Published Sept. 4, 2024 by Simon & Schuster Audio.
ISBN:
978-1-7971-8348-0
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5 stars
(6 reviews)
"Creation Lake is a novel about a freelance agent, a 34-year-old American woman of ruthless tactics and bold opinions and clean beauty, who is sent to do dirty work in France. "Sadie Smith" is how the narrator introduces herself to her lover, to the rural commune of French subversives on whom she is keeping tabs, and to the reader. We never learn her real name. Sadie has met her lover, Lucien, a young and well-born Parisian, by "cold bump"- making him believe the encounter was accidental. And like everyone she chooses to interact with, Lucien is useful to her, used by her. Sadie operates on strategy and dissimulation, based on what her "contacts," shadowy figures in business and government, instruct. First, these contacts want her to incite provocation. Then they want more. In this region of centuries-old farms and ancient caves, Sadie becomes entranced by a mysterious figure named Bruno …
"Creation Lake is a novel about a freelance agent, a 34-year-old American woman of ruthless tactics and bold opinions and clean beauty, who is sent to do dirty work in France. "Sadie Smith" is how the narrator introduces herself to her lover, to the rural commune of French subversives on whom she is keeping tabs, and to the reader. We never learn her real name. Sadie has met her lover, Lucien, a young and well-born Parisian, by "cold bump"- making him believe the encounter was accidental. And like everyone she chooses to interact with, Lucien is useful to her, used by her. Sadie operates on strategy and dissimulation, based on what her "contacts," shadowy figures in business and government, instruct. First, these contacts want her to incite provocation. Then they want more. In this region of centuries-old farms and ancient caves, Sadie becomes entranced by a mysterious figure named Bruno Lacombe, a mentor to the young activists, who lives in a vast network of underground caves on his daughter's land and communicates only by email. Bruno believes that the path to emancipation from what ails modern life is not revolt, but a return to the ancient past before civilization. Just as Sadie is certain she's the seductress and puppet master of those whom she surveils, Bruno Lacombe is seducing her with his ingenious counter-histories, his artful laments, his own tragic story. Written in short, vaulting sections, Rachel Kushner's rendition of "noir" is taut, propulsive, and dazzling. Creation Lake is Kushner's finest achievement yet as a novelist, a work of high art, high comedy, keen insights, and unforgettable pleasure. From Rachel Kushner on the title: My character Bruno refers to "a deep cistern of voices, the lake of our creation" - meaning all of human history, the whole struggle in which chains of civilizations try to figure out how to live. He believes he can hear these voices underground. To me, "Creation Lake" suggests intrigue. Creation of what? In Sadie's case, a persona, a feint, a manipulation. But also in her case, the creation possibly of her own soul"
This is a spy novel, sure, but also an exploration of the nature of our relationship with our history at every level - from the personal to that of our species. As such, it’s more introspective than tense; a reflective journey more than a pulse-pounding one, but a worthy journey nonetheless. It’s one of those novels where the protagonist is just on the edge of unlikable, and knowingly so, but in a way that is more relatable than we might care to admit. It took me a little while to get into it, but I soon found its untethered rhythm. It’s one that will stick.
I loved this. It was like Moby Dick but every other chapter was "Cetology". I took my time reading it and that was slow time well spent.
She's a hardboiled, cynical woman, but not a flat character at all, nor is she such a complete pro that if anything goes wrong, it's not her fault because she's such a complete pro. She turns out to be human, but not quite like you and I, dear fellow armchair reader.
I loved the descriptive, evocative meanders of the writing and the plot... "twists", I guess you'd call them.
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, …
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, …
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.
