Parade by Rachel Cusk

I’ve been trying to be proactive this year in my selection of novels in preparation for a more informed Booker prediction list. So, I requested, and received, an ARC of Cusk’s latest novel Parade (thank you to Farrer,Straus, and Gioux and net galley).

I have a love-hate relationship with Cusk’s novels. They are brilliant but they also often make me feel like I need an advanced literary degree in order to make it through them. So how did this latest novel stack up for me?

Parade by Rachel Cusk
Expected US Publication date: June 18, 2024
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Rating: ★★★.5
Order/Purchase it here: Parade

It’s hard to claim that Parade is a novel. It’s part essay, part novel, part semi-autobiography (she draws from some real life experiences) and thoroughly non-conventional and experimental. The one thing I can say about the book is that it is not one to be lightly approached and is probably not very accessible to the average reader. For anyone who has read her previous works, you already know what you’re getting into when you purchase one of her books. For those new to the author, this is not the sort of book you pick up for a casual, plot-driven easy read.

The book is hard to adequately capture in a brief book review. The themes are various and rather complicated. This is a book about art (in various forms) and creation, identity and motherhood, truth and reality, and gender and the female artistic experience.

Parade is broken into 4 chapters or sections. Sections 1, 2, and 4 are told with alternating narratives. Chapter 3 is a single narrative and seemingly stand alone story about a dinner party where the various parties discuss art, gender, and the condition of the female artist. For me, chapters 1 and 4 contain large chunks that read more like a blend of philosophical musings, art history, and feminist essays than a traditional novel. They require that you pay attention and I mean PAY ATTENTION. I learned (after the fact) that the first section was based on a lecture she gave and a version was subsequently published as a standalone New Yorker piece..

Here, sanity and insanity were not opposites but rather were the two faces of animate matter, the point at which the existence of consciousness can get no further in breaking down the existence of substance, of the body. Art, rooted in insanity transforms itself through process into sanity: it is matter, the body, that is insane.

Parade, Rachel Cusk. The stuntman

Each section is connected to others in theme or content but the narrators and artists at the center of the narratives are different despite almost all of them being given the name of “G”. The reader is never quite sure who is “G” although those who have done their research have been quick to make links to real artists. Art in all its forms are tackled. I had to do significant research to learn about the inspirations behind several of these “G”s. Section one includes the stories of a male painter (of course named G) who others have identified at George Baselitz and a female sculptor (also named G) who draws inspiration from Loiuse Bourgeois (see the video below about her work to get a flavor why why Cusk uses her as one of the many inspirations for this novel).

The final section was published as a piece in Harper’s Magazine and thus returns to a format similar to the first section – blend of essay and fictionalized accounts.

Admittedly, I have the attentional capacity of a squirrel and these sorts of experimental books are often challenging for me. I read the first section full of rage at the author for making me work so hard. I then re-evaluated my approach to the book and slowed down my pace and added research to my reading — I looked up the artists referenced, I watched videos of their lives and works and I paused after each section to reflect on what I had read. And there are so many gems in this book. Cusk is clearly a brilliantly intelligent writer and she is challenging to read (I do actually have an advanced degree, just not in literature or art).

Once I had changed my approach to this book (and I should have learned by now since I’ve read her other work and had similar reactions), I felt greatly impacted. Some of her reflections on motherhood and the links between motherhood, creation, and identity were fascinating and will likely stay with me for some time. The day before I had finished the novel I had gone to lunch with a friend and we discussed the decision to have children (she decided not have children and I have a daughter). So I related to Cusk’s reflections on motherhood and the complexity of feelings related to motherhood (both being a mother and having a mother), self and professional identify, in a way that felt very personal.

Pregnancy was a reverse kind of authorship, where the work started after publication and the suspension of disbelief came before the story had begun. She was creating, sure enough, but what a troublesome creation it turned out to be, leaving her no peace, disobeying her intentions and, most of all, proving impossible to put an end to.

There had been no silence that was not an aggression, no language that was not an attempt to exert judgment and control. Silence had filled us with the panic of abandonment; language had seemed a kind of evil, capable of destabilization reality. One day they might become innocent again. With her body gone, what would we say or not say?

Parade, Rachel Cusk. The Spy

So, ultimately it’s hard to review this book. I think it’s fascinating, beautifully written, and dazzlingly brilliant, but it’s also not very accessible to the average reader. The sorts of readers who will enjoy this novel are those who like experimental work, those who are have the time and intellectual interest in art, feminism, psychology of art, motherhood, and philosophy. I loved it but I also had moments of hatred and resentment because she put me through the wringer trying to understand the book and I left it feeling like I understood about 25% of what she was trying to convey. If you like Rachel Cusk, you will love this book. If you are looking for a fast-paced, plot driving novel, you will hate it. If you are a novice to the art world, you will likely need to do some research to fully benefit from reading this.

Will this make my booker longlist predictions? You’ll have to follow along to find out!

Want to tackle this for yourself? You can pre-order a copy here: Parade

We want to hear from you. Have you read Cusk’s other works? What did you think? Is she an author who resonates with you? Which are your favorite novels? Do you plan on reading this book?