However, lines like the one above (and many others like it) create an atmosphere of suffocating introspection, causing (for me, at least) more wafts to the left than to the right. This is one of those reviews that is the hardest to write, because I have no desire to diminish something artful and thought provoking - and Cusk does provoke thought, especially in regards to motherhood and womanhood.

That happened for me a lot in the reading of this brief novella.ĭamn it. I have read this sentence over and over, and it still doesn't make any sense. True art means seeking to capture the unreal. The truth lies not in any claim to reality, but in the place where what is real moves beyond our interpretation of it. Waft to the right, and she's saying brilliant things like:įear is a habit like any other, and habits kill what is essential in ourselves.Ĭhange is also loss, and in that sense a parent can lose a child every day, until you realise that you’d better stop predicting what they’re going to become and concentrate on what is right in front of you. It takes the most minute, feathery breeze to waft her in either direction. More specifically, she's a tightrope walker, a writer who balances on the very, very fine line between brilliance and pretentiousness. Second Place is now available.īlog: Rachel Cusk, as it turns out, is a bit of an acrobat.

My thanks to the author and Macmillan Audio for my gifted advance listeners copy via NetGalley. Kate Fleetwood’s moody narration enhanced the heady atmosphere, transporting me to a time and place I’m too dumb to fully understand but smart enough to appreciate. What I do know is that I was captivated by the audiobook from start to finish. Where does it take place? Also no idea - could be Europe, could be America. When does it take place? No idea - could be 1921, could be 2021. There could easily be an entire university course on the novel itself, demanding students of the written word unpack and interpret every potential meaning behind the title and story.Īnd what is the story? A middle aged woman invites a painter to stay in her guesthouse with the hope he’ll use her as the subject of one of his masterpieces. Second Place is as literary as modern literary fiction can get. Can I tell you why I chose to pick this book up then? No. In fact, I have to admit I’d never even heard of Cusk before - even though she’s clearly a literary genius. Like they’re all in Mensa, and I’m over here eating paste in the corner. I feel like Rachel Cusk and everyone who has already read and reviewed her latest novel, Second Place, is smarter than me.

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