Now THIS is contemporary literary fiction. 

A woman named M is married to her second husband, Tony and they live on an idyllic sort of marshland island. M decides to invite a famous, aging painter named L to stay at their Second Place, the second cottage on their property which they've aptly named. M has expectations that this artist is going to add some kind of deeper meaning to her life, which she seems to be frustrated in. This book centers around their strange, tumultuous relationship.

So I'm dreadfully late to the party on Rachel Cusk and have been wanting to read her books for forever. I was intrigued by the blurbs (Jenny Offill recommending something is all I need to see) and synopsis on this one and thought this was as good of a place as any to start. Her writing is wonderful. It's just pretentious enough to make me feel smart, but real enough to be honest while providing tons of great stand alone one-sentence statements. This book touches on gender privilege, age, art, love and loss, parenting, and so many other wide topics, while managing to feel cohesive.

This is a fun, quirky, philosophical little novel and I loved its weirdness. I mean, the entire book is written in the form of a letter to someone named Jeffers whom we never find anything about, which somehow makes me love this book even more. The book could get a bit heady at some points for me, but it added more layers to the characters. Although at several points I felt a specific gratitude for not having the torturous inner dialogue of our main character, M. 

I half read and half listened to this one on audiobook, and I definitely preferred the audiobook. The narrator, Kate Fleetwood did an excellent job, especially with the voices of each character. Her version sounded way better than whatever I had imagined in my head and took their personalities to another level.

If you love to read things that are a bit different and sometimes a bit above your head, I would recommend this one.

This was a very unusual book. Normally, I like going into books with as little knowledge as possible, but for this book I was glad I didn't go that route. There is absolutely no doubt that Rachel Cusk can write, and I will certainly continue to read her work in the future, but this one wasn't the best fit for me- but that's a personal preference and nothing to do with the quality of the book, so I still think this is a solid 4-star read for anyone whose still this better fits with. Thanks to the publisher for the review copy!

My first Rachel Cusk. So, going in I had no expectations other than knowing that for some she may be considered a quality writer since she's previously been nominated for literary awards. This was very much a character-driven novel. It wasn't one I was necessarily compelled to return to again and again. This is the story of a woman who invites a male artist to come and stay with her at her coastal home. It is a quiet, contemplative novel where not much happens plot-wise. it is more a pondering of male privilege and what it means to be a woman. It pokes at relationships and forces us the reader to think about life as the characters are thinking about their lives. This is a book for quiet times, a book for pensive times. The writing was good but it didn't grip me as much as I'd hope. But, I will still try more of Cusk's book in the future.

Wow! Fascinating, unique writing style
With great questions surrounding choices and beauty and evil and relationships - so much to think about. I’ll be adding more to this review as I chew this over some more. Please read this one.

Thank you to Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the copy of this book. I’m so grateful.

This is a really hard book to review. I appreciated the book, but I'm not sure I enjoyed it. Mostly because I found the narrator / main character unlikeable. The book tells the story of M who convinces artist L to come to her home and stay. L is an intriguing character and M spends the book pursuing him and seeking his approval and (maybe) love. That said, the writing is powerful and descriptive. I think Cusk is an expert at creating nuanced and authentic characters. I am interested in reading more from her.

Second Place by Rachel Cusk. #SecondPlace #NetGalley

Thank you .Netgalley for this ARC. Second Place by Rachel follows the story of a woman, M, who seems to be searching for her place in life. She ends up inviting an artist, L, to stay at a cottage in the coastal town where she lives. M seems to believe his presence, knowledge, and possibly his outlook will help provide her with understanding of her own life. This story is written in letter format. I do like that format, but overall I didn't like this book as much as others by her.

honest moments of revelation are immediately followed by hilarious contradictions. Cusk is able to make a quotidian life primarily filled with thoughts, not actions, something worth reading. she encourages you to analyze and laugh at the tiny life she's created or the tiny life you're currently living. it's an engaging story about expectations, both inward and outward, and the unbalanced states of mind we put ourselves through just for a sense of control when, truthfully, it's always been obtainable; we just love to pretend it's not

I am rapidly coming to the conclusion, that the more I like a book, the more difficult it is to write a review; to do it justice, to truly convey what that book means to me. Rachel Cusk, is without question, a writer who will always make me stumble, second guess my feelings and encourage me to take the time to reflect on what I have just read.

Second Place serves as a tribute to a memoir written by Mabel Dodge Luhan (an American patron of the arts) following the time that D.H. Lawrence spent as her house guest. Cusk was recently interviewed by Michael Silverblett and she tells him of her admiration for Lawrence and her reasons for writing this book. After reading this beautiful work, I am tempted to find Lorenzo in Taos and read this too.

Told in the form of a series of letters; a little known published writer M, tells Jeffers of the time that she invited L, a famous artist to spend time with her and her husband at their property in the marshes. What becomes quickly apparent is that the otherwise unnamed M is Mabel and L is Lawrence.

Second Place describes an annex in the garden that M and her husband Tony have built, and regularly invite guests to enjoy the space and share what they have.

Obviously, this novel is about so much more than that structure sitting in the grass; Cusk's examination of M reveals a complicated, fragile woman who is searching for meaning and renewed purpose.

I don't think that at any point M views herself as in second place but her situation is analysed and examined constantly:

- On the surface - her career as a writer; she has had some things published, but fairly low key and she doesn't appear to be actively writing now, her art does not feed her or drive her. In comparison, L has experienced glittering fame and success, his art defines him and his reputation accommodates his globetrotting lifestyle.

- Her second marriage to Tony; a native who lives a simple life and enjoys the freedom of disappointment, as his expectation of those around him is limited to what is crucial to life. Self contained and almost without ego, A refusal to become embroiled in the emotional game play that are a by-product of modern living, a man whose reality is grounded in the here and now. Compared to L, a man who gains his freedom by ignoring the needs of others - puts himself out of the way of any moral obligation. Lives a life of notoriety, travels and feeds from his fame, he takes constant advantage of the generosity of others. He arrives at the house with an unexpected companion, a beautiful, young, apparently accomplished woman called Brett. Do Tony and M represent something secondary, something less, both individually and as a couple? Are they settling for something less, because it is easy?

- The recognition by M that her daughter Justine, has herself become a woman; capable strong and ready to face the world. The idea that the mother starts to fade into the background, or at the very least steps aside as the daughter finds her place is compelling, yet more than a little unsettling.

- And, finally the big one; and certainly what is at the core of this book for me, the place where women sit alongside men - it can be summed up perfectly by Cusk herself:
'....except to say that this aura of male freedom belongs likewise to most representations of the world and of our human experience within it, and that as women we grow accustomed to translating it into something we ourselves can recognise.'

The contemplation of your place in the world and all that entails is central, but what also runs through all of these perfectly placed themes and observations on life are the existential questions of reality and human existence, of subjective truth, of art and its purpose, and of the artist and what it takes to produce meaningful art. It is here, in my view, where Cusk sets herself apart.

This book, just like Outline is full of eloquent scrutiny of the human condition, in its short 200 pages I highlighted 40 passages - paragraphs that I will go back to, as individually they each hold their own power. No criticism here, for this latest addition to Rachel Cusks extensive body of work.

I think I’d better give up with Rachel Cusk. Her writing just isn’t for me. I find it pretentious, self-indulgent and mannered and I don’t relate to any of her characters. This was slightly – very slightly – redeemed for me when I discovered that it is based on Mable Dodge Luhans’ account of the visit D H Lawrence (another author I’m not too keen on) made to her artists’ colony in New Mexico in 1922, but it wasn’t enough to actually make me enjoy the novel. The story is simple enough. The female narrator M (why just M, why not a name?) invites a famous artist, L, to visit her in the hope that she will receive illumination and wisdom from him. Nothing goes according to plan (there’s a surprise) and M consequently confides her disappointment in a series of unconvincing letters to her friend Jeffers. (He has a name, why not M?). Lots of themes touched on here but I received no more enlightenment than M herself did and soon became bored with her solipsistic and ponderous ponderings. I see that I am totally out of step here with other readers, who have almost all written glowing reviews, but there you go. Such is the nature of literary taste.

In his newsletter, Brandon Taylor wrote about Second Place, and I think he perfectly encapsulated the essence of the book with this sentence: “She [the narrator] can’t trust her own sight of herself which is, throughout the novel, both quite clear and also blurry.” As readers, we can see that the narrator is struggling to define herself and understand how she wants to present herself to the world. And yet, the book is full of introspective moments, things that only a highly self-aware person could come up with. The narrator truly exists at the intersection of clarity and absolute chaos.

Cusk is the best at making me confront stuff that I know I’ve been feeling but couldn’t put into words. I don’t know how she does it. Her writing is something else.

In Second Place, I found the same kind of dreaminess that I loved in Outline (and missed in Transit). There’s a lot of recurring themes in those three novels (including marriage), and I’m both baffled and impressed that she finds so many interesting things to say about them time and time again. That makes me excited to read Kudos.

When I started Outline I honestly kind of expected not to like it based on what I knew about it, and then I was really pleasantly surprised that I thought it was great. But then I was surprised here because I loved this so much more. It technically has more Things Happen than Outline does, but it's still very introspective and analytical and just dense dense dense with really specific insight. I had so many omg moments I stopped for a minute to wonder if it was actually that deep or if I was just being hypnotized by how elegant the writing was, but like... no it's that deep. So smart and wonderful. The number you could do on this book with a yellow highlighter is bananas, and the second I finished I placed a library hold on Transit, with HASTE.

ALSO if we're judging by the number of times a book's title appears in said book - AKA "The Bob Odenkirk Little Women Phenomenon" - this book is one of the best there is.

I've come to the end to this novel with a new sense of how language on a page can sometimes be so vivid and captivating that it feels like a lived experience. Cusk writes in a voice here that's formally beautiful and mysteriously antiquated, and tonally perfect for the story. Each sentence feels revelatory--there is so much evidence that each sentence has been carefully, precisely written. And yet the language never feels bogged down with its own importance--it soars.

A lot of things happen in this novel but the events seem to exist in a space between real and dream; between concrete and metaphor. So allowing yourself to be flung into that dream is part of what makes the novel work. I think you'll know from the first page whether you're the kind of reader who is willing to let this narrator take you on a journey, one where you may not always feel on solid ground, or always confident of where you're being led to. I love that kind of reading journey. I'm so grateful that Cusk had the confidence to write this kind of novel.

I've already declared confidently in my review of Maria Stepanova's IN MEMORY OF MEMORY that it was going to be my favorite book in 2021, but now I'm thinking that Second Place--a very different, and yet equally perfect book--might be that book for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and FSG for the eARC of the latest installment in Rachel Cusk's ongoing project of limning (pace Michiko Kakutani) the role of art, the artist, and women in society.

Second Place begins with our narrator, M, recounting that time she saw the devil fondling a little girl on a train from Paris. Is she crazy? Is she hallucinating? M then proceeds to tell us that her husband thinks that "I underestimate my own power," and then also says that whatever power she does have, "it's nothing compared to the power of stupidity."

Prior to her train time with the devil, M had found herself drawn to an exhibition of "L's" paintings, whose landscapes have a profound effect on her. So much so that she manages to invite L to her home to spend time in her "Second Place," a rehabbed outbuilding in their marshy landscape that she would love nothing else (or so she thinks) than to have L's artistic vision of her marsh.

This is very much a novel of ideas for our time. M's invitation of course leads to complications - she expects that L's art will bring her freedom of a sort - freedom from her husband, her daughter, the world. To the degree that Cusk responds to or answers M's need for freedom, she does let us know that it's misguided in at least one, and very potentially many, ways.

This novel is an atmospheric epistolary of sorts, with unlikeable characters (save Tony, bless him), lush and affecting prose, and a deep sense of mystery via unreliable narration. I spent quite a bit of time getting through it, reading bits here and there, wading through the slow pace. It is not for someone looking for a light read, be warned. As my first foray into Cusk's work, and after reading a few other reviews here, I feel more inclined to try the Outline series. Anyway, thanks for the ARC @NetGalley.

This was a difficult book to get into as I'd never read Cusk's books before, and initially the writing is very dense with no dialogue. A woman known only as M becomes enamored with an artist known as L and invites him to stay with her husband and her in beautiful marsh country. Initially, he refuses but later comes to stay with an enigmatic younger woman named Brett who becomes close with M's daughter, Justine. There are many interesting dynamic relationships going on--between M and L, Justine and her boyfriend, Brett and Justine, and M's husband Tony. Once I was immersed in the story, I found it fascinating as it deals with so many relevant issues of ego, male/female relationships, and finding one's place in world without letting others' judgement dictate your values. Ultimately, I enjoyed it and was glad I stuck with it. Thrillers are my usual go-to genre but this one was eye-opening and genuinely worth it. I was also interested to discover at the end that it's based on D.H. Lawrence; as a retired English teacher who wouldn't love that!

This book is absolutely fantastic! It's also the perfect read for those who would like to devour a book in one day. Cusk's plot and characters are incredibly well developed, even though the novel is so short. I highly recommend that if people want to start reading Cusk's work, they start with Second Place

I suspect I'm not the only one who threw up her hands and put this one down. I also suspect I'm one of the few willing to admit that. Cusk has a distinct style and attitude. I enjoy parts of her writing- there's lovely imagery- but I find it difficult to connect with her characters such as they are. Then there's the plot. This has more of a plot than most of her work but it wanders. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. For her fans and those who enjoy literary fiction.

This is my second Rachel Cusk novel and I needed to read it to either confirm or deny my first impression.

In Second Place, our main character creates an artist retreat and becomes obsessed with an artist, starts corresponding with him, until he eventually visits. He’s very unlikeable and it’s really puzzling why she even cares about this guy. Cusk is excellent at creating characters who feel very real and flawed, with super in-depth backstories. I would like to think that I am someone who doesn’t *need* relatable or likeable characters, but this book made me realize that is not true. All in all, this is probably one of the reasons I struggled with Second Place and Outline (really unlikable characters across both).

I also felt like there is supposed to be some commentary in here about money/privilege but it was hard for me to pull out. It’s difficult to read about art without thinking about who is included and excluded in that space.

In the end, I felt the same as I did with Outline, Cusk has many interesting lines and very introspective characters that I ultimately felt “meh” about. I can appreciate what she is doing from a distance but it’s not the most enjoyable reading experience for me.

ALSO, the first note I made when I started reading this book was, “Who is Jeffers?” And let me tell you that it was so disappointing to never find out from Cusk who our main character is writing to. I kept waiting for a reveal. Another reviewer did an in-depth analysis about Mabel Dodge Luhan and DH Lawrence, to which the book is an homage, who apparently knew a poet Robinson Jeffers. I am glad the internet exists to help me puzzle my way through books that honestly just go over my head.

I tried reading this book and I just found it uninteresting and tedious. I would not recommend it to anyone that enjoys thoughtful writing.

Second Place is Rachel Cusk’s eleventh novel. It follows her much admired trilogy, Outline (2014), Transit (2016) and Kudos (2018), in which its narrator, Faye, reveals little about herself, acting as an observer most of the time. M, the narrator of this novel, is anything but self-effacing. Loosely modelled on Mabel Dodge Luhan, M talks incessantly about her own feelings. She is filled with self-doubt, while wanting to impose her will on the rest of the world: “To lose my will would be to lose my hold on life – to go mad.”.

The main plot recounts her invitation to L, a famous painter modelled on D. H. Lawrence, to stay in her guesthouse, the “Second Place” of the title. The time seems to be 2020 and the location a coastal marsh similar to the marshlands of East Anglia where Cusk lives. She saw L’s paintings many years ago in Pars and wants to recapture the spirit of freedom they filled her with. L arrives after his reputation has taken a hit and soon stops painting altogether. Moreover the two of them have equally strong wills and spend the time battling one another. As Cusk acknowledges at the end of the book, this is reminiscent of what happened when Mabel Dodge Luhan lured Lawrence to Taos, New Mexico, in 1922. He quickly abandoned her wish for him to write a book about her life there and they ended up criticizing one another.

Before L leaves M’s second place he executes a small number of very different paintings to those that made him famous. These night paintings done after dark constitute a rejection of his earlier realist paintings of people and landscapes. M comes to understand his new vision: “The truth lies not in any claim to reality, but in the place where what is real moves beyond our interpretation of it. True art means seeking to capture the unreal.”

Second Place is a difficult yet fascinating book, a philosophical excavation of what it means to be a woman and an artist. Because it is told by a narrator who is lost and confused most of the time it is that much harder to follow. Very different from her trilogy, it is equally outstanding in its use of language and pursuit of hidden meanings.

I am indebted to NetGalley for an advanced reading copy of this book.