seemed so real to me. The only chapters that moved rather slow were the ones devoted to Bootie. I felt as though the author wanted him to be the most likeable/relatable though least glamorous character and feel that the family had wronged him and I just could not get on his side. The ending made me dislike him even more. My other criticism of this book is that I wanted more to happen in it. I wanted Seeley to do something more, I wanted Bootie's piece to be published, I wanted Marina to find out about the affair, etc. In this matter the book was slightly disappointing though it was only because Messud did such a good job of building her characters and making them real that I wanted more.
Book Review: I just can't finish it....
Summary: 2 Stars
I bought this at the airport on my way on vacation (sorry Amazon - I don't have my Kindle yet!) based on the blurbs on the back of the book. I'm only a little less than halfway through, and I seriously considered "forgetting" to pack it for the return trip so that I wouldn't feel guilted into finishing it (I rarely abandon a book once I start it). On airplanes, in airports, etc., people asked me how I liked it, and I said many of the same things written here. The characters are not likeable. There are plenty of UN-likeable characters in novels that we at least find interesting. I don't even find these characters interesting enough to care what endless ruminations they have running through their minds, which are shared with the reader ad nauseum. Maybe this is a failure of the editing? The premise is promising (sort of). But the execution is just numbing. I've found plenty of useless, distracting phrases that I would rather have seen edited out. I'm still plugging away - I need something to read while awating my Kindle. It might just take me that long to choke the rest of this book down....Book Review: A Big Surprise!
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this book on impulse. Hadn't read any reviews, knew nothing about it. In fact, I'm embarassed to admit that I thought it was about China. What a shock to discover within a few words that it's sort of a modern gothic story that mostly takes place in New York City.
Normally, I dislike books with a sinister and dark tone. But the creativity and originality of this book kept me interested and deeply impressed to the end.
Yes, the spoiled and selfish characters are unlikable. Isn't that part of the point of the book? If they were endearing it would have been a different book--"chick-lit" maybe?
And yes, there were some very long--paragraph long sentences. But usually, they were characters' stream of thoughts. How many people think it short sentences--or sentences at all? And yes, there were some words I have never seen, but the concept of learning while I read isn't such a bad one--is it?
I think this book is one of the most interesting and creative books I've read in a long time and I think it (and the author) deserve five stars.
Book Review: Hard to empathize with the characters
Summary: 3 Stars
I didn't feel rewarded after having spent a long time to "get into" the book. I had hoped to be able to find the strands of the many characters' personalities, dreams and experiences flowing towards a greater meaning. Perhaps the book needed to have been "shaped" by an omniscient narrator, as out of fashion as that must seem. Then at least all those free-floating strands could have been loosely tied together. Even though the author appears to be giving us a close look at a character's thoughts (by using the close third person point of view), she muddies the waters. No sooner had I "figured" a character out, but he/she did something "out of character." Perhaps I didn't understand the character after all? I began to feel dumb. At the end of the book, characters make decisions that made very little sense to me.
Messud's small descriptions are often brilliant and gem-like, as in Danielle's depictions of Ludo Seeley's manner of leaning over the nearest woman ("Like the first letter of his name"). Also, the state of loving/idolizing someone is well described.
Book Review: Disappointing Read
Summary: 1 Stars
Like many others, I bought this book because of the awards it received. And like many others, was very disappointed. I only finished the book because I continued to think it would improve, which it did not.
I found it quite shallow and without a plot, all of which the author attempted to disguise with fancy words and lengthy sentences. I do not mind reading books with characters I do not like or cannot relate to, but the characters in this book were all ridiculous and not worth the energy to read about. The "Revolution" part was simply stupid. It was as if the author realized this, so never developed this part of the novel.
I also agree with other reviews about the ending and felt that using 9/11 as a quick way to wrap up the novel was distasteful and cheated the reader (esp. after punishing myself by reading to the end). My advice is to not bother reading this book. If you like fancy words and metahpors, please read a book worthy of them such as classic literature. Sadly, this is not it! I have no clue why this book won any awards.