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What Are You Reading Now? : What Are You Reading the Week of November 14, 2009?		92	LouisBranning, Today 3:01pm
Reading Globally : rachbxl reads around the world		151	avaland, October 26
What Are You Reading Now? : 2009 WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING?		187	thanuj2409, October 19
Virago Modern Classics : Fabulous Finds - Part IX		278	nannybebette, September 6
Fifty States Fiction (or Nonfiction) Challenge : Cushla's virtual road trip through the states		2	cmt, August 13
All Things New England : top 100 New England books		14	vpfluke, August 8
50 Book Challenge : nannybebette take 2		315	nannybebette, August 5
Book talk : Books you just couldn't finish		25	jayd808, July 31
Club Read 2009 : charbutton's 2009 reading		177	charbutton, July 10
The Prizes : Irish Book Awards		9	amandameale, May 6
75 Books Challenge for 2009 : LisaCurcio's 2009 reads		114	blackdogbooks, April 26
Reading Globally : New Australian Literature		78	Thrin, April 14
What Are You Reading Now? : Books that came home with you in March 2009		414	richardderus, April 1
999 Challenge : Eurydice's		75	Eurydice, February 27
75 Books Challenge for 2009 : Mgik's 2009 Bedside tableful of Books		7	HorusE, February 4
75 Books Challenge for 2008 : Porch Reader's 2008 Reading		210	porch_reader, January 19
50 Book Challenge : First Few Books of 2009		11	davefromnyc, January 10
50 Book Challenge : Judylou's at it again in 2008		245	merry10, January 1
75 Books Challenge for 2008 : The Bookie Awards!		10	FlossieT, December 2008
New Yorkers : Books about NY for NYers		18	timepiece, December 2008
999 Challenge : J.C. Montgomery's List		2	karenmarie, November 2008
The Prizes : United States Regional or State literary awards		7	dchaikin, October 2008
The Prizes : The Booker		210	Nickelini, October 2008
What Are You Reading Now? : What Books Came Into Your Home Today? Sept 2008, part 3		233	MusicMom41, October 2008
Used Books : What treasures have you found at used book stores or Goodwill?		67	megkrahl, August 2008
What Are You Reading Now? : What You're Reading the Week of 10 May 2008		180	jessicacurry, July 2008
50 Book Challenge : KirstenV's October to October Challenge		4	KirstenV, May 2008
What Are You Reading Now? : What You're Reading the Week of 3 Mayl 2008		158	ellevee, May 2008
What Are You Reading Now? : What Books Came Into Your Home Today? - April. 2008		388	milbaby, May 2008
Dormant: What Are You Reading Now? : Top 3 Reads of January 2008		75	bettyjo, March 2008
Dormant: 50 Book Challenge : sarasphere's 50 books		13	sarasphere, March 2008
Dormant: The Green Dragon : Best books, and worst books, that you read in 2007		61	margaretplays, February 2008
Dormant: What Are You Reading Now? : What You're Reading the Week of 22 December 2007		127	adobe4578, December 2007
Dormant: What Are You Reading Now? : What You're Reading the Week of 13 October 2007		167	Cariola, October 2007
Dormant: The Literati : Planning to read...		10	Kell_Smurthwaite, September 2007
Dormant: Reading Globally : Where in the World are You Now? August 2007		139	digifish_books, September 2007
Dormant: What did YOU buy today? : What did you buy today (July, 2007)?		91	thioviolight, August 2007
Dormant: What did YOU buy today? : What did you buy today? April 2007 edition		75	aluvalibri, April 2007
Dormant: Reading Globally : Where in the World are you now?		153	avaland, March 2007
Dormant: What Are You Reading Now? : What You're Reading the Week of 20 January 2007		118	zoeone, February 2007
Dormant: What Are You Reading Now? : Your Top Five for 2006		104	momom248, January 2007
Dormant: BookerPrize_ReadingGroup : 2006 Man Booker Prize		2	Sivani, September 2006
75 Books Challenge for 2009 : Aga's list for 2009		302	agatatera, Today 4:25pm
Audiobooks : What Are You Listening to Now? Part 5		294	Seajack, Yesterday 1:58pm
What Are You Reading Now? : What Books Have You STOPPED Reading?		229	ejj1955, Saturday 3:14am
75 Books Challenge for 2009 : HorusE 75 Book Challenge for 2009		192	alcottacre, Saturday 12:24am
Geeks who love the Classics : What classic are you reading now?		216	Sandydog1, November 8
75 Books Challenge for 2009 : Group Read - Don Quixote		143	mtlee, September 27
Club Read 2009 : BeesleSR (Sean's) Reading log to date this year.		65	KimB, June 3
The Prizes : Commonwealth Writers Prize		42	socialpages, May 26
What Are You Reading Now? : What is the Best Book you've read so far this year? April 2008		201	nannybebette, May 18
75 Books Challenge for 2009 : KIWIDOC TAKE 2 - reading 2009		304	kiwidoc, May 18
Club Read 2009 : LisaCurcio's 2009 Reading		42	LisaCurcio, April 21
50 Book Challenge : citygirl's reading		116	citygirl, January 26
75 Books Challenge for 2008 : Rachbxl's 75 books for 2008		238	rachbxl, January 5
75 Books Challenge for 2008 : The Best of Books, the Worst of Books		19	Whisper1, January 3
75 Books Challenge for 2008 : FlossieT's 75 for 2008		188	flissp, January 3
75 Books Challenge for 2008 : TrishNYC's Attempt at the 75 book Challenge		248	Fourpawz2, December 2008
What Are You Reading Now? : What books came into your home today? SEPTEMBER, 2008, Part 2		224	cameling, September 2008
Book talk : A STUPID GAME TO PLAY. . . THE OLD ONE IS TOO LONG		305	hemlokgang, August 2008
What Are You Reading Now? : The Clunkers of 2007		222	theduckthief, August 2008
Reading Globally : Where in the World are you Now? April 2008		126	lindsacl, May 2008
What Are You Reading Now? : What You're Reading the Week of 5 April 2008		195	lindsacl, April 2008
Dormant: What Are You Reading Now? : What books came into your home today? - August 2007		176	Cariola, September 2007
Dormant: What Are You Reading Now? : What Books Came into Your Home Today?		249	bluesalamanders, April 2007
Dormant: What Are You Reading Now? : What You're Reading the Week of 13 January 2007		113	Bookmarque, January 2007

... as last week: The French Lieutenants Woman, In The Woods (which I can't read before bed because then I can't sleep), The Emperor's Children, and The Return of Depression Economics (which, again, I can't read before bed because then I can't fall asleep).

75. The Emperor's Children ... by Claire Messud This was absorbed from a 16-CD set. It took a while, but was a very well narrated audio book. The characters are very well developed and center around a well-to-do writer (the emperor) and his family in an apartment overlooking Central Park. The ...

... that one must be difficult to come by. Well, Amazon.com visited my house today and come to call was: Travel Light, The Children, Moonraker by Jesse not Fleming and Elizabeth and Her German Garden. I am no longer lonely. belva

... house this morning. Come to call was: Lark Rise to Candleford, The Madonnas of Leningrad, The Welsh Girl a VMC, The Children a VMC, Travel Light a VMC, Elizabeth and Her German Garden a VMC, Potiki, Moonraker a VMC, Meetings With Remarkable Men, Saplings a Persephone ...

the emperor's children by claire messud. i started it and then the books that i was waiting for became available so at first i was kind of resenting it. i am enjoying it now though. the emphasis is on the plot. the novel is perfect for audio.

... ago) by John Steinbeck Georgia - Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (read in 2008) by John Berendt New York - The Emperor's Children (read in 2008) by Claire Messud Julie and Julia (2009) by Julie Powell (my least favourite this year) Motherless ...

I agree with you, irisrose. I hated the characters in The Emperor's Children and finally put it down. But as loathsome as I found the main characters of Loving Frank, I finished it because I knew roughly how it ended and I wanted to see how the author handled it.

... ulevard 73. A Walk In The Woods 74. The Enormous Room 75. Strong Motion 76. The Da Vinci Code 77. One L 78. The Emperor's Children 79. Two Years Before The Mast 80. Blanche Cleans Up 81. The Secret History 82. Girl, Interrupted 83. Einstein's Dreams 84. Blue Hill ...

I just finished Edith Wharton's The Children which, while having some disturbing lolitaish components, was an easy enjoyable read. The ending, while satisfying, seemed to be in the same vein as Age of Innocence Ulysses as Mrs. Dalloway on acid. I like that.

Not only did I stop reading The Emperor's Children, I gave my sister permission to stop as well. We both found the characters unbearably dreary.

I tried to read Claire Messud's The Emperor's Children after reading one adoring review after another. I thought the book was so poorly written that I began to wonder if the reviewers had even read it. It was such a crummy book that I let myself stop after fifty pages. Because of the reviews, ...

The worst part (for me) in The Emperor's Children wasn't that they were swearing or carrying on but that they were irresponsible, at loose ends, and still dependent on parents and others -- in their 30s! But I agree with you that there's a trend, particularly among younger writers, both male ...

>261 & >264: kiwidoc & rebeccanyc, rebecca puts it well - just wanted the characters in The Emperor's Children to grow up!! Messud writes beautifully, but oh my.... her characters' complete self-absorption was just breathtaking. Rebecca, I think you said when I reviewed it last year that it felt ...

#259, Flossie, I didn't like The Emperor's Children either; it really really annoyed me, with its irritating characters (just wanted to shake them and say "grow up") and its completely gratuitous 9/11 twist. And now I know to stay away from The Believers.

... Heller's first book and I think she is a talented writer, but this book was not my cup of tea. What was your beef with The Emperor's Children, Flossie?

... pretty much what you've just said but in not such strong terms. (Although it's a shame that the favourable comparison to The Emperor's Children led me to pick up that book, which made me really really cross...) Here's hoping for a better read next time. I thought Notes on a Scandal ...

... more about how authors are addressing it. I am suspicious of "post-9/11" novels based on my experience with The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud, in which the 9/11 component seemed extraneous, tacked on to be "relevant" and "up to date." OK, I didn't like the rest of the ...

An interesting Wharton I read last year, and had not previously heard much about is The Children. I kept thinking of Lolita and Humbert Humbert although the sense of The Children is of a much earlier time period. It also highlights the common sense of the children vis a vis their elders.

From a BookMooch member, I got a box of books today :-) Boxes are nice ;-) The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud Saving Fish from Drowning by Amy Tan The Big House by George Howe Colt Big Fish by Danieal Wallace. I watched the movie, and loved it. It's one of my favorite ...

Lisa I'll watch for your review of The Children. I'm curious about this book.

... Emile Zola An Arsonist’s Guide to Writers' Homes in New England by Brock Clarke Something Rotten by Jasper Fforde The Children by David Halberstam Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome Graveyard Dust by Barbara Hambly Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Cold Comfort Farm ...

The Children looks really fascinating. I'm going to have to figure out where to put it in my categories? I think it would fit into biographies/history, altho I'm not sure which one I'd dump to fit it in. I guess I might just have to expand that list to more than 9. I started out with almost 30 ...

... Weird, Kate Atkinson read 2001: 2002: 2003: 2004: 2005: The Sea, John Banville read 2006: The Emperor's Children, Claire Messud read 2007: 2008: Bonus - 2009:

... it here to say hello (I've gone over to ClubRead this year). And it's perfect timing to chip in with my own opinion of The Emperor's Children - Aga, I felt exactly what you did. It kept my attention just about enough to get to the end, but when I got to the end I wondered why I'd bothered. ...

#50: I am like you, abw, no plans to read The Emperor's Children, but I must say The Last Life sounds very good. I think I will add it to the Continent.

I haven't read The Emperor's Children (and don't intend to) because I had heard such negative things about it, but Claire Messud wrote a book several years ago I highly recommend: The Last Life. Here's a quote from the book I wrote in my reading journal when I read it: "My father's ...

aga A few months ago I checked out the Emperor's Children from my local library. Alas, time ran out before I read it and I had to return the book. What did you think of this one?

20. The emperor's children by Claire Messud

I remember hearing how one reader thought The Emperor's Children was fantastic, but I never got to read my copy. Then I got the CDs for Christmas and have started to listen to them in the car. Takes a lot of concentration, many characters to keep track of.

... top of my wishlist and putting the others aside. next up: away by Amy Bloom, home by marilynne robinson, and the emperor's children by claire messud.

exciting! I will start today as I just finished Claire Messud's The Emperor's Children last night :-) Thanks! I've had the book sitting on my shelf for sometime and now's the chance.

... voice and his direct feeling about non-violence. Also great to read for its spirituality as well as the history. I read The Children by David Halberstam, which is great. The Children is more polished writing, but I am enjoying Walking with the Wind as much or more. I also read some ...

... Grow up, woman. Motherhood is not life imprisonment and the suburbs are not actually hell. Also you are not James Joyce. The Emperor's Children - Claire Messud. "Look at these people. Do we really want to be like this? All smarmy and self-congratulatory?" My thoughts exactly. Best: This ...

... Dome - Ross King Best short story: The Loudest Sound and Nothing - Clare Wigfall Worst fiction book: The Emperor's Children - Claire Messud Best crime book: close tie between Christine Falls (Benjamin Black) and Sharp Objects (Gillian Flynn) Book I couldn't put ...

I am also definitely skipping The Emperor's Children based on the reviews I have seen. Like TrishNYC, it sounds more like it would annoy than entertain me. There are just too many other books out there.

Oh boy Flossie, I think I will give The Emperor's Children a skip. It seems like a book that would irritate more than it would entertain me. But I liked your review. I think you give anyone who has not read it a good measure on which to judge the book.

... by Rebecca Wells Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion Emperor's Children by Claire Messud The Known World by Edward P. Jones The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver Notes from the Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky ...

... TadAD, rebecca, Trish, Linda - I just posted my thoughts on The Emperor's Children on my 75 Book thread... but the 'digested read': Big New York Novel about self-involved thirty-something New Yorkers. Not bad enough to give up on, ...

84. The Emperor's Children - Claire Messud I have to start by saying I found this book intensely irritating. It just didn't seem to be saying anything worthwhile at all that I could identify: I have stuck many irate Post-it scraps on pages containing quotes encapsulating its shallow self-absorp ...

Emperor's Children is on the pile of library books I check out a few weeks ago. After reading the posts, I'm not sure if I shoudl read this one, or simply skip along to the next.

... in the book. TadAD--I don't believe I have spoken with you before. Thanks for commenting on my thread. I will look into Emperor's Children. You wife's and Rebeccanyc's experience with it does not bode well for it though.

I too will be interested in what you think of The Emperor's Children. It more or less infuriated me, although I did read the whole thing. I had an opportunity to meet the author, and she gave a lovely, thoughtful talk -- but it didn't change my opinion of the book.

I'd be interested to hear your opinion of The Emperor's Children. My wife tried it and tossed it after a while.

... to her ability" - which is pretty much exactly how I felt after finishing Notes! I've just started Claire Messud - The Emperor's Children - which several of the UK reviews of Believers have mentioned as a forerunner - although it doesn't have the family-saga angle. I think they must ...

... of nonfiction, the content is Massachusetts-themed. 2007 awards, honoring books published in 2006: Fiction Award The Emperor’s Children by Claire Messud (Alfred A. Knopf) Fiction Honors Jump at the Sun by Kim McLarin (HarperCollins) How Elizabeth Barrett Browning Saved My Lif ...

Since they are still sitting on my desk here. . . From Friday's library sale: The House of the Scorpion, Nancy Farmer The Children, Edith Wharton Hudson River Bracketed, Edith Wharton (catchy title, don't you think?) Black Dogs, The Cement Garden, The Comfort of Strangers, Endurin ...

... mailings. I'm just across the bridge so orders should come quickly! Fifty cent paperback thrift store finds today: The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud, The Baron in the Trees by Italo Calvino, Bleak House by Dickens and The Bostonians by James

... with quite a bit of history mixed in. It seems like there are millions of novels, including Breakfast at Tiffany's, The Emperor's Children, and Fury to name a few. And as a bit of a periodical junkie, I couldn't live without my subscriptions to Time Out New York, The New York Review ...

... by Marjane Satrapi 31. Arrancame la vida by Angeles Mastretta 32. I Saw Ramallah by Mourid Barghouti 33. The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud 34. Je viens d'ailleurs by Chahdortt Djavann 35. Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga 36. Snakepit by Mose ...

"Yes; only it's true." The Children by Edith Wharton

... Gaiman Bizarrely enough I kept thinking of Kiki Strike while reading this book. Looking forward to more. 18. The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud In general I liked it although I didn't care much for the unraveling at the end. 19. The Forest Lover by Susan Vreeland ...

Finished The Emperor's Children and have started Hotel du Lac. Have moved it up my pile based on several LTer recommendations - thanks! Am 5 pages in but loving it so far. Battle Cry of Freedom is hidden under a chair...and might be there a while. so nice to read some fiction and finish ...

So far, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil - but it might be about to be beaten by The Emperor's Children.

... Lamb and really enjoyed it, if it's possible to enjoy grim foreign correspondent tales. Am more than halfway through The Emperor's Children and can't wait to find out what happens (but don't want to give anything away). It's so great to be racing through books after 6 weeks of the Ame ...

Country number 6a USA The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud My second read from the USA on this trip. I can't rave about it, but the story kept me just about interested till the end, without ever really drawing me in.

... me to have read it just after the film has disappeared from the cinemas here; I'll have to look out for it on DVD. 33. The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud A nice easy read; the story kept me going (all 581 pages of it) without ever really drawing me in. In terms of style and ...

I'm with The Emperor's Children in New York, and in the East End of London with Face by Benjamin Zephaniah. (Touchstones not working).

Two book shop trips in 3 days, to add to the mountain. But the first had 2 books for $22 (NZ - about $27 US) so I bought the Emperor's Children and the Right Attitude to Rain. I've only read the first of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, so hope I like the Scottish series when I get ...

... recommended title. As I read more of these threads, I realize we think quite a bit alike. I had similar problems with The Emperor's Children, and I love most things about books and NY. Am now in the middle of The House on Fortune Street based on teelgee's rec. More to come!

The other overhyped book by a young writer that I finished but that really irritated me was The Emperor's Children. I'm always interested in younger, newer writers, but am often disappointed because (big unfair generalization coming up), they often have a lot of technique and writing ability but ...

... (really? no touchstone?) *One Day of Life by Manlio Argueta *The Traitor of St. Giles by Michael Jecks *The Emperor's Children' by Claire Messud *The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros *Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquirel and, from my wishlist and LT ...

... Avaland! I'm really enjoying LT - even though I don't get here as often as I'd like. Here's my February reading: #8 - The Emperor's Children - Claire Messud - Finished Febuary 2, 2008 I found this story somewhat compelling, even though some of the characters were a bit over the top. ...

30. The Children by Charlotte Wood This was similar in theme to The Gathering, last year's Booker winner, in that a family comes together after a tragedy and we see the interplay between siblings and their mother. A good story, well written characters and very Australian. Sometimes ...

Worst fiction: The Emperor's Children by Claire Massud -- Literary masturbation complete with overly-effusive use of commas, semi-colons, em dashes, anything to keep a sentence from ending. Best fiction: Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen -- fabulously interesting story about the old ...

The life and times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson Then we Came to the End by Joshua Ferris The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud

jujo, how did you like The Emperor's Children? I read it about 3 months ago. I liked how the characters were drawn.

Not much to report this month, and no time for detail. The Children by Charlotte Wood The Trout Opera by Matthew Condon The Complete Stories by David Malouf (short stories) The Fern Tattoo by David Brooks *I have already bought The Fern Tattoo and will probably buy ...

... by Real Life, I've concentrated on books I was pretty sure I'd like. But I have to agree with CEP (#8) about The Emperor's Children, which I read last year. I finished it because I was going to have the opportunity to hear the author speak, but I found it incredibly annoying, ...

The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud was a major disappointment. The story just didn't flow and I developed no interest in the characters. I only finished it because it was for a book group--and none of us cared for the book! Thanks to so many great LT suggestions I think this is ...

ok--i'm not starting on Jan 1st (obviously!) but I don't like to do things orderly. has anyone read The Emperor's Children ? it's one of thise books that i'm just not really into - but I can't put it down. I wish something exciting would happen i'm at page 200 and still not feelin' it. oh,well. ...

This is great!! I have so many books I want to read........ 1) The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud

... East of Eden as I can recall so little from it. And, I can't believe I don't own either one. Slogging through The Emperor's Children for a book group. It has neither the crisp dialog of lively chic lit nor great narration.

... than three hundred and fifty pages of introspection in language of the highest poetic order." AUSTRALIAN BOOK REVIEW Also The Children by Charlotte Wood. "Wood makes the most ordinary moments glow; her sensitivity to visual detail cuts to the quick. Little escapes her, and the result is a ...

September 2007 Please Understand Me II - David Keirsey The Eyre Affair - Jasper Fforde The Emperor's Children - Claire Messud. Great characterizations and depictions of the intricacies of relationships all with a story that intensified until I was speeding to the end to find out how ...

Swindon, England, with Thursday Next in The Eyre Affair and Manhattan and vicinity with The Emperor's Children.

The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud Please Understand Me II by David Keirsey I need to pick a writing book since I finished one last night. I also need a classic. I'll have to see what's lying around the house. A lot of my books are in boxes, so my selection is limited.

... on Books in Wildwood, NJ. I bought the following books... Natural Born Charmer by Susan Elizabeth Phillips The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud The Torso in The Town by Simon Brett A Salty Piece of Land by Jimmy Buffett Lethally Blond by Kate White A ...

I went to 3 thrift shops and had amazing luck for about $30 Manhunt James Swanson The Emperor's Children Claire Messud The Tenth Circle Jodi Picoult The Price of Loyalty Ron Suskind Last Orders Graham Swift The Glass Castle Jeannette Walls Breathing Less ...

Went out and bought The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde, The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud, and A Writer at War by Vasily Grossman. I have just finished Lost in a Good Book and want to continue reading the series.

... America by Anne Tyler How Proust can change your life by Alain de Botton Some Hope by Edward St. Aubyn The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud and Nightwood by Djuna Barnes.

Loved both Half of a Yellow Sun and The View from Castle Rock, really disliked The Emperor's Children, have Sacred Games ready to be read, and haven't looked at the others (yet?). Getting tired of waiting for touchstones to load . . .

... Suspended Sentences: Fictions of Atonement by Mark McWatt (Guyana). This years nominees include Half of a Yellow Sun, The Emperor's Children, The View From Castle Rock, Sacred Games, Carry Me Down, Black Swan Green, In the Country of Men, Theft: A Love Story.

... in the Striped Pyjamas - John Boyne * The God Delusion - Richard Dawkins Winterwood - Patrick McCabe The Emperor's Children - Claire Messud Q&A - Vikas Swarup Terrorist - John Updike Irish Children's Book of the Year Junior: Silly Mummy, Silly Daddy ...

... Stone, which I enjoyed, both for its picture of the 60s and for its insights into the writer and his fiction. Back to The Emperor's Children, I'm glad to know that others agree with me; I was a little concerned that my starting prejudices colored my reading. (I read it because a friend ...

bettyjo, I personally know of 5 people who've read The Emperor's Children and not a one of them liked it, or would recommend it to anyone else, so I'm pleased to have avoided it so far.

ditto for The Emperor's Children...I thought the characters whined quite a bit and the 911 part at the end really didn't add to the book.

... this week's thread, http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.php?topic=6521, #25, if you haven't already, for my reactions to The Emperor's Children.

... I'd suggest reading some reviews of it from other sources to help you decide. rebeccanyc, thanks for the report on The Emperor's Children.

I finished The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud. As I mentioned in last week's thread when I started it, I was skeptical because I'd been disappoint in Messud's earlier The Last Life and because I'm leery of 9/11 novels. Someone asked me to report back when I finished, so here goes. ...

I am right here in New York City with The Emperor's Children.

49: Seconded! I greatly enjoyed Housekeeping vs. The Dirt when I read it this week. 76: The Emperor's Children was one of my favorite books last year. I hope you enjoy it. I just finished In America by Susan Sontag, and I'm just about to start Absolutely American, by David Lipsky ...

... memoir is equally valid, IMHO, of his fiction...please sir, dig a little deeper. >76 rebeccanyc, good fortune reading The Emperor's Children. Please come and report on your opinion when you're done.

A friend just lent me Claire Messud's The Emperor's Children. I'm a little skeptical about it since I was very disappointed with her earlier novel, The Last Life (so disappointed, in fact, I gave it away). And I'm also very skeptical about 9/11 fiction. But I will try to keep an open ...

After much deliberation, here are my top 5 books of 2006: 5. Watchmen, by Alan Moore 4. The Emperor's Children, by Claire Messud 3. A Game of Thrones, by George R.R. Martin 2. The Tender Bar, by J.R. Moehringer 1. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini

... to see it, I think. They list: Fiction Absurdistan by Gary Shteyngart The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud The Lay of the Land (touchstone not loading) by Richard Ford Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl ...

I'm unfamiliar with most of the books, but I read and loved Black Swan Green. I am planning to read The Emperor's Children.

... McGregor : So Many Ways to Begin (Bloomsbury) Hisham Matar : In the Country of Men (Viking) Claire Messud : The Emperor's Children (Picador) David Mitchell : Black Swan Green (Sceptre) Naeem Murr : The Perfect Man (William Heinemann) Andrew O'Hagan : Be Near Me ...

... of the Bridge Jon McGregor's So many ways to Begin Hisham Matar's In the country of men Claire Messud's The Emperor's Children David Mitchell's Black Swan Green Naeem Murr's The Perfect Man Andrew O'Hagan's Be Near Me James Robertson's The Testament ...