From noir fiction, to ‘time travel’, crime, and the metaphysical; these women write courageously and should be applauded. For this installment, four wonderful female authors and their latest works are reviewed. From noir fiction, to ‘time travel’, crime, and the metaphysical; these women write courageously and should be applauded.
Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner This latest from Kushner is shortlisted for this year’s Booker. And Kushner has won the Prix Medicis, and twice a National Book Award winner. Her protagonist is a cunning American woman in her early 30’s, passing off as Sadie Smith; and we join her as she infiltrates an anarchist/eco-warrior collective in rural France.
This she’s achieving via a lover Lucien, who was a childhood friend of Pascal, who leads the subversive group. There’s also a grizzled activist named Bruno Lacombe, who’s something of a mentor, guiding light, to the group. His emails to the group, his anti-civilization stance, and his obsession with Neanderthal Man, frame several of the chapters.
And while Lucien believes he picked up Sadie and she loves him, it’s actually a ‘cold bump’ - an encounter she set up. Set in the Guyenne region of France, the novel is one of identity, ideas, and subtle confrontation. Sadie is out to entrap the activist group, so that the French police can swoop down, arrest them, and break up the commune.
As the novel develops, Sadie is in turn entranced by the musings of Bruno. It’s a cat-and-mouse .