Second Place: A Novel

Synopsis

A woman living with her husband on a remote stretch of coastline invites a celebrated painter to stay in the guesthouse beside their home, believing his presence might unlock something essential about art, beauty, and her own life. Instead, the long summer becomes an unsettling study of power, desire, and the fragile boundaries between admiration and possession. As relationships shift and tensions quietly mount, what begins as an act of generosity turns into a searching examination of freedom, creativity, and the costs of seeing—and being seen.

Inspired by the memoirs of Mabel Dodge Luhan and her friendship with D.H. Lawrence, Second Place is Rachel Cusk at her most incisive. Spare, philosophical, and psychologically acute, the novel explores the uneasy intersections of art and domestic life, asking what we expect from genius and what we sacrifice in its pursuit. Longlisted for the Booker Prize, it is a brilliant meditation on identity, marriage, and the transformative, and sometimes destructive, force of artistic vision.

About the Author

Rachel Cusk is a Canadian-born British novelist and memoirist whose acclaimed works include the Outline trilogy, A Life's Work, and Aftermath. Known for her innovative narrative style and penetrating psychological insight, Cusk is one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary literature. She is a Guggenheim Fellow and lives in Paris.

Publisher

Picador

Publication Date

April 19, 2022

Format

Paperback

Pages

192

Subjects

Literary Fiction · Contemporary Fiction · Psychological Fiction · Literary Classics · Women's Fiction · Fiction of Ideas

ISBN

9781250838681