Reviews - Creation Lake | The StoryGraph

2.6k reviews for:

Creation Lake

Rachel Kushner

3.45 AVERAGE

mnm_unfiltered's review against another edition

1.0

slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: N/A

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: N/A

shirahdevorah's review against another edition

3.0

An American woman goes undercover to infiltrate a leftist commune in rural France, with the goal of instigating the activists to violence at her employer's behest. Everything about the premise of this book should have been right up my alley, but the pacing and writing style just didn't do anything for me, and I had to drag myself through the middle portion of the book. If you're into unreliable narration and obsessive rumination, this might be for you.

no8inpeyton's review against another edition

Too bleak

sara_dawn's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I see that many of the poor reviews for Creation Lake are for the audio book, and I am not surprised. I loved reading CL, but it would be miserable to listen to!

My experience reading the hard copy, however, was thoroughly enjoyable. The discussions were cerebral, gave me so much to turn over when I wasn't reading. Bruno's letters were bizarre, but I found myself being gently rocked into his internal world. 'Sadie' is undoubtedly a terrible person, but I enjoyed following the story from the POV of someone with whom I could not differ more.

Creation Lake is NOT a fast-paced thriller. You are stepping into the middle of 'Sadie's' machinations, waiting to see whether or not she can be swayed away from the path she has so staunchly set herself on. I think, nowadays, most of us recognize that activist communes are cult-of-personality BS, but watching Le Moulin build itself up and getting to vicariously cut it apart was, personally, quite gratifying.

I deducted half a star because the ending, while not bad, wasn't satisfying. I'm not someone who needs everything spelled out for me, but, like Sadie, I became deeply invested in the person of Bruno Lacomb, and I admit to feeling robbed that we never got any sort of conclusion regarding him.

I recognize that this book isn't for everyone. But if you, like me, want to light up your brain while getting lost in rural French politics, Creation Lake is definitely worth your attention.

julietcarpenter's review against another edition

4.0

Every synopsis makes it sound a lot more exciting than it is, so be warned it is much more literary fiction than spy thriller. The writing is excellent and worth it.