Outline: A Novel (Outline Trilogy, 1)

Rachel Cusk has done something quite amazing with this novel: she has simply let you into the mind of a writer and shown you how a writer finds and absorbs material. Each chapter begins independently, as if it's a new short story (which it is, in a way), and the novel is finally not quite circular but more like a spiral.If this doesn't sound very appealing, I'm not describing it well. The narrator goes to Athens to teach a short writing course and extracts stories from the people she interacts with: mostly tales of their own lives, but also of their families, their work, and their ideas. Sometimes the characters tell the stories themselves, as in the devastating portrait of Angeliki, a successful well-heeled Greek writer whose confidence is as off-putting as the complete hopelessness of the defeated Englishwoman Anne. Some stories continue beyond one chapter, such as that of the narrator's seat neighbor on the flight from London to Athens, who strikes up an acquaintanceship with her and invites her to go out on his boat. The narrator's story is always in the background, a bit shadowy, a bit sad, but never the focus. She is at work, absorbing material.Because the narrator's job is to teach a writing class, soon we have stories within the story. The students each tell a short incident on the first day, and are revealed almost entirely through their responses. The next day they bring in stories, and we have the somewhat jarring experience of having these described -- stories by characters who are themselves stories in the narrator's mind . . . It is a fascinating look at an artist's perception of life. And to reinforce it all, we have references to ancient Greek stories, opera, music, painting -- the many ways that artists have found to represent life, such as the musician in a concentration camp composing a piece of music based on the song of the birds he heard while incarcerated, or the playwright who disastrously discovered that she could summarize any work of art in one or two words, and thus no longer needed the whole piece.I am an admirer of Rachel Cusk's work, but I realize that this novel may not be for everyone. The writing is beautiful, with an often hypnotic quality. If it had been an Ian McEwan novel, somebody would be lying dead at the end; there was that sense of being swept along in someone's vision without any confidence in where it might be headed. At times, I felt as though I were reading a description of someone's dreams (except much more coherent than mine); other times, I was taken aback by the level of detail in the description, as in this moment when the narrator prepares to ride out to an island with her airplane companion on his boat:"He asked me to take [the carrier bag] while he made the boat ready, and then he crossed the pontoon and getting down on his knees drew a length of sodden rope out of the water, with which he proceeded to pull the boat attached to the other end toward him. The boat was white, with wooden cladding and a bright blue canopy. There was a large black leather steering wheel at the front and an upholstered bench seat along the back."Surely, we think, something extraordinary is going to happen that will require us knowing these details. It doesn't.Other reviewers have mentioned Virginia Woolf as a comparison, and the narrative voice -- so strong, like a current carrying you along without a doubt; struggle is useless -- does have a good bit of Clarissa Dalloway. But I don't really think that this novel is about the action, or even about the stories that the characters tell. It is about how to get the material for one's own story. It is, in narrative form, an outline.

What do we know about the narrator of Rachel Cusk's novel? Her name is Faye. She is a writer. She lives in London and is divorced. She is the mother of more than one child. She has taken a job teaching a summer writing course in Athens. That's about it. We never get below the surface with her. She remains a cipher.This cipher, however, seems to have the ability to inspire other people to reveal their deepest secrets. Throughout this very unusual and very intelligent book, Faye has a number of conversations with people that she encounters and all of these people end up telling her stories about themselves and all the people they are closest to in their lives.Her first encounter happens on the plane when she is flying from London to Athens to take up her summer job. She sits next to an older man, a Greek who is returning home. He unburdens himself about his failed marriages. Initially, he mentions only two but we learn later that he has actually had three. He talks about his children who have various problems. The conversation will continue in Athens when he contacts Faye and takes her out on his boat a couple of times and eventually makes a pass which she spurns.But there are several other encounters; with her students in the writing class; with fellow writers; with people whom she meets for coffee or for dinner. Always these meetings turn into confessionals with the other person revealing intimate details of his/her life to Faye.All of these conversations are reported to us in the voice of Faye, the observer and writer. Faye shares several characteristics with the author and it is tempting to see this as a kind of memoir. It is difficult to tell where the line is drawn between autobiography and fiction.Somewhat curiously, while these people's stories are told in Faye's voice, we almost never hear that voice as a part of the conversations. She's simply telling us what the other person said, but she's not saying much about herself or voicing her opinions. Hers is a disembodied voice and she remains a cipher. Even her family - the children she left in London - seem to factor only very minimally in her day-to-day life and to have no impact on her interactions with others.So this book is a collection of conversations. It is reporting on an intellectual level. Very little emotion is involved. And yet one feels an intimacy in these interactions that might not have been present if the stories were told emotionally. The reader has a clear-eyed view of the encounters and is able to make up her own mind about them without being prompted by the author.This is one of the more unorthodox books that I have read in a while. In fact, I can't think of another that is quite like it. Perhaps the closest was Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar. I thought the writing was brilliant and inspired. It certainly was original in its concept and execution.I've learned that this was the first in what is planned as a trilogy. That's very good news. I look forward to reading the later entries.

I found much to like in this novel. It is peopled with interesting characters, entertaining, well written, profound at times and quite funny at others. But I found it unsatisfying somehow. It is rather too wordy and disjointed, the different characters offering stories of their individual lives and relationships with no discernible central motif or story line. When i got to the end I could hardly believe that had been it.

No, this is not the book for you if you want an easy, laid back read. And that's ok. The book may not be particularly plot-driven, but it is story-driven in the sense that Cusk ponders how we tell our own stories and how they are received by their listeners. The protagonist is an author, whose own life stories we barely piece together, but as she makes her way to teach a creative writing course, she interacts with a whole cast of characters (from a billionaire to a self-entitled author who believes motherhood has threatened her creativity). She listens to their stories, challenges their biases and assumptions, and muses on whether or not these people are authentic or honest. Cusk's writing is beautiful and crystal clear, and she often says so much with simplicity.

Todo un placer leer este libro. Voy a comprar los otros dos de la trilogía.

nice! kindle; highlight; relaxing;

Some bits were really nice. On the whole it was ok ok. Was expecting more somehow as a highly recommended book.

Purtroppo, la noia mi ha uccisa e non sono nemmeno riuscita a finirlo.

Everything in perfect conditions as described. Thankyou very much.