Title: The Emperor's Children
Author: Claire Messud
In The Emperor's Children, Marina Thwaite is a 30ish Brown alum, daughter of a famous writer, who has been trying to "find herself" for most of the last decade. She and her two best friends, Danielle (a documentary filmmaker) and Julian (a freelance writer and critic), find themselves ten years out of college, and still not settled or really defined, living in New York City. The three spend a year involving themselves in three different kind of toxic romantic relationships. Marina's father, Murray Thwaite (the "emperor" of the story) and her cousin, Bootie Tubb, also play pivotal roles. And I've been wondering if Neil LaBute or Claire Messud got ahold of one another's works or if the similarity in theme between them is purely accidental (I won't say any more, just in case you plan to read this).
I thought the novel was very well written. Messud does a great job of creating real, flawed characters. But, like The Mercy Seat, I had a hard time identifying with the characters and the choices they made. Still, the novel does bring up the issue of truth and illusion and whether or not the price of honesty is always worth it.
--originally published 6/11/07
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