A world where men make art and women take ‘Second Place’
It’s good to know up front that Rachel Cusk’s new book is a roiling treasure hunt of a read, because the plot sounds static and bare at first blush. In the flattest of descriptions, the novel concerns a woman’s frustrating experiences after inviting an artist she admires to stay in her guest house.
The real action in “Second Place” is inside the head of the narrator, known only as M, whom we meet through the discursive diary-type letter that makes up the book. M is bitterly observant, emotionally
