Creation Lake

I thoroughly enjoyed this thriller (although it's not the "action-packed" type) set in rural France and focused on a commune known as Le Moulin. The espionage plot provides a framework for the cold-hearted protagonist (assumed name: Sadie Smith) and certain others (primarily Bruno Lacombe, via his intercepted emails to the Moulinards) to make proclamations and observations about various aspects of life, such as art, political activism, self-identity, oppression, Neanderthals, and the night sky.

There are many indelible scenes and stories within the story - e.g., Bruno's memory of playing with other boys and taking the helmet of a dead Nazi soldier they came across; Sadie observing the sexist division of labor in the commune; the history of the Cagot; Bruno hearing voices in his cave; and a seafaring tale about an 18th-century Polynesian.

Here's just one of many passages that made an impression on me: "When you look at stars, Bruno said, you merge into the flow of time, the right-now and the before and the to-come." Actually, I thought some of the writing about the stars connected well to Samantha Harvey's Orbital, which I read recently.

Usually I try to avoid audiobooks narrated by the author, but I'm glad I listened to this one. Kushner's straightforward delivery works perfectly with the book's dry humor.

Creation Lake is a spy novel, ostensibly, but it's immediately more than that. It's an examination of French politics and class, the "spy cops" scandal, and the demise of Neanderthals.

The book follows Sadie, a corporate spy who's detached to the point of sociopathy. But her wry observations are compelling. She's amoral, brutal and unsentimental, but also smart and amusing. She draws you in though you know she cannot be trusted, even as a narrator.

Rachel Kushner seems unusual in the context of contemporary American literature for her ability to weave global sociopolitical observations into narratives that switch back and further between contemporary issues and historical events.

Kushner's prose is both concise and poetic where it needs to be. She shows real skill in capturing human experiences against historical timescales. What's particularly impressive about this book is Kushner's sharp handling of both time and space. She weaves together the contemporary, the postwar and even the Neolithic in Creation Lake while addressing themes about capitalism, sexism and emic/etic perspectives.

Without getting too wanky about it, this is a deeply intertextual work that won't bore the piss out of you. It rewards reading without punishing you for the act.

The best book I've read in years. Kushner's got game. I haven't read any of her other work, but I'll definitely do so immediately.