Name: Second Place
Rating: 3.798076923076923 (78 reviews)
ISBN: 9780571366699

Rachel Cusk

From the author of the Outline trilogy, a fable of human destiny and decline, enacted in a closed system of intimate, fractured relationships.

Second Place

Konrad Glogowski

Kat Albanese

I could never reconcile myself to the fact that just as you’ve recovered from your own childhood, and finally crawled out of the pit of it and felt the sun on your face for the first time, you have to give up that place in the sun to a baby you’re determined won’t suffer the way you did, and crawl back down into another pit of self-sacrifice to make sure she doesn’t!

Tina ok

Some people write simply because they don't know how to live in the moment and have to reconstruct it and live in it afterwards.

Might it be true that half of freedom is the willingness to take it when it's offered?

It seemed to me there was nothing stable, no actual truth in all the universe, save the immutable one, that nothing exists except what one creates for oneself. To realize this is to bid a last and lonely farewell to dreams.

Luna 🌙

Mari-Claire Parrin

Tabea Lüth

Macy HB

It’s a question that begs an answer, and yet there is no clear and satisfying answer, except to say that this aura of male freedom belongs likewise to most representations of the world and of our human experience within it, and that as women we grow accustomed to translating it into something we ourselves can recognise.

Looking at it, the emotion I felt was pity, pity for myself and for all of us: the kind of wordless pity a mother might feel for her mortal child, who nonetheless she brushes and dresses so tenderly. 

It’s a form of control, as so much of generosity is.

Not to have been born in a woman’s body was a piece of luck in the first place: he couldn’t see his own freedom because he couldn’t conceive of how elementally it might have been denied him. To beg was a freedom in itself – it implied at least an equality with the state of need.

Fear is a habit like any other, and habits kill what is essential in ourselves.

It’s so easy to think you don’t matter all that much when your moral duty as a self is most exposed.

But for once I thought, “Let someone else do it.” And that is how we lose control over our own destinies.

I had spent the evening in the company of a famous writer, who was actually nothing more significant than a very lucky man.

I have often thought that there are certain characters who can’t or won’t learn the lesson of life, and that they live among us as either a nuisance or a gift. What they cause can be called trouble, or it can be called change. The point is, that though they may not mean to or want to, they make it happen.

From the author of the Outline trilogy, a fable of human destiny and decline, enacted in a closed system of intimate, fractured relationships. 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. 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 in the intersecting spaces of our internal and external worlds. With its examination of the possibility that art can both save and destroy us, Rachel Cusk's Second Place is deeply affirming of the human soul, while grappling with its darkest demons.

A Novel

I've never read anything like this before, I loved it so much.

hessensitive

nasya

“whatever my object-value as a woman, the powerful feelings of ugliness or repulsiveness that beset me were coming not from some outward scrutiny or reality but from inside my own self.” 

“the whole point was that I had to learn to live more in myself.”

The more I read it, the more grounds I have to believe that my current favorite genre of novels is the woman's fiction. All about woman’s books. Women who realize exactly what they're missing! Biological femininity after the fact! feminine unhappiness! lady versus void!

Begging was a form of freedom in and of itself, implying at least equality with the state of need. 

Back to my bs of reading a woman's mental monologue and enjoying it. My first Cusk, but far from my last.

3.5/5⭐️

From the acclaimed author of the Outline trilogy, a fable of human destiny and decline, enacted in a closed system of intimate, fractured relationships. Praise for the Outline trilogy: 'A landmark in twenty-first-century English literature.' Observer 'Precise and haunting ... Unforgettable.' Jenny Offill 'Achieves a kind of formal perfection ... masterly.' Sally Rooney 'A work of great stunning beauty, deep insight, and great originality.' Monica Ali 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.

Well, I don’t think M could exist: the narcissistic conduct is pretty incongruent with the leveled-up self awareness in narration (I didn’t love the implausibility of an unbroken 200 pg letter ? or journal entry ? to Jeffers either, but I might be missing something). I couldn’t relate to any character, on any level, nor could I agree with most of her worldviews (let alone her declarations about motherhood) which make it a hard book to “love”. Still, 3-4 stars (what does that even mean) for the captivating writing, style and opportunities to reflect on my own values - I confess that I have more highlights and notes in this book than any other this year!

a book woven with exquisite musings and observations.

gorgeous. poetic, sharp, soft, lush, generous introspection and retrospection - that’s what i jotted down as take aways during the first half.

after the second half - wow, what a ride lol. some unexpected, surly character developments after such a warm, thoughtful introduction. still lovely nonetheless and enjoyed the stream of consciousness writing style very much.

a bit of midlife crisis, a bit of self-reflection and a bit of disruption to shake off and expose romanticizations that had been obscuring the health of living in the present.

a book woven with exquisite musings and observations.

gorgeous. poetic, sharp, soft, lush, generous introspection and retrospection - that’s what i jotted down as take aways during the first half.

after the second half - wow, what a ride lol. some unexpected, surly character developments after such a warm, thoughtful introduction. still lovely nonetheless and enjoyed the stream of consciousness writing style very much.

a bit of midlife crisis, a bit of self-reflection and a bit of disruption to shake off and expose romanticizations that had been obscuring the health of living in the present.

A rambly letter that is seemingly a woman going through a mid life crisis. a stream of consciousness, I devoured this story. My first cusk novel and I am so glad I have her others on my tbr so I can immediately pick something else up. 

An unnamed yet vibrant narrator who is in her 50’s invites a famed artist to her cabin with her family under the premise for inspiration, hoping that he paints her and garners a new muse. 

This was the definition of “no plot just vibes” with the main purpose of the novel seemingly being a dive into the consciousness and development of characters. Love, loss, marriage, childhood and motherhood, just over 200 pages this packs a punch and maintains a beautiful prose that reads like poetry. 

jaz ☁️

A rambly letter that is seemingly a woman going through a mid life crisis. a stream of consciousness, I devoured this story. My first cusk novel and I am so glad I have her others on my tbr so I can immediately pick something else up. 

An unnamed yet vibrant narrator who is in her 50’s invites a famed artist to her cabin with her family under the premise for inspiration, hoping that he paints her and garners a new muse. 

This was the definition of “no plot just vibes” with the main purpose of the novel seemingly being a dive into the consciousness and development of characters. Love, loss, marriage, childhood and motherhood, just over 200 pages this packs a punch and maintains a beautiful prose that reads like poetry. 

quite possibly the strangest book I’ve ever read. but love? 

Nileena S B

Thought provoking to the extend that makes you feel drained. Moody yet brilliant experience!

Raphaëlle

Hellboy TCR

Except for one melodramatic scene i am perfectly happy with my 5th Rachel Cusk book. Detailed review soon.

Stacey Rainey 

This is an odd book. One long conversation with the unidentified Jeffers as the main character revisits her life, her relationships, her faults and her ego/self. Not my favorite.

loved the vibes. didn’t really understand it. maybe i’m just dumb lol

Tailah Clarkson

Katie Chua

i loved this. more distinct than her outline trilogy...this story will stay in my mind for awhile. also thought it was mroe interesting to have read it in my freudian phase lol..lots of talk about self, reality, and the other. there is SO MUCH to dissect here!!!!!! im thinking about the setting, the characters, the role of art and language. wow

Ethan Hill

Fraser Simons

2.5 rounded up

This has been talked about to death already. Some interesting themes, fantastic voice and narration, but leans more vapid than profound to me. I suspect I will remember nothing of this in one months time. It was fine, forgettable.

Irem

Kafamı biraz topladıktan sonra söyleyecek çok şeyim var.

Clara Jo

Incredibly captivating prose. I could not put this down. It seems that the more beautiful I find a book, the less I feel I can offer the right words.

“There's a certain point in life at which you realise it's no longer interesting that time goes forward – or rather, that its forward-going-ness has been the central plank of life's illusion, and that while you were waiting to see what was going to happen next, you were steadily being robbed of all you had. Language is the only thing capable of stopping the flow of time, because it exists in time, is made of time, yet it is eternal – or can be.”

Gary Homewood

A woman and her husband in a house by marshlands, visited by her daughter and her boyfriend, a troubled artist and his companion.

Psychologically nuanced, power structures and relationships, the nature of art, the effect of landscape. A lot going on. Profound yet illusive.

I see this probably winning the Booker. That said, I found it to be a boring monologue of a woman who has had something bad happen to her and somehow never moved on from it. That it is told in a fake letter manner makes it much more sluggish and isolated me from the text, as sometimes "Jeffers" is told to remember things and we just never get told what they are. Like if you're stuck in a room with two old friends constantly making inside jokes and not bothering to include you in the conversation. And honestly, M is just a bad person all-around. Being in her head is not fun in the slightest.

The ending didn't make a lot of sense, either. I realize this is based on a memoir but if the memoir is anything like this I'll pass on that. 😂

Jales

Honestly, this deserves more than 5 stars.

The language of this book is astounding but there were a few parts that just simply through me off.

Second Place

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