Claire Messud Emperor's Children

Emperor's Children

Claire Messud

Knopf, Aug 2006, $25.00

ISBN: 030726419X

They became friends at brown University and remain close almost a decade later. At college, each thought they would make it to the big time in the chosen endeavor before they turned thirty. However, they remain struggling and much of their youthful enthusiasm and confidence is replaced by despondency and fears of failure as thirty is just around the corner.

Danielle Minkoff struggles to make it as a TV documentary maker; Julius Clarke is failing as a freelance critic; wannabe author Marina Thwaite resides with her parents while her work "The Emperor's Children Have No Clothes" remains somewhat bare. Still they have each other, which keep them from going to far over to the dark side. That is until the Australian Ludovic courts Marina as a means to destroy her father who he hates and Marina's cousin pseudo-intellect Frederick "Bootie" Tubb enters the group.

Claire Messud brings Richard Sheridan's satirical play on manners The School for Scandal from late eighteenth century London to post 9-11 New York as the author skews the pretentiousness of locals that insist Manhattan is the center of the universe. The cast is a delightful ensemble, who live up to the title of Marina's non-book as each is literally stripped bare (think Carlisle's clothing theory of man). This is an intelligent amusing stripping away of the affectations used by society to hide flaws and blemishes.

Harriet Klausner