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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
medium-paced
‘True art means seeking to capture the unreal’ If this is the case (as i suspect it is), then this book is simultaneously true art and something entirely different. The feelings of authenticity in the fearless descriptions of the human condition in this novel are strikingly real, yet the beauty and subtle grace of ‘Second Place’ could only be described as surreal.
A delightfully complicated bookend for 2022. There's a lot of complexity, depth, and wisdom in this novel. I really appreciated perspectives on first and second marriages, parenting, and in a way, transgender identity.
medium-paced
(I keep hesitating between three and a half and a full four stars.)
By her own account, Second Place is heavily inspired by Mabel Dodge Luhan's Lorenzo in Taos, which tells of the author's encounter and intense relationship with writer D. H. Lawrence (yes, he of Lady Chatterley's Lover fame).
People who are aware of said memoir might find the names of some of the characters in Cusk's novel strangely familiar (such as Robinson Jeffers and Brett Johnson). At least one (Guardian) review claims that "the book doesn’t fully make sense without reading Luhan, and even then it’s a close thing." It's obvious that the novel can be read on its own --and it's a worthy read too, even though the main character is unreliable and not easy to like-- but still the Guardian's claim makes me all the more curious about that memoir.
Lady Chatterley has been on my reading list for a long time, and I've now added Luhan's memoir, a hefty 320 pages (the text is freely and legally available from https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.475767). Let's see if this sheds any light.
By her own account, Second Place is heavily inspired by Mabel Dodge Luhan's Lorenzo in Taos, which tells of the author's encounter and intense relationship with writer D. H. Lawrence (yes, he of Lady Chatterley's Lover fame).
People who are aware of said memoir might find the names of some of the characters in Cusk's novel strangely familiar (such as Robinson Jeffers and Brett Johnson). At least one (Guardian) review claims that "the book doesn’t fully make sense without reading Luhan, and even then it’s a close thing." It's obvious that the novel can be read on its own --and it's a worthy read too, even though the main character is unreliable and not easy to like-- but still the Guardian's claim makes me all the more curious about that memoir.
Lady Chatterley has been on my reading list for a long time, and I've now added Luhan's memoir, a hefty 320 pages (the text is freely and legally available from https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.475767). Let's see if this sheds any light.
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is an immaculately written, intelligent, insightful philosophical novel. The story is deeply awful. Proceed at your own risk. About love and art and people not getting along.
dark
reflective
fast-paced
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes