One of the most anticipated books of the year from an award-winning writer, this epic saga – partly inspired by the author’s own history – spans seventy years as it follows the lives of a family born on the wrong side of history.
One of the most anticipated books of the year from an award-winning writer, this epic saga – partly inspired by the author’s own history – spans seventy years as it follows the lives of a family born on the wrong side of history.
In an interview earlier this year, Claire Messud said, ‘In our era, when few people stay all their lives in one place, we all grapple with what home might mean.’ Her new novel invites readers to reflect on that very question – how do we define the word ‘home’? What is the meaning of ‘family’?
Her most autobiographical work to date, This Strange Eventful History follows the fictional pieds-noirs Cassars family – separated in the chaos of World War II, running from a complicated colonial homeland, and, after Algerian independence, without a homeland at all. Through the voices of three generations, we see with crisp clarity a family struggling to define their relationships to one another and to the idea of ‘home’.
This carefully crafted exploration of personal and cultural identity paints a picture of the world in which the author grew up – one as full of challenges and despair as it was idealism and hope for a better future.
Claire Messud is the author of numerous award-winning and revered novels including most recently The Woman Upstairs and The Burning Girl.
This event will be chaired by Madeleine Keane, Literary Editor of the Sunday Independent and Chair of Children’s Books Ireland.