Rachel Cusk’s “Second Place”
M dwells on her strained relationship with L throughout the story.
There is no particular reason, on the surface, why L’s work should summon a woman like me, or perhaps any woman—but least of all, surely, a young mother on the brink of rebellion whose impossible yearnings, moreover, are crystallised in reverse by the aura of absolute freedom his paintings emanate, a freedom elementally and unrepentingly male down to the last brushstroke.
M even says that “‘second place’ pretty much summed up how I felt about myself and my life.”
You can read my review of Rachel Cusk’s Second Place in The Brooklyn Rail by clicking the image below.
You can buy Rachel Cusk’s Second Place at Barnes & Noble.
