The Emperor's Children

Starred review from May 8, 2006
Marina Thwaite, Danielle Minkoff and Julian Clarke were buddies at Brown, certain that they would soon do something important in the world. But as all near 30, Danielle is struggling as a TV documentary maker, and Julius is barely surviving financially as a freelance critic. Marina, the startlingly beautiful daughter of celebrated social activist, journalist and hob-nobber Murray Thwaite, is living with her parents on the Upper West Side, unable to finish her book—titled The Emperor's Children Have No Clothes
(on how changing fashions in children's clothes mirror changes in society). Two arrivals upset the group stasis: Ludovic, a fiercely ambitious Aussie who woos Marina to gain entrée into society (meanwhile planning to destroy Murray's reputation), and Murray's nephew, Frederick "Bootie" Tubb, an immature, idealistic college dropout and autodidact who is determined to live the life of a New York intellectual. The group orbits around the post–September 11 city with disconcerting entitlement—and around Murray, who is, in a sense, the emperor. Messud, in her fourth novel, remains wickedly observant of pretensions—intellectual, sexual, class and gender. Her writing is so fluid, and her plot so cleverly constructed, that events seem inevitable, yet the narrative is ultimately surprising and masterful as a contemporary comedy of manners. 100,00 announced first printing; author tour.

Starred review from June 1, 2006
Beautiful, Ivy League -educated, and the daughter of a renowned journalist, Marina Thwaite lives in New York City along with two close friends from Brown: television producer Danielle and freelance writer Julius, who is gay. All three are just barely 30 and making their way into adulthood. Marina has recently broken up with a longtime lover she thought she might marry and is struggling to finish a book whose advance is long spent. Meanwhile, Danielle is returning from an investigative trip to Australia, and Julius is trying to figure out how to make ends meet without admitting to his friends that he -s flat broke. Enter Marina -s young cousin, Bootie, a college dropout who -s decided that life in New York City has got to be better than life in upstate New York. Bootie -s arrival in the city is a catalyst for events that will change all their lives forever. Messud -s ("The Hunters") comedy of manners is extremely well written and features characters that come alive. The reader will be tugged in many directions as these characters - lives intersect in the realms of love, family, friendship, and tragedy. This wonderful read is an insightful look at our time and the decisions people make. Highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ "5/1/06.]" -Robin Nesbitt, Columbus Metropolitan Lib., OH"

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2006
Known for her acuity in examining life's profound issues through intellectually probing and nuanced prose, Messud now evinces a higher level of sophistication in this darkly symbolic and overtly satiric examination of the culturally enclosed world of today's East Coast media cognoscenti. At its core is celebrated liberal journalist Murray Thwaite, an outspoken pundit used to his fair share of public adulation and abjuration. Reverence and revilement, however, are now coming from sources much closer to home. His adored and adoring 30-year-old daughter, Marina, and her best friend, Danielle, an independent TV producer, may be firmly in Murray's camp, but they are outflanked by Ludovic Seeley, an Australian magazine publisher soon to be Murray's son-in-law, and Bootie Tubb, Murray's callow, idealistic 19-year-old nephew--two men intent on exposing Murray's personal and professional hypocrisies. Ambitious and egocentric, naive yet urbane, Murray and his circle behave with a tenuous frivolity born of their exalted sense of self-worth. Comparisons to Zadie Smith's " On Beauty "(2005) are inevitable, yet Messud's courageous exploration of this societal microcosm is less ardent and more artful. Tangy dialogue, provocative asides, glittering imagery, and nimble postulations build toward an electrifying and edifying conclusion.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)