Join Amazon Prime and get unlimited Free One-Day Delivery. Already a member? Sign in.

 

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
More Buying Choices
42 used & new from £0.01
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
The Emperor's Children
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images
Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.

The Emperor's Children (Hardcover)

by Claire Messud (Author)
3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
RRP: £14.99
Price: £12.74 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £2.25 (15%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Only 2 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).

Want guaranteed delivery by Tuesday, July 14? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
11 new from £8.51 26 used from £0.01 5 collectible from £7.99
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Hardcover 39 used & new from £0.22
Paperback (New edition) £7.99 £5.99 77 used & new from £0.01
Hardcover (Large Print) 8 used & new from £13.21

Frequently Bought Together

Customers buy this book with The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

The Emperor's Children + The White Tiger
Price For Both: £16.58

Show availability and shipping details

  • This item: The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

  • The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    Eligible for FREE UK delivery on orders over £5 with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The White Tiger

The White Tiger

by Aravind Adiga
3.7 out of 5 stars (104)  £3.84
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

by Stieg Larsson
4.1 out of 5 stars (165)  £3.99
The Road Home

The Road Home

by Rose Tremain
3.9 out of 5 stars (74)  £3.20
Netherland

Netherland

by Joseph O'Neill
3.1 out of 5 stars (98)  £4.16
Suite Francaise

Suite Francaise

by Irene Nemirovsky
4.4 out of 5 stars (80)  £5.19
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Hardcover: 448 pages
  • Publisher: Picador (1 Sep 2006)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0330444476
  • ISBN-13: 978-0330444477
  • Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.8 x 4.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 223,364 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

Sunday Herald
'truly exceptional'

Observer
'Messud is an expert storyteller. Her style is precise and illuminating . . . dazzling'

See all Product Description

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
Check a corresponding box or enter your own tags in the field below
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Emperor's Children
91% buy the item featured on this page:
The Emperor's Children 3.3 out of 5 stars (13)
£12.74
The Hunters: Two Short Novels
3% buy
The Hunters: Two Short Novels 5.0 out of 5 stars (1)
£7.19
The Last Life
2% buy
The Last Life 4.8 out of 5 stars (11)
£7.19
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
2% buy
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 4.1 out of 5 stars (165)
£3.99
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

13 Reviews
5 star:
 (4)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:
 (3)
2 star:
 (2)
1 star:
 (2)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.3 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful, 15 Nov 2006
This book is dense and yet the story moves along well. The writing is beautiful and revelatory without losing sight of the characters or the story. Claire Messud manages to convey a real sense of New York and New Yorkers both native and adopted. It is one of the only books other than Edith Wharton or in a sense "The Bonfire of the Vanities", that I have read that gives a sense of the uniqueness of Manhattan as a city and the complex emotions it engenders in it's inhabitants and also in those who stay on the outside (ie the midwest or upstate New York). This is really an accomplishment, as it is so central to the idea of New York as a city and yet so very difficult to express. The book builds towards 9/11, which the reader knows is coming, while of course the characters are unaware of it. This adds a layer of poignancy and tension that is very effective. The twin towers and the pentagon are written about within the context of the lives of those in the book and so is apocolyptic on a human scale. There is a vibrant sense of life in the city at that exact moment in time that is really history now, even so soon afterwards(the anthrax scares?). At all times this book is amazingly well written and it does not feel either voyeuristic or opportunistic in relation to the real events of the time. Facinating and engrossing, "The Emperor's Children" will stay with me for a long time.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars powerful, funny portrait of pre-9/ll Manhattan, 10 Oct 2006
By richard (edinburgh) - See all my reviews
I have to respectfully disagree with the two negative reviews here. I found I couldn't put this book down, and that much of the power and comedy comes from Messud's style, which is lyrical when it needs to be, and looser when it needs to be -- just like James or Wharton (or Stendhal or Balzac). This is a fabulously entertaining book about ambition and failure in contemporary New York, fully of witty apercus and delicious dialogue. It is also genuinely moving -- the portrait of Murray Thwaite, the aging journalist, is very well done. Also, this is surely not "a 9/11 novel." Most of it is set before 9/ll, and Messud's profound point is that 9/ll doesn't change very much about these characters' lives. Except for one character, Bootie, who is always outside the charmed circle.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Seven eights of a good book, 22 Sep 2006
By Tim Coupe (London,United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
I wish I could share other people's overwhelming enthusiasm for this book but somehow I can't. Well crafted and well written, the book does convey a sense of what happens to people when talent, affluence and privilige isn't enough. It's familiar,if not perhaps stock,contemporary american characters move smoothly and unknowingly towards a finale marked by the tragedy of 9/11. But unlike other reviewers I was unmoved by the finale of this book. Maybe re-invention is a very contemporary response to tragedy but when its the re-invention of a relatively late coming and minor character,it seems a very feeble one. I hope there is a better New York story out there somewhere.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Out of the vacuum
For this thirty-one year-old, Claire Messud's story of thirty-somethings in 2001 New York made for mortifying reading. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Manchester Manual

2.0 out of 5 stars Abandoned after 300+ pages
I consider I just wasted valuable reading time by persevering with this novel for 300-odd pages. I was taken in by the glowing reviews inside and on the jacket and the fact that... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Bellini

1.0 out of 5 stars This book should have a pink fluffy cover!
I read this book on the basis that it was a literary book that crossed over to a good read. The writer was praised as erudite and insightful. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Wayne Cork

4.0 out of 5 stars Manhattan through three friends
Looking at the other reviews, you'll either love this or hate it. Personally, I loved it.

This is a tightly-drawn portrait of three friends turning thirty in the... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Sofia

1.0 out of 5 stars The Emperors Children
Our book club chose this book after researching lots of reviews. As a group we were all extremely disappointed. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Book Worms

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing
This book falls into a category of modern 'literature' that I don't understand. The characters seem empty - vapid - and thus perhaps a mirror of our modern consumer society... Read more
Published on 24 Jun 2007 by Index Research

4.0 out of 5 stars Gripping and brilliant
This is one of the best novels I've read in years. The characters are fantastic and it all goes along at a nice pace. Read more
Published on 3 Jun 2007 by Reader

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing Post 9/11 novel
I was disappointed with this book given the reviews that it has received and the Booker long-list nomination. Read more
Published on 29 Sep 2006 by Michael Fraser

5.0 out of 5 stars "It seems as though entitlement, that mysterious gift, explains everything everyone does these days."
Murray Thwaite, a child of the sixties, has become, by 2001, a respected social critic and sought-after social commentator and writer. Read more
Published on 9 Sep 2006 by Mary Whipple

5.0 out of 5 stars Novel of 2006
Handsomely the best book on the 2006 Man Booker longlist, The Emperor's Children is by some distance Messud's most ambitious, accessible and gripping fiction. Read more
Published on 31 Aug 2006 by DMc

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Feedback

Fun for Everyone

Christmas Gifts
Achieve over 15,000 RPM with our great range of Powerballs.

›Shop the Powerball store

  

More From Claire Messud

The Last Life

The Last Life by Claire Messud

"The Last Life" tells the story of the teenage Sagesse LaBasse and her... Read more
£7.99 £7.19

 

Up to 50% off Dental Care

Braun Oral-B Professional Care 6000 Rechargeable Toothbrush - Pack of 2
Put a sparkle in your smile with up to 50% off selected Oral-B and Philips rechargeable toothbrushes.

›Up to 50% off power toothbrushes

  

Treat Someone

Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificates--available in any amount from £5 to £500 With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

›Learn more about Gift Certificates

  
Ad

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.
Continue Shopping: Top Sellers
The Girl Who Played with Fire
The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
4.5 out of 5 stars (74)£3.86
 Breaking Dawn (Twilight Saga)
Breaking Dawn (Twilight Saga) by Stephenie Meyer
4.1 out of 5 stars (464)£6.49
 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
4.1 out of 5 stars (165)£3.99
 The Host
The Host by Stephenie Meyer
4.2 out of 5 stars (81)£3.86

amazon.co.uk Amazon Home
International Sites:  United States  |  Germany  |  France  |  Japan  |  Canada  |  China
Business Programs: Sell on Amazon  |  Fulfilment by Amazon  |  Join Associates  |  Join Advantage
Customer Service  |  Help  |  View Basket  |  Your Account
About Amazon.co.uk  |  Careers at Amazon
Conditions of Use & Sale |  Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates