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smalefowles's review against another edition
4.0
(Am I cheating by reading short books? Not intentionally!)
This wasn't a light or easy read, by any measure. This chronicle of Cusk's divorce was intense, and not quite as beautiful and cerebral as Arlington Park. The emotions were strong, of course, and some of the imagery was very effective. I would definitely count her among our best living writers.
This wasn't a light or easy read, by any measure. This chronicle of Cusk's divorce was intense, and not quite as beautiful and cerebral as Arlington Park. The emotions were strong, of course, and some of the imagery was very effective. I would definitely count her among our best living writers.
rromanereads's review against another edition
4.0
aftermath (noun): the consequences or aftereffects of a significant unpleasant event.
in this humble, down-to-earth account, Cusk tells us about her separation from her ex-husband, the implosion of her family and the readjustment of her life. she speaks of her divorce as the extraction of a painful and compromised tooth, painful but necessary.
this book is like an intimate discussion with her, she puts into words the right, precise, calibrated and honest words about this period of her life, without really naming the whys and wherefores but rather stating the aftermath.
she puts words to things that are so impalpable, sinuous and hidden that we hadn't even realized they existed, but we find ourselves stunned by so much truth. her writing is exceptionally intelligent, and hits you right where it's sensitive, and you can't help but feel it. anyone who's been in a long-term relationship can see themselves in her words and the emotions she so aptly articulates.
cusk is one of the few authors with such literary prose that I'll be able to read over and over again. each of her works is a delicate pearl, perfectly balanced between anecdotes, metaphors and intimate thoughts. i really liked her essay-memoir works.
some of my favorite lines from a sea of underlined sentences:
“you could walk around in the sadness of her mouth and eyes, it was open to everyone”
“In the life of comportments lies the possibilities of unity, just as unity contains the prospect of atomisation”
“my mother may have been my place of birth, but my adopted nationality was my father’s”
in this humble, down-to-earth account, Cusk tells us about her separation from her ex-husband, the implosion of her family and the readjustment of her life. she speaks of her divorce as the extraction of a painful and compromised tooth, painful but necessary.
this book is like an intimate discussion with her, she puts into words the right, precise, calibrated and honest words about this period of her life, without really naming the whys and wherefores but rather stating the aftermath.
she puts words to things that are so impalpable, sinuous and hidden that we hadn't even realized they existed, but we find ourselves stunned by so much truth. her writing is exceptionally intelligent, and hits you right where it's sensitive, and you can't help but feel it. anyone who's been in a long-term relationship can see themselves in her words and the emotions she so aptly articulates.
cusk is one of the few authors with such literary prose that I'll be able to read over and over again. each of her works is a delicate pearl, perfectly balanced between anecdotes, metaphors and intimate thoughts. i really liked her essay-memoir works.
some of my favorite lines from a sea of underlined sentences:
“you could walk around in the sadness of her mouth and eyes, it was open to everyone”
“In the life of comportments lies the possibilities of unity, just as unity contains the prospect of atomisation”
“my mother may have been my place of birth, but my adopted nationality was my father’s”
elnechnntt's review against another edition
5.0
I devoured Cusk’s Outline trilogy last year and was knocked for six by the brevity of her writing, the compelling narratives she weaved, and the deliberate spaces left amongst the story. I didn’t think anything could add to what I perceived as a trilogy of perfection.
And then I read Aftermath.
What a phenomenal ‘touché’ to accompany her fiction.
The brutal honesty of her writing, the raw feeling and complexity of coming to terms with an experience many baffle their way through - it draws everything together. The mirror of herself in the narrator of the Outline trilogy is stark in this slim memoir. Cusk has once more set the bar for a new standard of exquisite writing.
And then I read Aftermath.
What a phenomenal ‘touché’ to accompany her fiction.
The brutal honesty of her writing, the raw feeling and complexity of coming to terms with an experience many baffle their way through - it draws everything together. The mirror of herself in the narrator of the Outline trilogy is stark in this slim memoir. Cusk has once more set the bar for a new standard of exquisite writing.
lewis_fishman's review against another edition
4.0
man rachel cusk really cuts to the goddamn bone sometimes
sadiereadsagain's review against another edition
3.0
I sought this book out in my attempt to read about other women who have been where I currently am. I'm not sure I found that identification in this book. If I were the sort of person to highlight passages as I read, I think I'd have only underlined one or two paragraphs. But lack of connection doesn't make a book bad, and this is not a bad book. Much the same as I felt with her book on motherhood ([b:A Life's Work: On Becoming a Mother|522426|A Life's Work On Becoming a Mother|Rachel Cusk|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1312001649l/522426._SX50_.jpg|930836]), Cusk is just too highbrow in how she expresses her emotions and interprets her situation for me to relate in any way. But that literary quality does make her a beautiful writer, with impressive ways of elevating what is sadly now a fairly normal life experience for so many into something less mundane. I did feel that this collection of observations and memories felt quite chilly, with her interpretation of the impact of her marriage breakdown on her children the only parts that felt emotionally charged. But desolation is absolutely part of the experience of heartbreak, and that she was able to portray that detachment and numbness is no doubt testament to her talent. It just left me also feeling a bit detached from the book.
intrepid815's review against another edition
4.0
Compared to Cusk’s usual output, Aftermath is a bit meandery and essayistic. The appeals to emotion are more direct, less inventive and unexpected. But B-grade Cusk is still better written than most authors’ A-level.