The Emperor's Children (Vintage)
by Claire Messud
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Book Reviews of The Emperor's Children (Vintage)
Book Review: An Ugly Story about Pretty People
Summary: 5 Stars
This isn't an Oprah-style book full of nice things and redeeming characters. So why bother to read it? It's a novel that speaks the truth, even if it isn't always pleasant to hear (or read), about our time and the people who inhabit our world.
Maybe it's me...I'm exactly the same age as these characters, a New Yorker, I graduated from a fancy school and had some of the misplaced feelings and ambitions that they did. Looking in the mirror of The Emperor's Children wasn't especially pretty--but I'm thankful for the reflection nonetheless.
Do you have to understand this NYC world to relate in some way? Maybe, if the negative reviews are accurate (I could not fathom them). In a time when drivel and happy shiney stories get celebrated, I was thankful to read The Emperor's Children and ponder some questions about life, even if those questions were disturbing at times. Be warned--it's not a feel-good read, but I think that is its most redeeming trait.
Book Review: a ridiculous group of characters
Summary: 1 Stars
This novel is based on lives of NY 'intellectuals' who are not very intellectual, but rather petty and shallow. The level of self absorption doesn't ring true nor is it very interesting. The basic problem with this book is that none of the characters comes close to having a redeeming quality- even 9/11 becomes a backdrop to the soap opera plots in their lives. Like another reviewer before me, I want to say that New York after 9/11 was NOTHING like what is described here. People really cared for and nurtured each other- I just wonder what Messud experienced.
My other major problem is the dense writing style. Too many words per sentence and yet no character or plot development.
Finally, if your book derives inspiration from War and Peace ( a constant reference throughout, why is it so very empty? This book has no soul yet it is not funny or even bitingly satiric. I just don't get the point of this long exercise in hopelessness.
Book Review: Mixed feeling about this one...
Summary: 3 Stars
As a thirty year old who lived in Manhattan during my twenties (and still lives nearby), I know so many people who fit the profiles of the characters in the novel, so for me, their lifestyles, self-importance, and overprivileged aimlessness was nothing out of the ordinary and quite relatable (unfortunately). However, I could see how readers from other parts of the country may be unable to relate to the main characters and their experiences.
I loved the author's style of writing and found the book entertaining and interesting. I would compare it to "The Secret History" and "Special Topics in Calamity Physics" due to similarities in the characters' circumstances (wealthy, overprivilegd youth), yet would not give it as high a rating as either novel. I have a very hard time recommending this to a general audience, however, I would definitely recommend it to those living in NYC and/or in their late twenties/early thirties, for relatability reasons.
Book Review: A masterful, insightful character study
Summary: 5 Stars
Claire Messud knows her characters and this is what "The Emperor's Children" is all about--different characters we come across in our human experience, how they think and affect what we do. For Messud tells the story (in third person) through the lense of several different characters. "The Emperor's Children" chronicles the lives of thirtysomething New Yorkers Danielle, Julian and Marina and some of the people they interact with. It's all about understanding the human experience--the little joys and trials as well as the huge ones--from different points of view. Why do people cheat on others? We get several perspectives. What do several different people who know a famous person think of him? We get several perspectives. How do people feel when disaster strikes? We get several perspectives. Messud's novel is delightfully complex, incredibly readable, elegant in style and deeply meaningful. She knows what it means to be truly human in so many different ways.Book Review: Perfect Example of Literary Pretension
Summary: 1 Stars
If you want a flesh and blood example of what a book looks like when it pretends to be literary, this is the book. Gratuitously big words, meaninglessly convoluted syntax, trivially complicated characters, randomly constructed problems, dressing up what is basically bad chick lit. Yes, it's so bad that without all the poseur dressing, it would not even qualify as decent chick lit. It's awful. It's so aware of itself -- it reminds me of the Ameglian Major Cow in the Restaurant at the End of the Universe. The cow comes out to the diners and displays its rump, vouching for how delicious it is. This book thinks it's delicious and the whole point of writing the book is to hold up its rump so you can agree that it's delicious. It desperately wants an A plus. And since it's only an object for accolades, and not a genuine expression of life, it has nothing real to tell you. It should be the case study for a course in literary pretense.