A review by sadiereadsagain
Aftermath: On Marriage and Separation by Rachel Cusk

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.