Claire Messud

The Emperor’s Children is a richly drawn, brilliantly observed novel of fate and fortune—about the intersections in the lives of three friends, now on the cusp of their thirties, making their way--and not-- in New York City. In this tour de force, the celebrated author Claire Messud brings to life a city, a …

This pair of novellas, Claire Messud’s third published work, is true to her most respected form: here the inner lives of women are revealed with precision and “piercing authenticity” (New York Times). "A Simple Tale" is the moving account of Maria Poniatowski, an aging Ukrainian woman who was taken by the Germans for …