Praise for CREATION LAKE
“A profound and irresistible page-turner about a spy-for-hire who infiltrates a commune of eco-activists in rural France. The prose is thrilling, the ideas electrifying.” —The Booker Prize 2024 judges on Creation Lake
“A sinuous and powerfully understated novel...Creation Lake consolidates Kushner’s status as one of the finest novelists working in the English language. You know from this book’s opening paragraphs that you are in the hands of a major writer, one who processes experience on a deep level. Kushner has a gift for almost effortless intellectual penetration.” —Dwight Garner, The New York Times Book Review
"Creation Lake bears all the hallmarks of her inquisitive mind and creative daring... a spy thriller laced with a killer dose of deadpan wit... Kushner inhabits the spy’s perspective with such eerie finesse that you feel how much fun she’s having... the real covert operative here is Kushner, who’s never felt more cunning than in this novel about the clashing ideological claims that have left us bereft at the end of time. Bore through this noir posing and wry satire of radical politics, and you feel something vital and profound prowling around in the darkness beneath." —Ron Charles, The Washington Post
“Using the framework of an espionage novel, Kushner creates a spellbinding story of intrigue and subterfuge that examines the limits of control and moral influence." —Lauren LeBlanc, Los Angeles Times
"Kushner’s outrageous talent blazes hot throughout the book ...Kushner has tapped into something primal, pure, and unforgettable.”—Leigh Haber, Boston Globe
“A dazzling work of fiction: brisk, stylish, funny, moving, and, unexpectedly, piercingly moral...At once terse and vivid, economical and expansive...true, funny, sad, shrewd, and beautifully controlled through each unyielding sentence.” —Anahid Nersessian, The New York Review of Books
"Kushner is as intimidatingly intelligent as this twisty novel’s main character." —Emma Alpern, New York Magazine
"Extraordinary... full of tension and clarity... riveting... incredibly fun." —Nicolás Medina Mora, The Nation
“As in a Graham Greene or John le Carre novel, in Creation Lake the point of spying is not just to find out what is happening but how to pick one’s way through a world of ideas... so fun...” —Laura Marsh, The New Republic
"Ambitious, intelligent and gripping... Creation Lake is one of the best books of the year so far." —The Spectator
“One of the most interesting and adept voices in contemporary fiction... Kushner’s writing is clean, tight and often very funny as she jumps between past and present but never loosens her iron grip on the reader’s attention.” —Bloomberg
"All the hallmarks of an excellent thriller are here, as are Kushner's gifts for dark humor and stunning prose, to make for an exciting, exhilarating tear through the shadowy underbelly of international espionage—and the very human emotions that can complicate it." —Town and Country Magazine
"It's suspenseful, extremely smart and brilliantly executed." —Jami Attenberg, The Times-Picayune
“An immersive novel about an agent provocateur embedded within a group of environmental activists in south-western France, and slowly becoming mesmerized by the group elder’s theories about Neanderthals. It’s seductive, entrancing, and quite off the wall.” —Mick Herron, The Guardian
“Rachel Kushner wrote a secret agent book, and set it in France. What more must we know to anticipate it? Nothing, because no doubt, like nearly everything she writes, it will be an intellectual masterpiece while also reinventing a genre while also being wildly entertaining. That’s kind of her thing.” —Lit Hub, Most Anticipated Books of 2024
“I understand every kind, enthusiastic, hugely spirited review... It’s really fantastic—get it!” —Sarah Jessica Parker
"Creation Lake reinvents the spy novel in one cool, erudite gesture. Only Rachel Kushner could weave environmental activism, paranoia, and nihilism into a gripping philosophical thriller. Enthralling and sleekly devious, this book is also a lyrical reflection on both the origin and the fate of our species. A novel this brilliant and profound shouldn’t be this much fun.” —Hernan Diaz
“I was completely immersed and mesmerized. Creation Lake is a highly plotted fast-paced noir and yet full of ideas and depth. Rachel Kushner is the most exciting writer of her generation.” —Bret Easton Ellis
“At last I get to say how deeply, madly, irrecoverably I loved Creation Lake... it was all stylish and cool, and then somehow the book struck a blow to my heart.” —Louise Erdrich
“By writing in the unillusioned voice of an ex-FBI agent infiltrating a bunch of rural French subversives, Rachel Kushner has cover to say whatever she damn well pleases. And because Kushner has the most bracing intelligence in American fiction, she rips the skin off what many of us like to think we believe.” —David Hare
“Surprising and delectable... This ecstatic vision of the collective human experience shimmers in stark opposition to the corporate plan to extract and lock up the valley’s groundwater. A brain-spinning tale and searing look at our perilous estrangement from nature.” —Booklist, STARRED review
"An undercover agent embeds with radical French environmentalists in this scintillating story of activism and espionage from Kushner...Most of the narrative is dedicated to the activists’ philosophizing and Sadie’s gimlet-eyed observations, which Kushner magically weaves together...Readers will be captivated." —Publishers Weekly, STARRED review
“Sadie is similar to Kushner’s earlier fictional protagonists—astringent, thrill-seeking, serious, worldly—but here the author has tapped into a more melancholy, contemplative mode that weaves neatly around a spy story... Kushner has captured the internal crisis of ideology that spy yarns often ignore, while creating an engaging tale in its own right. A deft, brainy take on the espionage novel.” —Kirkus Reviews, STARRED review
Praise for CREATION LAKE
“A profound and irresistible page-turner about a spy-for-hire who infiltrates a commune of eco-activists in rural France. The prose is thrilling, the ideas electrifying.” —The Booker Prize 2024 judges on Creation Lake
“A sinuous and powerfully understated novel...Creation Lake consolidates Kushner’s status as one of the finest novelists working in the English language. You know from this book’s opening paragraphs that you are in the hands of a major writer, one who processes experience on a deep level. Kushner has a gift for almost effortless intellectual penetration.” —Dwight Garner, The New York Times Book Review
“Like Bruno-the-philosopher, Kushner is a dazzling chronicler of end times. The only thing that isn’t disposable in her novels is her own singular voice as a writer.” —Maureen Corrigan, Fresh Air
“From [a] thrillerlike premise, Kushner spins a brisk plot that’s equal parts tradecraft and penetrating inquiry into the possibility of radical social change.” —Laura Miller, Slate
"Creation Lake bears all the hallmarks of her inquisitive mind and creative daring... a spy thriller laced with a killer dose of deadpan wit... Kushner inhabits the spy’s perspective with such eerie finesse that you feel how much fun she’s having... the real covert operative here is Kushner, who’s never felt more cunning than in this novel about the clashing ideological claims that have left us bereft at the end of time. Bore through this noir posing and wry satire of radical politics, and you feel something vital and profound prowling around in the darkness beneath." —Ron Charles, The Washington Post
“Using the framework of an espionage novel, Kushner creates a spellbinding story of intrigue and subterfuge that examines the limits of control and moral influence." —Lauren LeBlanc, Los Angeles Times
"Kushner’s outrageous talent blazes hot throughout the book ...Kushner has tapped into something primal, pure, and unforgettable.”—Leigh Haber, Boston Globe
“A dazzling work of fiction: brisk, stylish, funny, moving, and, unexpectedly, piercingly moral...At once terse and vivid, economical and expansive...true, funny, sad, shrewd, and beautifully controlled through each unyielding sentence.” —Anahid Nersessian, The New York Review of Books
“Questions of control and coercion, reality and idealism, are layered on top of Kushner’s enveloping noir. ‘Sadie’ has a brash confidence and a manner of moving through the world that is aloof in the extreme—disbanding any allegiances or affections before they can create the faintest of tethers. But Kushner’s plot—at once arid and affecting—asks just how much any human can insulate themselves.” —Chloe Schama, Vogue
"Kushner is as intimidatingly intelligent as this twisty novel’s main character." —Emma Alpern, New York Magazine
"Extraordinary... full of tension and clarity... riveting... incredibly fun." —Nicolás Medina Mora, The Nation
“As in a Graham Greene or John le Carre novel, in Creation Lake the point of spying is not just to find out what is happening but how to pick one’s way through a world of ideas... so fun...” —Laura Marsh, The New Republic
"It's suspenseful, extremely smart and brilliantly executed." —Jami Attenberg, The Times-Picayune
“An immersive novel about an agent provocateur embedded within a group of environmental activists in south-western France, and slowly becoming mesmerized by the group elder’s theories about Neanderthals. It’s seductive, entrancing, and quite off the wall.” —Mick Herron, The Guardian
"Ambitious, intelligent and gripping... Creation Lake is one of the best books of the year so far." —The Spectator
“One of the most interesting and adept voices in contemporary fiction... Kushner’s writing is clean, tight and often very funny as she jumps between past and present but never loosens her iron grip on the reader’s attention.” —Bloomberg
“Rachel Kushner wrote a secret agent book, and set it in France. What more must we know to anticipate it? Nothing, because no doubt, like nearly everything she writes, it will be an intellectual masterpiece while also reinventing a genre while also being wildly entertaining. That’s kind of her thing.” —Lit Hub, Most Anticipated Books of 2024
“I understand every kind, enthusiastic, hugely spirited review... It’s really fantastic—get it!” —Sarah Jessica Parker
"Creation Lake reinvents the spy novel in one cool, erudite gesture. Only Rachel Kushner could weave environmental activism, paranoia, and nihilism into a gripping philosophical thriller. Enthralling and sleekly devious, this book is also a lyrical reflection on both the origin and the fate of our species. A novel this brilliant and profound shouldn’t be this much fun.” —Hernan Diaz
“I was completely immersed and mesmerized. Creation Lake is a highly plotted fast-paced noir and yet full of ideas and depth. Rachel Kushner is the most exciting writer of her generation.” —Bret Easton Ellis
“At last I get to say how deeply, madly, irrecoverably I loved Creation Lake... it was all stylish and cool, and then somehow the book struck a blow to my heart.” —Louise Erdrich
“By writing in the unillusioned voice of an ex-FBI agent infiltrating a bunch of rural French subversives, Rachel Kushner has cover to say whatever she damn well pleases. And because Kushner has the most bracing intelligence in American fiction, she rips the skin off what many of us like to think we believe.” —David Hare
“Surprising and delectable... This ecstatic vision of the collective human experience shimmers in stark opposition to the corporate plan to extract and lock up the valley’s groundwater. A brain-spinning tale and searing look at our perilous estrangement from nature.” —Booklist, STARRED review
"An undercover agent embeds with radical French environmentalists in this scintillating story of activism and espionage from Kushner...Most of the narrative is dedicated to the activists’ philosophizing and Sadie’s gimlet-eyed observations, which Kushner magically weaves together...Readers will be captivated." —Publishers Weekly, STARRED review
“Sadie is similar to Kushner’s earlier fictional protagonists—astringent, thrill-seeking, serious, worldly—but here the author has tapped into a more melancholy, contemplative mode that weaves neatly around a spy story... Kushner has captured the internal crisis of ideology that spy yarns often ignore, while creating an engaging tale in its own right. A deft, brainy take on the espionage novel.” —Kirkus Reviews, STARRED review
★ 2024-05-31
A woman infiltrates a cabal of French radicals. Will she go native?
The narrator of Kushner’s fourth novel goes by Sadie, though her real name—like much of her identity—is clouded in mystery. She works undercover to undermine environmental activists, formerly for the U.S. government, but since a case went sideways, she’s gone freelance. Now, she’s been commissioned by unnamed “contacts” to disrupt the Moulinards, a small farming cooperative in southwestern France protesting a government effort to construct a “megabasin” to support large-scale corporate farming. The Moulinards’ leader, Bruno, is an “anti-civver,” skeptical not just of capitalism but of the entire human species. (His writings—he exists largely in the form of email dispatches—argue that Neanderthals might have been better adapted for the planet.) Sadie has an arsenal of tools to monkey-wrench the monkey wrenchers—a willingness to exchange sex for access, a knack for languages and hacking, well-made cover stories, fake passports—but her work among the Moulinards stokes her own identity crisis. As she enters their world, she processes their enthusiasm, their philosophy (there are abundant references to critic Guy Debord), and their paranoia, which escalates as a national minister plans a visit to the region, upping the stakes. As if echoing Bruno’s concern, Sadie is such a slyly clever human that she’s undermining her own humanity. Sadie is similar to Kushner’s earlier fictional protagonists—astringent, thrill-seeking, serious, worldly—but here the author has tapped into a more melancholy, contemplative mode that weaves neatly around a spy story. Nobody would mistake it for a thriller, but Kushner has captured the internal crisis of ideology that spy yarns often ignore, while creating an engaging tale in its own right.
A deft, brainy take on the espionage novel.
