A review by annakkh
Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

This was a tough read for me. I didn’t feel very invested in the morally ambiguous main character who reminded me a bit of Elif Batuman’s central character in the idiot. She mostly seems to stumble through these jobs without any personal clarity of purpose or reflection in her role and impact undermining various leftist movements. She is good at using people, but doesn’t even seem like a particularly adept agent and the climax, which was a long time coming in this book, felt kind of random and half-baked. A lot of the more comedic moments were probably lost on me more due to generally feeling impatient with the book. The last 10 pages are probably the most reflective and interesting as she continues to ruminate on some of Bruno’s teachings but by then I couldn’t fully salvage my interest.