The Last Life

A Novel

Fiction & Literature, Psychological, Family Life, Literary
Cover of the book The Last Life by Claire Messud, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
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Author: Claire Messud ISBN: 9780547563855
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publication: September 28, 2000
Imprint: Mariner Books Language: English
Author: Claire Messud
ISBN: 9780547563855
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication: September 28, 2000
Imprint: Mariner Books
Language: English

A “mesmerizing” novel of a family falling apart by the New York Times bestselling author of The Burning Girl.

Set in colonial Algeria, the south of France, and New England, and narrated by a fifteen-year-old girl with a ruthless regard for the truth, The Last Life is the tale of the LaBasse family, whose quiet integrity is shattered by the shots from a grandfather’s rifle. As their world suddenly begins to crumble, long-hidden shame emerges: a son abandoned by the family before he was even born, a mother whose identity is not what she has claimed, and a father whose act of defiance brings Hotel Bellevue—the family business—to its knees.

From the PEN/Faulkner Award-nominated author of The Emperor’s Children, named one of the best books of the year by the New York Times Book Review, this novel skillfully reveals how the stories we tell ourselves, and the lies to which we cling, can turn on us in a moment.

“[A] tour de force . . . every step feels stunningly sure.” —Vogue

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

A “mesmerizing” novel of a family falling apart by the New York Times bestselling author of The Burning Girl.

Set in colonial Algeria, the south of France, and New England, and narrated by a fifteen-year-old girl with a ruthless regard for the truth, The Last Life is the tale of the LaBasse family, whose quiet integrity is shattered by the shots from a grandfather’s rifle. As their world suddenly begins to crumble, long-hidden shame emerges: a son abandoned by the family before he was even born, a mother whose identity is not what she has claimed, and a father whose act of defiance brings Hotel Bellevue—the family business—to its knees.

From the PEN/Faulkner Award-nominated author of The Emperor’s Children, named one of the best books of the year by the New York Times Book Review, this novel skillfully reveals how the stories we tell ourselves, and the lies to which we cling, can turn on us in a moment.

“[A] tour de force . . . every step feels stunningly sure.” —Vogue

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