Rachel Cusk is no stranger to controversy. Her candid memoirs on the perils of motherhood and her messy divorce drew a particularly hostile reaction, and her latest book – “Life of M” – has sent the rumour mill into overdrive that a character is based on Natalie Portman. But the British novelist has also transformed autofiction and scooped multiple literary awards for her icy dissections of human behaviour. Here we take a look at some of her best books.
A Life’s Work: On Becoming a Mother (2001)
Cusk’s “brutally honest and somewhat confronting” memoir about motherhood sparked an almighty backlash and accusations of child-hating, said Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett in The Guardian. But it’s also “bitterly funny about the culture and institutions of motherhood”, and over two decades later remains “one of the best, and least sentimental”, accounts of pregnancy, childbirth and caring for a newborn.
Outline (2014)
The first book in Cusk’s “groundbreaking” trilogy of the same name is a “fitting entry point” to her work, said The Guardian. It follows “divorced novelist and mother-of-two” Faye on her journey to Athens to teach a writing course, and unfolds through a series of conversations with people she “meets along the way”. Conventional plot is “practically non-existent” here which turns out to be “revelatory”. “Really, it’s a masterpiece.”
Coventry (2019)
In her first book of essays, Cusk proves her non-fiction can be as “coolly glittering” as her novels, said Dwight Garner in The New York Times. Tackling themes she’s known for – “her obligations as mother, daughter, citizen, artist and breadwinner” – she writes with “candour”, “seriousness”, and a “subtle” touch. These are “first-rate” essays, well worth reading.
Second Place (2021)
This “feverish” novel follows a woman named ‘M’ who invites a “visionary painter” to spend the summer at her remote coastal home, said Emily Watkins in The i Paper. Written as a series in “confessional letter form” to someone called Jeffers, it’s a “delicious” read that’s best devoured in one sitting.
Parade (2024)
Cusk writes about several different artists – each referred to only as ‘G’ – in this “masterful exploration of art and identity”, said Buzz Magazine. This isn’t a new topic for the writer but her language is “always fresh and ambitious”, and her prose is “ablaze with wit”, making it worth “the time it might take to settle in” to this experimental novel.