梅薩德是生於1966年的美國新銳女作傢，其父是阿爾及利亞移民，母為加拿大人，因此其第三部小說《皇帝的兒女》有資格入圍今年英國布剋奬的大名單（此奬一嚮將美國作傢排除在外）。

小說寫一男兩女三個年近30的文藝青年，來到紐約的傳媒界打拼(這樣的孩子我們見過不少，齣身名校，聰明，高傲，有著無與倫比的品味和滿腦子的幻想，自認為是文化精英，能乾齣一番大事業) 但各自遇到從生活到情愛的種種問題，瑪麗娜、丹尼爾和硃麗葉是布朗大學的同窗好友，她們滿懷抱負邁齣校門，一心要擠入美國上流文化階層，然而年近三十，依然一事無成，丹尼爾還是個默默無聞的紀錄片製作人，硃麗葉是毫無經濟保障的自由撰稿人，瑪麗娜仍然和父母住在一起，手頭的一篇小說完成之日遙遙無期。她們不約而同地發現，性交易纔是達到目的的捷徑。直至“9·11”事件爆發，一切均大為改觀。“國王”指的是其中一女的記者父親，一位“無冕之王”。 本書鎖定的背景是9·11以後的曼哈頓文化圈，作者通過入木三分的刻畫，使我們對這個特殊的群體有瞭感性的認識。

一部相當睿智、觀察敏銳的世態喜劇，背景是2001年曼哈頓的文化圈，作者對特權階層既不留情麵，又心懷憐憫。三位畢業於著名學府的大學生，都已年屆而立，自欺欺人地把自己的朋友和傢人想象得特彆有文化，以為憑著直率他們可以撼動世界，結果卻一事無成。

From a writer “of near-miraculous perfection” (The New York Times Book Review) and “a literary intelligence far surpassing most other writers of her generation” (San Francisco Chronicle), The Emperor’s Children is a dazzling, masterful novel about the intersections in the lives of three friends, now on the cusp of their thirties, making their way—and not—in New York City.

            There is beautiful, sophisticated Marina Thwaite—an “It” girl finishing her first book; the daughter of Murray Thwaite, celebrated intellectual and journalist—and her two closest friends from Brown, Danielle, a quietly appealing television producer, and Julius, a cash-strapped freelance critic. The delicious complications that arise among them become dangerous when Murray’s nephew, Frederick “Bootie” Tubb, an idealistic college dropout determined to make his mark, comes to town. As the skies darken, it is Bootie’s unexpected decisions—and their stunning, heartbreaking outcome—that will change each of their lives forever.

            A richly drawn, brilliantly observed novel of fate and fortune—of innocence and experience, seduction and self-invention; of ambition, including literary ambition; of glamour, disaster, and promise—The Emperor’s Children is a tour de force that brings to life a city, a generation, and the way we live in this moment.</p>