This Strange Eventful History

by Claire Messud
This Strange Eventful History cover
Good Books rating 4.25
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  • ID: 9
  • Added: 2025-08-02
  • Updated: 2025-10-01
  • Formats: 56
  • Reviews: 4
Reviews
the-tls.com · Unknown · 2025-09-17
profound 4.50

Claire Messud's novel is a profound exploration of family dynamics and personal growth, with complex characters and a richly textured narrative. The reviewer praises Messud's ability to delve into the intricacies of human relationships and the emotional depth of her storytelling.

Claire Messud's 'This Strange Eventful History' is a deeply moving and introspective novel that delves into the complexities of family relationships and personal identity. The reviewer highlights Messud's skill in creating multifaceted characters and her ability to weave a narrative that is both emotionally resonant and intellectually stimulating. The story's exploration of memory, loss, and the passage of time is particularly noteworthy, offering readers a rich and thought-provoking experience. The reviewer also appreciates the novel's lyrical prose and the way it captures the nuances of human emotions. Overall, the book is seen as a significant contribution to contemporary literature, offering a profound and engaging reading experience.

Quick quotes

    The novel is a masterclass in character development and emotional depth.

    Messud's prose is both lyrical and precise, capturing the essence of human relationships with remarkable clarity.

    The story's exploration of memory and identity is both profound and deeply moving.

theguardian.com · Unknown · 2024-05-30
great 4.00

Claire Messud's 'This Strange Eventful History' is a weighty, generation-spanning family epic that harks back to the style of classic Important Novels. While it may feel incongruous in today's literary landscape, it delivers on emotional depth and tackles big questions about family, colonialism, and grief. The reviewer appreciates its earnest and rigorous approach, though it lacks the stylish newness of contemporary fiction.

Claire Messud's 'This Strange Eventful History' is a novel that feels like a throwback to a different era of literature. It's a family saga with a weighty tone and a structure that spans generations, reminiscent of the Important Novels of the past. The reviewer notes that while such books still exist, Messud's work stands out for its acerbic tone and lack of overt stylishness, which might make it feel incongruous in today's literary fiction scene. The novel follows the Cassar family, French Algerians who are forced to leave their homeland due to the dissolution of colonial rule. It tackles big questions about family, colonialism, and grief, and delivers on emotional depth. The reviewer appreciates Messud's earnest and rigorous approach, which is indebted to modernists like James Joyce and Virginia Woolf, but acknowledges that this style might seem quaint or embarrassing in today's rapid technological age. Overall, the novel is seen as a significant work that provides an emotional punch.

Quick quotes

    Messud was writing for a readership with a prelapsarian attention span.

    It’s a family story with the weighty tone and generation-spanning structure that used to signify an Important Novel.

    The big questions are here, about family and colonialism and grief. But the real promise of a 425-page family epic is that it will provide an emotional punch, too. On that, it delivers.

vulture.com · Unknown · 2024-05-07
engaging 4.50

Claire Messud's novel 'This Strange Eventful History' explores the lives of a French-Algerian family across three generations, delving into themes of identity, belonging, and the search for home. The reviewer highlights the novel's rich historical details and its exploration of the complexities of colonialism and displacement.

Claire Messud's 'This Strange Eventful History' is a sweeping family saga that traces the lives of the Cassar family, French-Algerian settlers who are uprooted by the changing political landscape of the 20th century. The novel begins with Gaston Cassar, a French naval officer, who finds himself adrift in Salonica during World War II. His journey, along with that of his family, is a poignant exploration of the search for belonging and the impact of colonialism. The reviewer notes that Messud's use of historical details and family lore adds depth to the narrative, making it more than just a historical novel but a profound meditation on history and identity. The characters' struggles with their complex lineages and the search for a home that never was are central themes that resonate throughout the book.

Quick quotes

    The novel brims with details, many likely gleaned from a fifteen-hundred-page family history, titled 'Everything That We Believed In,' that her paternal grandfather left behind.

    The place the LaBasses and the Cassars long for, one that exists only in their imaginations, is of a piece with Augustine’s City of God — 'that gilded metropolis which shimmers forever in an impossible tense.

    The attraction between the star-crossed, cross-cultural couple is electric and propulsive, lasting for years with unmitigated intensity.

newyorker.com · Unknown · 2024-05-06
compelling 4.00

Claire Messud's 'This Strange Eventful History' is a compelling exploration of family dynamics and historical context, blending personal and political narratives. The reviewer appreciates the depth of character development and the intricate weaving of history into the story, though some may find the pacing uneven.

Claire Messud's 'This Strange Eventful History' delves into the complexities of family relationships set against the backdrop of historical upheavals. The reviewer is impressed by the author's ability to create rich, multifaceted characters and the way she intertwines personal stories with broader historical events. The novel's strength lies in its emotional depth and the nuanced portrayal of its characters' struggles. However, the reviewer notes that the pacing can be uneven at times, which might detract from the overall reading experience. The book offers a profound exploration of identity, belonging, and the impact of history on individual lives, making it a thought-provoking read for those interested in literary fiction.

Quick quotes

    The novel's strength lies in its emotional depth and the nuanced portrayal of its characters' struggles.

    Claire Messud's ability to create rich, multifaceted characters is impressive.

    The pacing can be uneven at times, which might detract from the overall reading experience.

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