Synopses & Reviews
In her
fiction, Claire Messud "has specialized in creating unusual female
characters with ferocious, imaginative inner lives" (Ruth Franklin, New York Times Magazine). Kant's Little Prussian Head and Other Reasons Why I Write
opens a window on Messud's own life: a peripatetic upbringing; a warm,
complicated family; and, throughout it all, her devotion to art and
literature.
In twenty-six intimate, brilliant, and funny essays, Messud reflects
on a childhood move from her Connecticut home to Australia; the complex
relationship between her modern Canadian mother and a fiercely single
French Catholic aunt; and a trip to Beirut, where her pied-noir
father had once lived, while he was dying. She meditates on contemporary
classics from Kazuo Ishiguro, Teju Cole, Rachel Cusk, and Valeria
Luiselli; examines three facets of Albert Camus and The Stranger;
and tours her favorite paintings at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts. In
the luminous title essay, she explores her drive to write, born of the
magic of sharing language and the transformative powers of "a single
successful sentence."
Together, these essays show the inner workings of a dazzling literary
mind. Crafting a vivid portrait of a life in celebration of the power
of literature, Messud proves once again "an absolute master storyteller"
(Rebecca Carroll, Los Angeles Times).
Review
"Moving and evocative...These intimate, contemplative and probing essays reveal Messud's rich inner life and generosity of spirit." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
Review
"Powerful and inspirational: Messud is as fine a critic as she is a novelist." Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)
Review
"Writing of our dark and
riven times before the full misery of our current predicament, Messud
steers us to the light of forthright inquiry, truth, and beauty." Booklist
Review
"I can think of few writers capable of such thrilling seriousness expressed with so lavish a gift." Rachel Cusk, Evening Standard
About the Author
Claire Messud is a recipient of Guggenheim and Radcliffe Fellowships and the Strauss Living Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. She is the author of six works of fiction including the New York Times bestsellers The Emperor's Children and The Burning Girl, which was also a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with her family.