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Citizens of nowhere: This Strange Eventful History, by Claire Messud, reviewed

A fictionalised version of Messud’s recent family history traces the many moves of three generations forced into exile from Algeria

22 June 2024

9:00 AM

22 June 2024

9:00 AM

This Strange Eventful History Claire Messud

Fleet, pp.448, 20

Any personal history is hard to fictionalise, not least because the story needs to be both universal and unique. Claire Messud manages to find the right balance in her latest novel, reconstructing her family’s past in vivid episodes that open a multitude of windows on to the world.

Continents and decades chase one another as the narrative traces the movements of the Cassar family.

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