Creation Lake
Rachel Kushner
(Author)
21,000+ Reviews
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Description
*SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2024 BOOKER PRIZE**LONGLISTED FOR THE 2024 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD*
*AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER* From Rachel Kushner, two-time finalist for both the Booker Prize and National Book Award, a "vital" (The Washington Post) and "wickedly entertaining" (The Guardian) novel about a seductive and cunning American woman who infiltrates an anarchist collective in France--a propulsive page-turner filled with dark humor. A thirty-four-year-old American woman--a secret agent--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. Sadie has met her love, Lucien, a young and well-born Parisian, by "cold bump"--making him believe the encounter was accidental. Like everyone Sadie targets, Lucien is useful to her and used by her. Sadie operates by 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 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. Just as Sadie is certain she's the seductress and puppet master of those 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 and dazzling. Creation Lake is Kushner's finest achievement yet as a novelist, a work of high art, high comedy, and unforgettable pleasure.
Product Details
Price
$29.99
$27.89
Publisher
Scribner Book Company
Publish Date
September 03, 2024
Pages
416
Dimensions
6.2 X 9.1 X 1.4 inches | 1.3 pounds
Language
English
Type
Hardcover
EAN/UPC
9781982116521
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About the Author
Rachel Kushner is the author of the New York Times bestseller Creation Lake, her latest novel; The Hard Crowd, her acclaimed essay collection; and the internationally bestselling novels The Mars Room, The Flamethrowers, and Telex from Cuba, as well as a book of short stories, The Strange Case of Rachel K. She has won the Prix Médicis and been a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Folio Prize, and was twice a finalist for the Booker Prize and the National Book Award in Fiction. Creation Lake was also longlisted for the National Book Award. She is a Guggenheim Foundation Fellow and the recipient of the Harold D. Vursell Memorial Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Her books have been translated into twenty-seven languages.
Reviews
Praise for CREATION LAKE "A profound and irresistible page-turner about a spy-for-hire who infiltrates a commune of eco-activists in rural France. The prose is thrilling, the ideas electrifying." --The Booker Prize 2024 judges on Creation Lake "A sinuous and powerfully understated novel...Creation Lake consolidates Kushner's status as one of the finest novelists working in the English language. You know from this book's opening paragraphs that you are in the hands of a major writer, one who processes experience on a deep level. Kushner has a gift for almost effortless intellectual penetration." --Dwight Garner, The New York Times Book Review "Like Bruno-the-philosopher, Kushner is a dazzling chronicler of end times. The only thing that isn't disposable in her novels is her own singular voice as a writer." --Maureen Corrigan, Fresh Air "From [a] thrillerlike premise, Kushner spins a brisk plot that's equal parts tradecraft and penetrating inquiry into the possibility of radical social change." --Laura Miller, Slate "Creation Lake bears all the hallmarks of her inquisitive mind and creative daring... a spy thriller laced with a killer dose of deadpan wit... Kushner inhabits the spy's perspective with such eerie finesse that you feel how much fun she's having... the real covert operative here is Kushner, who's never felt more cunning than in this novel about the clashing ideological claims that have left us bereft at the end of time. Bore through this noir posing and wry satire of radical politics, and you feel something vital and profound prowling around in the darkness beneath." --Ron Charles, The Washington Post "Using the framework of an espionage novel, Kushner creates a spellbinding story of intrigue and subterfuge that examines the limits of control and moral influence." --Lauren LeBlanc, Los Angeles Times "Kushner's outrageous talent blazes hot throughout the book ...Kushner has tapped into something primal, pure, and unforgettable."--Leigh Haber, Boston Globe "A dazzling work of fiction: brisk, stylish, funny, moving, and, unexpectedly, piercingly moral...At once terse and vivid, economical and expansive...true, funny, sad, shrewd, and beautifully controlled through each unyielding sentence." --Anahid Nersessian, The New York Review of Books "Questions of control and coercion, reality and idealism, are layered on top of Kushner's enveloping noir. 'Sadie' has a brash confidence and a manner of moving through the world that is aloof in the extreme--disbanding any allegiances or affections before they can create the faintest of tethers. But Kushner's plot--at once arid and affecting--asks just how much any human can insulate themselves." --Chloe Schama, Vogue "Kushner is as intimidatingly intelligent as this twisty novel's main character." --Emma Alpern, New York Magazine "Extraordinary... full of tension and clarity... riveting... incredibly fun." --Nicolás Medina Mora, The Nation "As in a Graham Greene or John le Carre novel, in Creation Lake the point of spying is not just to find out what is happening but how to pick one's way through a world of ideas... so fun..." --Laura Marsh, The New Republic "It's suspenseful, extremely smart and brilliantly executed." --Jami Attenberg, The Times-Picayune "An immersive novel about an agent provocateur embedded within a group of environmental activists in south-western France, and slowly becoming mesmerized by the group elder's theories about Neanderthals. It's seductive, entrancing, and quite off the wall." --Mick Herron, The Guardian "Ambitious, intelligent and gripping... Creation Lake is one of the best books of the year so far." --The Spectator "One of the most interesting and adept voices in contemporary fiction... Kushner's writing is clean, tight and often very funny as she jumps between past and present but never loosens her iron grip on the reader's attention." --Bloomberg "Rachel Kushner wrote a secret agent book, and set it in France. What more must we know to anticipate it? Nothing, because no doubt, like nearly everything she writes, it will be an intellectual masterpiece while also reinventing a genre while also being wildly entertaining. That's kind of her thing." --Lit Hub, Most Anticipated Books of 2024 "I understand every kind, enthusiastic, hugely spirited review... It's really fantastic--get it!" --Sarah Jessica Parker "Creation Lake reinvents the spy novel in one cool, erudite gesture. Only Rachel Kushner could weave environmental activism, paranoia, and nihilism into a gripping philosophical thriller. Enthralling and sleekly devious, this book is also a lyrical reflection on both the origin and the fate of our species. A novel this brilliant and profound shouldn't be this much fun." --Hernan Diaz "I was completely immersed and mesmerized. Creation Lake is a highly plotted fast-paced noir and yet full of ideas and depth. Rachel Kushner is the most exciting writer of her generation." --Bret Easton Ellis "At last I get to say how deeply, madly, irrecoverably I loved Creation Lake... it was all stylish and cool, and then somehow the book struck a blow to my heart." --Louise Erdrich "By writing in the unillusioned voice of an ex-FBI agent infiltrating a bunch of rural French subversives, Rachel Kushner has cover to say whatever she damn well pleases. And because Kushner has the most bracing intelligence in American fiction, she rips the skin off what many of us like to think we believe." --David Hare "Surprising and delectable... This ecstatic vision of the collective human experience shimmers in stark opposition to the corporate plan to extract and lock up the valley's groundwater. A brain-spinning tale and searing look at our perilous estrangement from nature." --Booklist, STARRED review "An undercover agent embeds with radical French environmentalists in this scintillating story of activism and espionage from Kushner...Most of the narrative is dedicated to the activists' philosophizing and Sadie's gimlet-eyed observations, which Kushner magically weaves together...Readers will be captivated." --Publishers Weekly, STARRED review "Sadie is similar to Kushner's earlier fictional protagonists--astringent, thrill-seeking, serious, worldly--but here the author has tapped into a more melancholy, contemplative mode that weaves neatly around a spy story... Kushner has captured the internal crisis of ideology that spy yarns often ignore, while creating an engaging tale in its own right. A deft, brainy take on the espionage novel." --Kirkus Reviews, STARRED review
"One of the finest novelists working in the English language." --Dwight Garner, The New York Times Book Review "Like Bruno-the-philosopher, Kushner is a dazzling chronicler of end times." --Maureen Corrigan, "Fresh Air" "Kushner inhabits the spy's perspective with such eerie finesse that you feel how much fun she's having... the real covert operative here is Kushner, who's never felt more cunning than in this novel... vital and profound." --Ron Charles, The Washington Post "A dazzling work of fiction: brisk, stylish, funny, moving, and unexpectedly, piercingly moral... At once terse and vivid, economical and expansive... true, funny, sad, shrewd, and beautifully controlled through each unyielding sentence." --Anahid Neressian, The New York Review of Books "What makes Kushner's work irresistible is her brainy swagger." --Leigh Haber, Boston Globe "A profound and irresistible page-turner... The prose is thrilling, the ideas electrifying." --The 2024 Booker Prize judges "Kushner creates a spellbinding story of intrigue and subterfuge that examines the limits of control and moral influence." --Lauren LeBlanc, Los Angeles Times "Extraordinary... full of tension and clarity... riveting..." --Nicolás Medina Mora, The Nation "Gripping... so fun." --Laura Marsh, The New Republic "Coolly brilliant and suspenseful... Creation Lake is a class of fiction I have never before found so wonderfully seductive." --Alan Hollinghurst, The Guardian "At last I get to say how deeply, madly, irrecoverably I loved Creation Lake... it was all stylish and cool and then somehow the book struck a blow to my heart." --Louise Erdrich "I was completely immersed and mesmerized. Creation Lake is a highly plotted fast-paced noir and yet full of ideas and depth. Rachel Kushner is the most exciting writer of her generation." --Bret Easton Ellis "Creation Lake reinvents the spy novel in one cool, erudite gesture. Only Rachel Kushner could weave environmental activism, paranoia, and nihilism into a gripping philosophical thriller. Enthralling and sleekly devious, this book is also a lyrical reflection on both the origin and the fate of our species. A novel this brilliant and profound shouldn't be this much fun." --Hernan Diaz
"One of the finest novelists working in the English language." --Dwight Garner, The New York Times Book Review "Like Bruno-the-philosopher, Kushner is a dazzling chronicler of end times." --Maureen Corrigan, "Fresh Air" "Kushner inhabits the spy's perspective with such eerie finesse that you feel how much fun she's having... the real covert operative here is Kushner, who's never felt more cunning than in this novel... vital and profound." --Ron Charles, The Washington Post "A dazzling work of fiction: brisk, stylish, funny, moving, and unexpectedly, piercingly moral... At once terse and vivid, economical and expansive... true, funny, sad, shrewd, and beautifully controlled through each unyielding sentence." --Anahid Neressian, The New York Review of Books "What makes Kushner's work irresistible is her brainy swagger." --Leigh Haber, Boston Globe "A profound and irresistible page-turner... The prose is thrilling, the ideas electrifying." --The 2024 Booker Prize judges "Kushner creates a spellbinding story of intrigue and subterfuge that examines the limits of control and moral influence." --Lauren LeBlanc, Los Angeles Times "Extraordinary... full of tension and clarity... riveting..." --Nicolás Medina Mora, The Nation "Gripping... so fun." --Laura Marsh, The New Republic "Coolly brilliant and suspenseful... Creation Lake is a class of fiction I have never before found so wonderfully seductive." --Alan Hollinghurst, The Guardian "At last I get to say how deeply, madly, irrecoverably I loved Creation Lake... it was all stylish and cool and then somehow the book struck a blow to my heart." --Louise Erdrich "I was completely immersed and mesmerized. Creation Lake is a highly plotted fast-paced noir and yet full of ideas and depth. Rachel Kushner is the most exciting writer of her generation." --Bret Easton Ellis "Creation Lake reinvents the spy novel in one cool, erudite gesture. Only Rachel Kushner could weave environmental activism, paranoia, and nihilism into a gripping philosophical thriller. Enthralling and sleekly devious, this book is also a lyrical reflection on both the origin and the fate of our species. A novel this brilliant and profound shouldn't be this much fun." --Hernan Diaz
