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Claire Messud

Born

in Greenwich, The United States

October 08, 1966

Website

http://clairemessud.com/

Genre

Literature & Fiction

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Claire Messud is an American novelist and literature and creative writing professor. She is best known as the author of the 2006 novel The Emperor's Children. She lives with her husband and family in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Born in Greenwich, Connecticut, Messud grew up in the United States, Australia, and Canada, returning to the United States as a teenager. Messud's mother is Canadian, and her father is French from French Algeria. She was educated at Milton Academy, Yale University, and Cambridge University, where she met her spouse, the British literary critic James Wood. Messud also briefly attended the MFA program at Syracuse University.
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Claire Messud’s books

Average rating: 3.22 · 73,033 ratings · 9,570 reviews ·36 distinct works •Similar authors

	The Woman Upstairs 3.31 avg rating — 33,071 ratings — published 2013 — 43 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Emperor's Children 2.97 avg rating — 21,025 ratings — published 2006 — 59 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Burning Girl 3.25 avg rating — 12,384 ratings — published 2017 — 32 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Last Life 3.54 avg rating — 1,892 ratings — published 1999 — 25 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	When the World Was Steady 3.14 avg rating — 1,004 ratings — published 1994 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	This Strange Eventful History 3.68 avg rating — 683 ratings — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Dream Life (Short Books by Great Women Writers) 3.26 avg rating — 747 ratings — published 2021 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Hunters 3.46 avg rating — 623 ratings — published 2001 — 17 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Kant's Little Prussian Head and Other Reasons Why I Write: An Autobiography in Essays 3.77 avg rating — 180 ratings — published 2020 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Professor's History 3.79 avg rating — 29 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Claire Messud…

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Goodreads Editors' Picks for May Books

Here at Goodreads World Headquarters, we sort through a lot of books each month. Our monthly Readers' Most Anticipated Books feature is...

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Quotes by Claire Messud (?)

“Above all, in my anger, I was sad. Isn't that always the way, that at the heart of the fire is a frozen kernel of sorrow that the fire is trying -- valiantly, fruitlessly -- to eradicate.”
― Claire Messud, The Woman Upstairs

64 likes

“It's the strangest thing about being human: to know so much, to communicate so much, and yet always to fall so drastically short of clarity, to be, in the end, so isolate and inadequate. Even when people try to say things, they say them poorly or obliquely, or they outright lie, sometimes because they're lying to you, but as often because they're lying to themselves.”
― Claire Messud, The Woman Upstairs

52 likes

“I'm a good girl. I'm a nice girl. I'm a straight-A, strait-laced, good daughter, good career girl, and I never stole anybody's boyfriend and I never ran out on a girlfriend, and I put up with my parents' shit and brother's shit and I'm not a girl anyhow, I'm over forty fucking years old, and I'm good at my job and I'm great with kids and I held my mother's hand when she died,after four years of holding her hand while she was dying, and I speak to my father ever day on the telephone -- every day, mind you, and what kind of weather do you have on your side of the river, because here it's pretty gray and a big muggy too? It was supposed to say" Great Artist "on my tombstone, but if I died right now it would say" Such a good teacher/daughter/friend "instead; and what I really want to shout, and want in big letters on that grave, too, is FUCK YOU ALL.”
― Claire Messud, The Woman Upstairs

38 likes

See all Claire Messud's quotes »

Polls

What shall we read in May?
Again, please note, by voting you are committing to reading along if your book wins.

The LuminariesbyEleanor Catton

26 votes, 38.2%

Burial RitesbyHannah Kent

12 votes, 17.6%

Beautiful RuinsbyJess Walter

8 votes, 11.8%

Purple HibiscusbyChimamanda Ngozi Adichie

8 votes, 11.8%

A Madman Dreams of Turing MachinesbyJanna Levin

7 votes, 10.3%

The Woman UpstairsbyClaire Messud

4 votes, 5.9%

Sweet HomebyCarys Bray

3 votes, 4.4%

68 total votes

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Topics Mentioning This Author

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Crazy Challenge C...: Tatum's Reading and Challenge List	48	61	Mar 24, 2012 11:10PM
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The Seasonal Read...: Fall Challenge 2012: Completed Tasks - DO NOT DELETE ANY POSTS IN THIS TOPIC	2310	745	Dec 29, 2012 07:29AM
You'll love this...: Jan 2013 - New Purchases	169	74	Jan 28, 2013 09:59AM
Around the World...: Julienne's Around the World in 80 Books '13 - Frequent Flyer	17	60	Feb 03, 2013 09:08AM
The Millions: Most Anticipated Books of 2013 - Part One	16	340	Apr 24, 2013 01:31AM
The Next Best Boo...: Your Latest Splurge	9395	13895	May 13, 2013 02:23AM
Reading with Style: Spring 2013 Rws Completed Tasks - Spring 2013	963	137	Jun 01, 2013 12:03PM

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