Could barely finish this book. Started off good and interesting family dynamics and then I suffered through the rest of it. Not sure how it has such a high rating. One of the most boring books ever …

Beautifully written and masterfully constructed, this coming of age story is told from the perspective of the main character as a young woman looking back on her childhood. Her French family owns a luxury hotel on the Mediterranean but had lived in Algeria during the colonial uprising in the 60s, escaping only when France loses control of the colony. The main character struggles to know herself, to fit in (her mother is American, her father French)- never sure of her place or identity. But the ending seems too much an easy way out. She never learns to be honest with herself or about herself. The story goes back and forth in time and location, mostly moves along quickly and was one I couldn't wait to get back to. The ending does not fail, but I felt sorry for the main character's failure to embrace her identity and her truth.

This is a hard book to read. Not only is the subject matter sad--even depressing--but also the structure and style of the novel make it a difficult book to read. It is literary fiction, perhaps not at its finest, but definitely at its most demanding. That said, there is much to recommend this novel by Claire Messud--just don't read it on the beach.

Told in the first person by Sagesse LaBasse, who recalls as a young adult the events of several of her most formative teenage years, the story takes place primarily in the south of France on the Mediterranean Sea. Sagesse describes her wealthy, but tortured, family's existence--refugees from Algeria who never quite fit in in France despite extraordinary business success. But even more devastating to them than always feeling like "the other" are the many dark secrets that plague and haunt the LaBasse family over several generations.

The plot line, such as it is, is secondary to the almost stream-of-consciousness dialogue carried on by Sagesse as she first narrates and then examines in depth each piece of the action. It is far more about the analysis--emotional and psychological--of what happens than anything else. And, yes, it can be quite tedious at times. But it's also like a flower, opening and probing the secrets of life, the secrets of what it means to be human.

If you enjoy serious literary fiction, this is a must-read. If you prefer your books to have a riveting storyline, skip it.

Aside to Kindle Readers: Originally published in 1999, this book has had a less-than-perfect translation to Kindle format. There are numerous errors--misspellings and missing apostrophes being the most blatant. It's a shame, but doesn't take away too much from the story. Most unfortunately, the second to the last sentence of the book is poetic--or it would be if there weren't a horrendous typo in it that nearly ruins it. But the human brain is smart enough to figure it out. It's just a shame...that's all.

I was deeply affected by this story - no doubt influenced by having myself lived in Algeria very shortly after independence and then, later on, meeting displaced French pied noirs in France and America as well as experiencing the viewpoint of the Algerians with whom I was friends and worked with. My favorite novels are those that are multi-layered exposing cultural biases and our own inability to always be aware of implicit biases and to see that manifested in others. I was particularly moved by the later chapters in the book where different viewpoints of the "Algeria experience" came to light. I did not want the book to end.

Messud is a terrific writer, and this early novel of hers is no exception. The characters are great, the interesting story unspools carefully, and it kept my attention straight through till the last few pages.

** “The Last Life” by Claire Messud: Fifteen year old Sagesse La Basse muses about her life and family to an extent that is occasionally interesting, but mostly boring and without a central theme. Her American mother and French-Algerian father are respectively looked down upon and dominated by her martinet paternal grandfather and his patrician wife. The grandfather immigrated to France from Algeria, along with wife and daughter, to open a small hotel on France’s Mediterranean coast. They left Algeria because of the coming war for independence from France, but Algeria always remains their hearts’ homeland and seems to have a central role in Sagesse’s understanding or misunderstanding of her father and grandparents. This is a coming of age story with some of the typical teenage angst and rebellion, but having neither the charm nor the drama of most enjoyable novels of that genre. For reasons I cannot understand, the New York Times found “The Last Life” to be “a large and resonant novel that is as artful as it is affecting.” Horse races.

Claire Messud personifies writing as art. She is a joy to read, no matter what the story is about, every sentence is a work of art. She is particularly impactful with stories about young girls coming of age in difficult circumstances. This is one of her masterpieces. It's Pulitzer Prize worthy, and it should be a matter of time before she wins one.

A dense well-written book about the effects of family history on one's life and our need to create stories about our families and ourselves.

Sagesse LaBasse is a teenage girl growing up in comfortable wealth in southern France. Her family, French Algerian emigrants, use family stories to offer a sense of permanance and security in the midst of war, emigrations, crises. The story begins with the grandfather in colonial Algeria, shows in stunning detail the disorder of the last days of French rule in Algeria, follows him to France where he lives as an exile, a stranger in his own country. The story continues to follow the next two generations as they attempt to maintain stability in a precarious world.

The writing is beautiful: "Our lives altered again, like a kaleidoscope turned with the gentle twist of a divine hand." "The abiding question, too, was this .... Is our ending inscribed in our beginning -- and, if so, in whose beginning? ... Was my father locked in a destiny, visible or invisible, from which no turning could have spared him?" But good writing is not enough, or maybe this writing was just too dense and introspective for me. I found the last quarter of the book tedious, and I was tempted to skim what in the end seemed like just a long droning monologue. Even with family conflicts, scandals, suicide, the novel was too dry and - yes - tedious.

Evocative novel about French Algerians returning to France in the 60's. Seen through the eyes of a precocious adolescent, it is a good read but ultimately lacks finish.

Interesting but I found tedious at times. I didn't like the way the author would labour over a different topic subject per chapter. Lost its drive and I struggled to finish it. Good topic.

Messud is a talented writer who creates memorable characters in this tale of a family in French Algiers. The narrator is a young girl coming of age who sees only parts of what is happening in her family. My only criticism of the book is that all of the characters are so miserable. The misery lifts a little at the end, but not much.

I'm very mixed on this book. The writing is beautiful, but the sections where she delved deeper into philosophy were exhausting. Something about the structure of the story, too, made it hard for me to remember the plot and characters each time I picked it up. It kept me interested, but at the same time I was happy to finish it.