While this book wasn’t really my usual kind of read, I have to say that the writing style was excellent and brought me into the world of noir. I dig the vibe more than the plot, and found myself more interested in the side plots and tangents rather than the main story. Was still an entertaining read with great prose, just not my thing.

Another mesmerizing novel by Rachel Kushner. The story her characters her words I was immediately drawn into their world.As with her other novels I will be recommending.#netgalley #scribner

Gorgeous writing with just the right amount of tension, intrigue, and ambiguity.

"Sadie" is an American spy with a determined yet detached demeanor. Her assignment is to get close to a group of environmental activists in France to see what they are planning (or maybe to nudge them to take action)...

I thoroughly enjoyed Sadie's introspection, humor, and narration of events. I was not as enamored with Bruno's emails as Sadie was but loved how they were woven into the story. Overall, this was a captivating and entertaining read.

Thank you very much to Scribner and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

Stunning! Enthralling! Provocative! Such a delight to read and contemplate the ideas in this book. Makes me want to re/read everything else by RK. Highly recommend!

Whether it is power, money, politics, environmental issues or just revenge, a spy for hire must put aside personal feelings and focus on completing her assignment. That’s it, or not! Kushner did a great job of creating an FBI undercover agent, unable to deliver her mark and fired, who became a freelance operative.

Sadie, as we know her, plays a long game to eventually become embedded within a commune of ecoterrorists trying to protect the environment in the French countryside. Her mission is to find out whether they plan to become violent and if not, plant seeds to insure a violent outcome. Sadie has also been given a name, Bruno Lacombe, an activist, possible mentor of the group who has not been seen for decades. Sadie hacks into emails he has sent the group and these emails take the book in a separate but equally important direction.

Bruno, who has become a cave dweller, believes that man has destroyed the world and that the way to salvation is through returning to primitive times. Through his communications, Sadie, very much a realist, becomes enamored of his view of humanity and the creative tales he weaves. How will this affect the person she is?

The juxtapositions of past, present and possible future have not only Sadie re-examining everything but also the reader. This could have been a superficial spy novel, Kushner gave her characters complexity. Also, tthe book could have been preachy, Kushner made sure it wasn’t.

Thank you NetGalley and Scribner for this advance copy. All opinions are my own.
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A wonderful synthesis (thematically and narratively) of Kushner's previous novels and one that ranks as one of her best to date.

I found this book very difficult to get into. If I was to not read the description on the jacket a head of time, it has little to no context clues of who what where when, which lead me to not be invested in anyone in particular. This is definitely not for a casual reader.

I really enjoyed Rachel Kushner's The Mars Room, so I was looking forward to Creation Lake. I was very impressed. The novel tells the story of a woman who goes undercover infiltrating radical groups in order to encourage them to perform acts that will get them arrested.

The novel takes place in France where "Sadie" has infiltrated an environmental group. The novel spends a lot of time talking about caves and early man. These aren't necessarily my passions, but Kushner truly makes it all interesting. I actually learned a lot about Neanderthals and how those early stages of man might still influence us today. It's an interesting literary novel that becomes a bit of a thriller over the final 50 pages.

Thanks to Netgalley who provided me a free e-galley of this book in return for an honest review.

I really loved this book. It reminded me at times of Sara Gran’s CLAIRE DEWITT series, which is the highest praise I can give out. This is the first Rachel Kushner novel I’ve truly loved. It’s the kind of book I look forward to rereading a year or two from now. Thank you the ARC I had a blast with this one.

"Sadie" "Smith" is an amoral Secret Agent infiltrating a commune in rural France for her shadowy political bosses. She becomes interested in their thought leader, a man who lives in a cave and has kooky but earnest and existentially profound beliefs about Neanderthals. It's essayistic about contemporary Europe, human nature, the development of political groups and communes, and it's fun to watch Sadie ruminate, analyze, and observe.

Unique and smart novel!

If I had to categorize it, I'd say it was an anthropological thriller. For fans of Eleanor Catton's BIRNAM WOOD or Norman Rush's MATING.

I wasn't even halfway through this book before I started recommending it to people to preorder. Rachel Kushner has been a darling of the literary establishment since her debut, though her actual output has been somewhat uneven. Sharp, yes, but sometimes off. CREATION LAKE brings together her best qualities: intelligence, humor, and verve. Though the novel centers on an infiltrator, it doesn't quite have the narrative tension of a thriller novel, but it doesn't need to rely on this tension to make it a compelling read, combining anthropological reflections with political intrigue. Kushner isn't necessarily writing for a mass audience, trained on the narrative pacing and cliffhangers of TV shows, but I think the book will appeal to a broad set of readers. The marketing department should be kicking itself for not putting this book out during summer vacation season. It isn't exactly a beach read in the strict sense, but it's the sort of book you want to have a reason to take with you wherever you go.

Thanks to Netgalley and Scribner for the ebook. Sadie Smith, not her real name, was working undercover for the FBI, but when a court case goes wrong, and gets too much attention, she is forced to take the blame and banished. Now Sadie has taken her talents to Europe and to the highest, though faceless, bidder. She’s currently in rural France, slowly infiltrating a commune filled with young activists. She’s playing a lot of different sides as she tries to get their upcoming demonstration to take a more violent turn. A fascinating story by one of the best novelist in America.

Engaging and immersive. A recommended purchase for collections where crime and thrillers are popular.

Another outstanding and transporting novel from Kushner. Like others in her oeuvre, it’s full of vivid information about a group/sect/area of interest transfused into fiction and led by a strong female voice. Did I feel the pace was a little slack? Yes. Nevertheless I was held and informed by the topics and the curious character at the book’s centre. Bravo.