CREATION LAKE by Rachel Kushner

Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for the ARC ebook of Creation Lake. A 2024 Booker Prize longlisted novel.

Thirty-four year old, Sadie Smith, is a freelance undercover agent. Sadie’s powerful contacts send her to France to infiltrate an anarchist collective. Sadie becomes entranced by a mysterious figure named, Bruno Lacombe, a mentor to the activists who only communicates by email. Bruno believes that the path to emancipation from what ails modern life is not revolt, but a return to the ancient past (Neanderthals). I was intrigued by the Cagots mentioned in this unique read. So much so, that I went down the dreaded rabbit-hole for a bit to read more about them. Very interesting to me as I did not know anything about the Cagots.

Most seemed to really enjoy this book; I liked but didn’t love. It isn’t a book I would normally gravitate to, but thought I’d give it a try. It is thought provoking for sure. Bit of politics, history, philosophy, and, anarchy.

The fact that this novel will be on shelves in approximately 11 days is just wonderful news for fans of Rachel Kushner (and for all fans of well-written, character-driven literary fiction). This is probably my favorite book of the year to date and definitely my favorite by this author, which is saying a lot. I highly recommend The Flamethrowers and The Mars Room, two earlier novels, and I'll be revisiting both later this year based of how thoroughly I enjoyed Creation Lake. There are sociopolitical aspects to all of these novels which served to draw me in quickly and raise the stakes for characters as plots unfold.

Creation Lake also contains a political/environmental protest plot, all told through the eyes of the main character. For me, the most winning component of this book is this character -- its protagonist/narrator Sadie Smith -- a 34 year old "spy" who spends most of the novel infiltrating an ecoterrorist group trying to prevent megabasins from being built in France and destroying the lives of local farmers..

Sadie also recounts a few other "jobs" she has been assigned to in the past (none sounding especially successful) and the reader is left with a potentially unreliable narrator -- a wry observer with unsparing wit. I can't remember laughing so consistently throughout a book -- Sadie's observations, judgments, her disdain and approval -- all told with such a colorful and jaded voice. I just loved this character!!

I spent most of my time laughing through line after line of Sadie's thoughts and opinions and also her interception of the emails of Bruno Lacombe - an unforgettable and utterly unique gentleman who has a tragic past, a rich history, and acts as a "mentor" for the group of eco-protestors. Bruno, now living in an elaborate underground cave system, also supplies a highly creative interpretation of the history of "man" -- giving a shout-out to the Neanderthals and counseling against violence as an option in their efforts to protect the farming land. Without providing too many additional details, I'll just say that the brilliance of Kushner's writing shines through -- her unique observations and the characters' voices, the setting, the twists and turns, and the dark, cutting humor -- I just flat-out loved this book. All of the subplots (with Sadie's history and Bruno's musings and the protest of the megabasins, among others) come together at the conclusion of the book which I also found very satisfying. Longlisted for the Booker Prize and I can absolutely see why.!! LOVE THIS ONE!

Our narrator, who goes by the pseudonym “Sadie,” is an American spy trying to infiltrate a collective of French anarchists. She is ruthless and detached, cunning and sly, willing to do anything to satisfy her contract. Along the way, she experiences hacked emails to the collective from a man named Bruno, who discusses the history and evolution of humanity and the stars.

This is a book about differing methods to rectify the things that are wrong with this world. There is the juxtaposition of Bruno’s plea to return to humanity’s roots with the violence of the collective and their protests, and Sadie is somewhere in the middle just doing what needs to be done, showing selfishness of humanity. I appreciated the metaphor, though the execution was a huge turn-off.

I don’t think I like spy novels. I’ve tried a few at this point and find them all too disjointed, emotionless, detached, and overly detailed. While this one does have literary merit, once it veers into the main plot, it goes right back into the spy novel pattern and loses me. I did not care about any of the characters, with the possible exception of Bruno, whom we never meet.

I did, however, love the chapter in which Sadie reads Bruno’s email about the stars. This portion of the novel did contain the emotion that the rest of the book lacks. The climax in general was exciting and engaging, but it took a lot of slogging through to get there. Wavering with two and a half stars, but I’m going to give it a low three.

Too much philosophizing and not enough doing for me. And I found it difficult to connect with the characters. I was interested in knowing more about the main character's work but alas, not to be.

Spy for hire “Sadie Smith” is sent by her anonymous “client” to southwest France to infiltrate and expose a group of “green” activists suspected of plotting sabotage of agri-corporations who are destroying traditional farming. If the group is not planning something illegal, she must incite them to do so. Her confidence, expertise and witty observations and asides make her an almost likeable anti-hero, even as she is arrogant and doing illegal, unethical and damaging things. Woven through the spy-thriller plot is a series of philosophical musings on man’s drive to extinction by a one-time mentor of the activist and Sadie’s observations on the hypocrisy of revolutionist and capitalists. An exceptionally well written, very good, fun read.

I was not looking forward to this, so I was moderately surprised I made it through and didn't hate it. I'm not a fan of Kushner and I don't understand Booker's fascination with her. This was an interesting concept - I enjoyed the parts of the story which existed. The first 20% of the book read like the author's research notes. So boring. Then as we went along it was a tiny bit of story with a lot of tedious philosophical musings. There wasn't a likeable character in the bunch - so when somebody you hate starts meandering, it grinds. This book took way longer to read than necessary. We don't (and shouldn't) talk about Bruno. Ugh. The worst of the lot.

It's a bit of departure of "type" from some of the others on the list, which was refreshing. It was creative, and I laughed twice - I kept track. I wouldn't recommend it to anybody though.

Longlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize.

"Sadie Smith" is enlisted to surveil, and later thwart the plans of, Le Moulin, an eco-activist commune. Their group's mysterious mentor, Bruno Lacombe advocates a return to our Neanderthal origins, the DNA codes of whom, he postulates, floats around in our genetic makeup.

Part thriller, part dark comedy, with dollops of philosophy and natural history in an engaging, eminently readable modern take on the spy thriller.

4.5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for the digital ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.

This book had a weird meandering way of telling a story. I was interested in the homosapien stories and connections at the beginning, but then found myself led a different direction. The brief passages of time and topics led to a jumping off of my brain that had a hard time staying connected with the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for this advance e-copy of this book.

I really enjoyed this, despite not having much to say about it! It was strange, it was quick to read, it was both entertaining and thought-provoking. I wrote down lots of quotes, but my favorite is, "Like that baby, I find it impossible not to love Guns N Roses."

Thank you for the ARC! The library will certainly purchase a copy, and I'll probably buy one for my brother for Christmas.

Creation Lake was my first experience with Rachel Kushner. I was very pleased to receive an ARC after her novel was added to the 2024 Booker Longlist. I was originally attracted to the novel based on the story’s setting in rural France, and intrigued by how the narrator’s relationships would play out as she worked to infiltrate and disrupt and enviornmental collective.

There were many things I thought the novel did well. I really enjoyed the main character and dark sense of humor she deployed throughout the book. However, I would not consider this a propulsive or exciting read as someone might expect from a novel featuring a secret agent. There is very little momentum in the first ¾ of the novel to the point, and no part of the plot stood out to me as memorable or impactful. I found the lack of interaction and character development underwhelming. Kushner is very reliant on philosophizing and looking into the influence of external forces on the development of the commune (i.e., Bruno), but she fails to connect these soliloquies to any actions or character motivations in the book.

While I enjoyed scenes featuring the commune, and reflections on their politics, gender roles, and views on work, this end up being an incredibly small part of the novel. I also enjoyed the main character’s reflections on her previous work as a secret agent, but again, would have liked to see this impact the plot or main character’s development in some way. In summary – I think Creation Lake is full of missed opportunities from a writer who is skilled in her craft.

A big thank you to Scribner and Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for my honest review. Creation Lake will be available on September 3, 2024.

Sadie Smith, the pseudonym of the anti-hero of Creation Lake, is a former FBI operative now working independently. Her task is to insinuate herself into a group of eco-activists, Le Moulin, who live in a French farming cooperative and want to stop the government from constructing a “mega basin” to advance corporate farming. She enters the group by seducing a childhood friend of the group’s leader. Initially Sadie provides information to her unnamed clients, who are morally ambiguous, about the eco-activists’ plans and activities. It soon becomes apparent that she has the added responsibility to ensure that violence erupts.

In addition to surveilling Le Moulin, Sadie is monitoring their email correspondence with an older generation activist known as Bruno Lacombe. Lacombe is a mentor to the cooperative and believes that the way to heal or cure the wrongs of modern life (in this case factory farming) is not revolt but return to the ancient past.

Intriguing, intellectually stimulating and darkly humorous, Creation Lake is not a book for those uncomfortable with ambiguity. However, it is a searching, probing narrative that asks serious questions about where our future lies.

Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for the ARC in exchange for this review.

I was very intrigued by this book because it was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and Kushner is such an acclaimed writer. Kusher is an amazingly talented writer, for sure. But this book didn't quite do it for me and I think it's likely to do with personal taste. The anthropology/Neanderthal discussion didn't grab me and the plot/character development never did concretize for me. Reading this book felt like the process of being shown your seat by an usher at the theater. For the duration, I felt suspended with the usher, awaiting an arrival of some sort, and I never got to my seat/settled into the story.

Thank you NetGalley and Scribner for this advanced copy! I appreciate your generosity and I hope this book is widely read. Perhaps it deserves another read by me in the future; I may not be its ideal reader at this time.

I really enjoyed her voice and her dry and caustic and acerbic wit. I always enjoy a cunning and formidable anti-hero female protagonist. I liked the unique, dynamic narrative, it created good tension and suspense. I enjoyed the 2 aspects, the cerebral and the anticipatory. The character development was textured and well-woven in the story. I liked the injection of actual historical figures into her story to create authenticity. Sometimes it bogged down a little with Bruno’s emails, but that was probably just me eager to see the action of what happens next as she tries to manipulate and guide this group to extreme action. Her ultimate evolution helped temper my other negative feelings toward because of her entrapping people. All in all, a very good book. Thank you NetGalley and Scribner for giving me the opportunity to read this advanced copy.

I prefer to read books that are a bit more structured and straightforward than this was. I had a hard time sticking with it, though it is well-written, Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is obviously well-crafted, but to my great surprise I found much of it ... boring? Maybe this is a case of misplaced expectations, but this was not what I had hoped for.

First off, many thanks to Netgalley and Scribner for providing me with an ARC, in exchange for this honest review.

Of her previous works, I've only read Kushner's OTHER Booker nominated novel, The Mars Room, and this is much different - but had some of the same qualities and 'issues' that I experienced with that one. On the plus side - the story is unusual and often thrilling and intellectually stimulating; and the author writes really great prose and injects some much-needed humor into some fairly dire situations. Although somewhat reminiscent of Birnam Wood, it is much more philosophical and contemplative, and - for good or ill - lacks that book's Tarantino-esque flashes of ultra-violence.

Most of the 'problems' I encountered are more an 'It's not you, it's me' situation - there are LOTS of characters and many of them are so briefly defined that I had trouble keeping them all str8; luckily, since I read it on the Kindle, I made excellent use of the search feature - I'd have been completely lost with a hardcopy. But other than the protagonist 'Sadie Smith' (not her real name!) and the character of Bruno Lacombe - who we mainly come to know through his email messages to the commune that Sadie is infiltrating - and may or may NOT make an appearance in the book itself - most of the other characters are fairly one-dimensional; and even Sadie and Bruno are so enigmatic that they are hard to grasp (which is kinda the point!).

I also didn't really cotton to the book's structure - which is rendered mainly in brief passages that jump around in time and topic, again making it difficult for me to follow and put pieces together (I'm old and my brain is slow!!). The clues as to what is actually transpiring are doled out in drips and drabs, and I am still not sure I quite got it' all.

Interspersed with these short passages are longer diatribes that deal with philosophical, anthropological, and astronomical topics - these were usually quite interesting and relevant, although sometimes they seemed to be shoehorned in just so we knew Kushner is a LOT brighter than us mere mortals.

Regardless, I think it made for an intriguing and thought-provoking read, and I wouldn't be surprised if Kushner winds up on the shortlist once again. As it's the first of the Booker longlist for me to read, am not quite sure of its chances of taking the prize, however.

“Sadie Smith” is a former (fired) FBI spy, now working for shadowy business/governmental clients. As Creation Lake opens, she has infiltrated a small leftwing commune in France in order to incite them to subversive action. Sadie’s entry into the group is through a love interest, but she becomes increasingly entranced by a mysterious figure named Bruno Lacombe, who lives in an underground cave and who mentors the group through emails that not only instruct, but also promote a return to the ancient past (Neanderthals). As Sadie is pushed by her client to spur the group to action, she finds herself caught up in an increasingly violent narrative.

This is not a book for those who like answers and who are uncomfortable with ambiguity. This book is claimed to be more like Kushner’s earlier work, The Flamethrowers, than her later, The Mars Room. I’ve only read the latter, so I can’t comment on this point. (I liked The Mars Room – 4 stars – and don’t recall it as being obstruse.) As I write this, Creation Lake has just made the longlist for the 2024 Booker Prize and I think deservedly so – it’s a book that feels right as a Booker Prize nominee and Kushner fits as one of America’s top novelists.

Thanks to NetGalley and Scribner Publishing for allowing me access to this e-ARC.

Creation Lake is a fiercely unique novel, reading as a cross between literary fiction and political thriller. Our protagonist, “Sadie,” has left her government-sanctioned spy work in favor of the private sector, currently serving as a honeypot operative infiltrating leftists in rural France. She has an innate curiosity, but no inner politics as she only works in service of her missions.

Part of Kushner’s brilliance is her ability to reflect history and politics as they are. The leftist collective Sadie infiltrates is not only comically led by a Guy Debord fan boy, but is reminiscent of Tarnac 9/Tiqqun in their rural anarchism and efforts to sabotage government intervention as part of their anti-capitalist, pro-climate praxis.

Interspersed throughout the novel are emails from Bruno Lacombe, an anarcho-primitivist/John Zerzan type, to the group as he tries to lecture this younger generation on the importance of studying prehistory and the relationship Neanderthals had with the earth as a potential solution to our climate crisis, which he seems to root in the first agricultural revolution. While working with the collective in their attempts to disrupt France’s plan for megabasins, Sadie finds herself increasingly interested in Bruno’s philosophy (which she surveils through hacking his email account) even as the group increases their distance from this older, luddite forefather.

The writing is simultaneously sharp and funny. The book is incredibly well paced, striking an appropriate balance of politics/history/philosophy with plot-driven action. I’d recommend this text for anyone interested in leftist discussions on activism, progress, agriculture, or bureaucracy, those fascinated by autonomous zones and rewilding efforts, or folks who found Eleanor Catton’s Birnam Wood to be particularly intriguing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for the e-arc.

4.75 stars, forthcoming September 3.

This is a spare and plot-driven literary novel about a spy who infiltrated a group of environmentalists. It has an interesting espionage story intertwined with philosophical musings. It’s hard to point out who this book is for, perhaps Antifa types who want to read something thoughtful while planning their next transgression.

Kushner's secret agent novel is in many ways less spy and more a series of intriguing stories about the characters included in this twisty tale of a group of eco-liberal folks living on a commune. Our 34-year-old American secret agent woman is driven, ruthless, and unexpectedly funny. She's on a strange mission where readers sometimes see her egging the people on to be eco-terrorists, and seducing them the rest of the time, She is fascinated by Bruno, a guru of sorts to a rather seemingly harmless group of ecological-minded commune people, yet, Sadie, our secret agent appears to be the most obsessed with him. The novel is filled with clever tales involving the past, the future, and often times the present, which becomes less and less clear to readers as they follow her on this madcap journey.