Claire Messud Libri

Murray Thwaite, affascinante giornalista liberal di mezza età, è l"'imperatore" della scena artistico-letterario-mediatica newyorkese, il "venerato maestro" intorno al quale orbitano i personaggi di questa dark comedy sofisticata e ironica, "divisi tra Grandi Idee e l'ultimo party": Marina, la bellissima figlia di Murray, che a trent'anni vive ancora con i genitori e tenta invano di scrivere un libro sulla moda per bambini; Danielle, la migliore amica di Marina, produttrice televisiva emancipata e intelligente ma pronta a cadere nella trappola di una relazione vagamente incestuosa con Murray; e Julius, il vulnerabile e promiscuo critico gay che si innamora di un pericoloso principe azzurro di Wall Street. Due nuovi arrivi alterano l'equilibrio del terzetto di amici: Ludovic, un australiano dal fascino discutibile che seduce Marina per introdursi nella cerchia ristretta e insidiare la reputazione di Murray; e Ciccio, il giovane e disadattato nipote di Murray, che con ingenuità finisce per aiutare Ludovic. La storia si svolge dal marzo al settembre del 2001, immediatamente prima e dopo l'attacco dell'11 settembre, in un turbine di ricevimenti e vernissage, premi letterari e matrimoni aristocratici, lussuosi appartamenti su Central Park e monolocali bohémien nel Village. Il crollo delle Twin Towers rischia di spazzar via anche il castello di bugie su cui Thwaite ha costruito la propria fama ed esistenza, insieme ai sogni e alle illusioni dei suoi figli, veri e metaforici...

Readers everywhere were introduced to the work of Irene Nemirovsky through the publication of her long-lost masterpiece, Suite Francaise. It is a novel about greed and loneliness, the story of an ageing Russian Jewish businessman,an exile in France, learning to confront death and the knowledge that wealth has not brought him happiness.

Isolation and the complexities of love are intricately examined in two novellas. In "A Simple Tale," Maria Poniatowski, an aging Ukrainian woman, navigates her newfound freedom in Canada while grappling with the weight of her past. Meanwhile, "The Hunters" follows an American academic in London whose obsession with his downstairs neighbors spirals into a potentially harmful fixation, highlighting how loneliness can fuel an overactive imagination. Together, these stories delve into personal struggles and the impact of solitude.

A collection of personal and critical essays on everything from childhood to womanhood, literature to visual arts and the relationship between form and meaning in storytelling.

"The Last Life" tells the story of the teenage Sagesse LaBasse and her family, French Algerian emigrants haunted by their history, brought to the brink of destruction by a single reckless act. Observed with a fifteen-year-old's ruthless regard for truth, it is a novel about secrets and ghosts, love and honour, the stories we tell ourselves and the lies to which we cling. It is a work of stunning emotional power, written in prose of matchless iridescence and grace. "'Powerful, Gripping, dark at its heart, this is an almost faultless novel" - "Evening Standard". "A joy to read. Messud's prose is lush, incantatory ...her observations are funnily astute, brimming with wit and imagination ...as elegant and precise as geometry" - "Independent". "Mesmerizing ...Ms Messud has written a large and resonant novel that is as artful as it is affecting" - "New York Times".

Nora Eldridge has always been a good girl: a good daughter, colleague, friend, employee. She teaches at an elementary school where the children and the parents adore her; but her real passion is her art, which she makes alone, unseen. One day Reza Shahid appears in her classroom: eight years old, a perfect, beautiful boy. Reza's father has a fellowship at Harvard and his mother is a glamorous and successful installation artist. Nora is admitted into their charmed circle, and everything is transformed. Or so she believes. Liberation from her old life is not quite what it seems, and she is about to suffer a betrayal more monstrous than anything she could have imagined.

A jewel of a novel by New York Times -bestselling author Claire MessudWhen the Armstrong family moves from New York at the dawn of the 1970s, Australia feels, to Alice Armstrong, like the end of the earth. Residing in a grand manor on the glittering Sydney Harbour, her family finds their life has turned upside down. As she navigates this strange new world, Alice must weave an existence from its shimmering mirage.Lies and self-deception are at the heart of this keenly observed story. This is a sharp, biting, and playful tale with a cast of unscrupulous characters adrift in a dream life of their own making. Written with the characteristic delicacy of touch, humor, and emotional insight that make Claire Messud one of our greatest writers.“A novelist of unnerving talent.” —The New York Times Book Review“[Messud is] among our greatest contemporary writers.” —The New Yorker“A perfect frolic of a book, puffed on breezes of beauty and it waltzes you through a little fear, a little darkness, and tips you out, refreshed and laughing, into the sun.” — Helen Garner

Claire Messud, one of our finest novelists, is as accomplished at weaving a compelling fictional world as she is at asking the big questions: To what extent can we know ourselves and others? What are the stories we create to comprehend our lives and relationships? Brilliantly mixing fable and coming- of-age tale, The Burning Girl gets to the heart of these matters in an absolutely irresistible way.

Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2024, this novel explores profound themes of identity and belonging through the lives of its richly developed characters. Set against a backdrop of societal change, the narrative delves into personal struggles and the quest for meaning. The author masterfully weaves together multiple perspectives, creating a tapestry of experiences that resonate with contemporary issues. Readers will find themselves captivated by the emotional depth and intricate storytelling that challenges perceptions and invites reflection.

Marlene Dumas, an influential painter born in Cape Town and based in Amsterdam since 1976, delves into the complexities of identity and representation through her art. Her work, characterized by gestural and fluid styles, often features the human form and draws from a diverse archive of images, including art history, mass media, and personal photographs. Dumas skillfully reframes her subjects, examining the blurred lines between public and private identities, making her paintings both poignant and thought-provoking.