A review by eowyns_helmet
Outline by Rachel Cusk

5.0

This book is stunning. Cusk is like a Jane Austen of a certain set, in this case a writer off to Greece to conduct a writing workshop. That's pretty familiar territory for a work of literary fiction, but Cusk brings to it a fierce, unsparing eye. Her narrator goes several steps beyond observant (yet is weirdly unaware of a sexual tension growing between her and an acquaintance, the one false note). In terms of describing the delicate and nuanced interactions between adults, Cusk is a master. I have never met a human being as perceptive and delicate as Cusk's characters, but in these paragraphs there's an authenticity about the human experience that is sharp and almost always sure. This isn't a fast or plotty book (about 2/3 through I skimmed until one of the last scenes, an unforgettable story about a dog). But well worth a read if you want something fresh, provocative and unsparingly insightful.