Reviews

Kunnia by Rachel Cusk

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hazelnutperson's review against another edition

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inspiring reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

freyachapman's review against another edition

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reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

jcampbell's review against another edition

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reflective slow-paced

3.5

a nice collection of discussions about life and the big questions with a range of people. I didn't find it massively convincing as they all felt unfinished but maybe that is the point. Didn't realise it was the final book of the trilogy when I read it, which might explain my issues with it.

a_copp's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

A strong end to the trilogy. Excited to read again another time as I was distracted with a move while reading so it took me a long time to finish

kate_cunningham's review against another edition

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reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

jbenz1213's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Rachel Cusk’s Outline trilogy comes to a conclusion—if such a plotless series can be said to have one—with Kudos. Like Outline and Transit before it, Kudos lets its secondary characters speak for themselves, leaving it up to the reader to interpret the meaning of each conversation.

Kudos takes place while the main character, Faye, attends two literary events for work. In terms of subject matter, this brings Kudos back in line with the themes of Outline, but the setting—split between what I gather are Germany and Portugal—is portrayed in a much gloomier fashion than Outline’s Greece, and is closer to Transit’s more muted tone.

I was foolish to think that Faye might find a happy ending after Transit. While she is wed to a new man off-page, it is clear that she is grappling with the same existential questions that she was in the previous two installments, and I came away from Kudos with the impression that she is more unmoored than ever.

Given the setting, it is unsurprising that most of Cusk’s side characters are authors or otherwise involved in the literature industry. The topics of these conversations follow logically—how narrative shapes peoples’ lives and perception of themselves, especially among professional storytellers, is a major theme. How much are our lives affected by the stories we are telling ourselves about personal progress, or suffering, or justice?

This adds an extremely interesting layer to the Outline trilogy as a whole. In the first two installments, I found myself attacking each chapter like a puzzle box—what is the secret meaning behind each of these conversations? After reading Kudos, I find myself second-guessing my interpretations, and instead asking: How much of this was a rorschach test? How much of it is meaningless? Faye ends the series floating amidst a churning sea while a strange man defiles her—a bit of a dark image to leave us with. I don’t think Cusk wants us to think that we have “solved” these novels, or that they should even be thought of as puzzles. They are more like real life: We must decide what has meaning for ourselves.

I am by no means the first one to say this, but Cusk has really pulled something off here. The Outline trilogy defies analysis, and is maybe the first series that I’ve wanted to revisit right after finishing. I suspect that my feelings on each conversation will change on reread. There is a wealth of treasure here for those willing to dig.