Second place : a novel

A haunting fable of art, family, & fate from the author of the Outline trilogy.From the author of the Outline trilogy, a fable of human destiny & decline, enacted in a closed system of intimate, fractured relationships. Can art both save & destroy us? Rachel Cusk offers a deep affirmation of the human soul while grappling with its darkest demons.A woman invites a famed artist to visit the remote coastal region where she lives, in the belief that his vision will penetrate the mystery of her life & landscape. Over the course of one hot summer, his provocative presence provides the frame for a study of female fate & male privilege, the geometries of human relationships, & the struggle to live morally between our internal & external worlds. Inspired by Lorenzo in Taos, Mabel Dodge Luhan's 1932 memoir about the writer D. H. Lawrence's fraught visit to her communal property, the novel hovers between past & present, gothic and contemporary, fable & truth - & continues to haunt us long after we've looked away. Second Place is a study of female fate & male privilege & the moral questions that animate our lives. It reminds us of art’s capacity to uplift - & to destroy. "You know when you’re reading a page of Rachel Cusk’s fiction. Her narrators tug insistently if coolly at the central knots of being. They analyze every emotion as if it were freshly invented. Nothing is extraneous." — Dwight Garner, The New York Times°°° Rachel Cusk is a Canadian novelist & writer. Her 2005 novel In the Fold was longlisted for the Booker Prize. She is also the author of the Outline trilogy, the memoirs A Life’s Work & Aftermath, & several other works of fiction & non-fiction. She is a Guggenheim fellow & lives in Paris.

A haunting fable of art, family, and fate from the author of the Outline trilogy.

A woman invites a famous artist to use her guesthouse in the remote coastal landscape where she lives with her family. Powerfully drawn to his paintings, she believes his vision might penetrate the mystery at the center of her life. But as a long, dry summer sets in, his provocative presence itself becomes an enigma—and disrupts the calm of her secluded household.

Second Place, Rachel Cusk’s electrifying new novel, is a study of female fate and male privilege, the geometries of human relationships, and the moral questions that animate our lives. It reminds us of art’s capacity to uplift—and to destroy.

A haunting fable of art, family, and fate from the author of the Outline trilogy. A woman invites a famous artist to use her guesthouse in the remote coastal landscape where she lives with her family. Powerfully drawn to his paintings, she believes his vision might penetrate the mystery at the center of her life. But as a long, dry summer sets in, his provocative presence itself becomes an enigma#8212;and disrupts the calm of her secluded household. Second Place , Rachel Cusk's electrifying new novel, is a study of female fate and male privilege, the geometries of human relationships, and the moral questions that animate our lives. It reminds us of art's capacity to uplift#8212;and to destroy A Woman Invites A Famed Artist To Visit The Remote Coastal Region Where She Lives, In The Belief That His Vision Will Penetrate The Mystery Of Her Life And Landscape. Over The Course Of One Hot Summer, His Provocative Presence Provides The Frame For A Study Of Female Fate And Male Privilege, Of The Geometries Of Human Relationships, And Of The Struggle To Live Morally Between Our Internal And External Worlds. With Its Examination Of The Possibility That Art Can Both Save And Destroy Us, Second Place Is Deeply Affirming Of The Human Soul, While Grappling With Its Darkest Demons. "A woman invites a famed artist to visit the remote coastal region where she lives, in the belief that his vision will penetrate the mystery of her life and landscape. Over the course of one hot summer, his provocative presence provides the frame for a study of female fate and male privilege, of the geometries of human relationships, and of the struggle to live morally between our internal and external worlds."--Provided by publisher