Roberta Garrett

Liam Harrison

Rachel Cusk is one of the most critically acclaimed and controversial contemporary British authors. Her diverse body of work offers a striking portrait of trends in 21st-century literature, and the history of Cusk's literary output is one of experimentation and a desire to push against established cultural models. Rachel Cusk: Contemporary Critical Perspectives is the first critical guide to Cusk's work, spanning novels including Saving Agnes, A Country Life, and Second Place, her 'autofictional' Outline trilogy, and her nonfiction A Life's Work, The Last Supper, Aftermath and the Coventry essays. Rigorous and wide-ranging, this book provides an accessible and lucid introduction to Cusk's work, exploring themes of gender relations, class dynamics, maternal identity and creative freedom. The collection concludes with an in-depth interview with Cusk, conducted by Merve Emre, reflecting on her influences, writing and experiences. Mapping the formal and stylistic shift across her career and locating them within their specific contexts, this collection provides a crucial analysis of Cusk's influences, politics, and literary techniques that speak to many of the most pressing issues in contemporary literature.

Contemporary Critical Perspectives

Rachel Cusk

Sebastian Groes

Jeannette Baxter

Peter Childs

Kaye Mitchell

Roberta Garret

A critically acclaimed and controversial contemporary British author, Rachel Cusk's work offers a striking representation of trends in modern writing through her rejection of the conventional trappings of realism and her pushing the limits between fiction and life writing. Rachel Cusk: Contemporary Critical Pesrpectives is a critical guide to Cusk's broad oeuvre, covering such novels as Saving Agnes, A Country Life, and Second Place among others; her 'autofictional' Outline trilogy; and her nonfiction works such as A Life's Work, The Last Supper, Aftermath and the Coventry essays. Substantial and wide-ranging, this book provides an accessible and lucid introduction to Cusk's work, exploring such themes as gender relations, class dynamics, maternal identity, personal and creative freedom, and calls upon critical fields from gender studies to biographical writing studies. The book then rounds off with an in-depth interview with Rachel Cusk herself about her writing and experiences. Mapping the formal and stylistic shift across her career and locating them within their specific contexts, this collection provides a crucial analysis of Cusk's influences, politics, and literary techniques that speak to many of the most pressing issues in contemporary literature.

Liam Harrison

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