''Second Place'' is a 2021 novel by Rachel Cusk.

Premise

A female narrator, M, invites a famous painter, L, to use her guesthouse on the English coast marshlands where she lives with her family. It is inspired by Mabel Dodge Luhan's 1932 memoir ''Lorenzo in Taos'', about the writer

D. H. Lawrence David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an English writer, novelist, poet and essayist. His works reflect on modernity, industrialization, sexuality, emotional health, vitality, spontaneity and instinct. His best-k ...

's early 1920s sojourn in

Taos, New Mexico Taos is a town in Taos County in the north-central region of New Mexico in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Initially founded in 1615, it was intermittently occupied until its formal establishment in 1795 by Nuevo México Governor Fernando Cha ...

Reception

''Second Place'' received favourable reviews, with a cumulative "Positive" rating at the

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website Book Marks, based on 40 book reviews from mainstream literary critics. In its

starred review A starred review is a book review __NOTOC__ A book review is a form of literary criticism in which a book is merely described (summary review) or analyzed based on content, style, and merit. A book review may be a primary source, opinion piece ...

, ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'' wrote that Cusk's "brilliant prose and piercing insights convey a dark but compelling view of human nature." ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'', in its starred review, wrote, "There is the erudition of the author's ''Outline'' trilogy here, but with a tightly contained dramatic narrative." The novel was longlisted for the

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a Literary award, literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United King ...

, and shortlisted for the Governor General's Award for English-language fiction at the

2021 Governor General's Awards The shortlisted nominees for the 2021 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit were announced on October 14, 2021, and the winners were announced on November 17.Prix Femina étranger The Prix Femina étranger is a French literary award established in 1985. It is awarded annually to a foreign-language literary work translated into French. List of laureates See also * Prix Femina * Prix Femina essai The prix Femina essai ...

References

2021 British novels Novels by Rachel Cusk First-person narrative novels Novels set in England Farrar, Straus and Giroux books Faber and Faber books {{2020s-novel-stub