A Country Life

I enjoyed this novel. I am now reading other books by the same author! Beautifully written and well developed characters.

The beginning of the book is interesting enough. Reading about Stella leaving London for a complete new life in the countryside I was curious to find out what happened to make her give up everything. But then the story became a bit tedious to read, Stella analyses every single aspect of every single sentence anyone says down to buying bread in the local shop. Only towards the end the book picks up again.

The Country Life is a book I have enormous affection for; I've listened to a recorded version (narrated by Davina Porter, who deserves special mention) perhaps a half dozen times. What kept drawing me back to the book was
the deftness of Cusk's writing. Above all, she is one of those writers who has the gift of coming up with the kind of imagery that leaves you shivering with pleasure, it strikes you time and again as being so true, so exactly "right." The story is told in the first person, from the point of view of a woman who, for some mysterious reason, has decided to discard her old life in favor of becoming a companion to a young wheelchair-bound man who lives with his family in the English countryside. The newness of the life she is entering into, combined with the extremity of need which led her desert her former existence, lends her observations a certain quirky vividness which, given Cusk's lightness of touch and slightly off-kilter sense of humor, is thoroughly enjoyable to experience. The book's climatic scenes are revelatory in a way that's both startling and satisfying. Overall, this is one of those books you want to cozy up with: it's not too heavy, not too light, and full of warmth. Much recommended.

Rachel Cusk's novel is reminescent of Jane Austen, both in her exact style of writing and in her comedy of manners. I really identified with Stella's chaotic thought patterns. Highly recommended ( )

Serendipity at the local library led me to devour my first ever Rachel Cusk novel, and I am now ravenous for more. (Searching for a book by Jim Crace, the nearby name Rachel Cusk jumped out at me from the shelf.) As another reviewer has stated, her writing absorbs you so fully into the mind of her protagonist that you forget you are reading. Stella Benson is a klotz of sorts, prone to injury and to so overthinking her every decision and move that she perceives threat, danger, and embarassment at every turn. More often than not, such fear of embarassment leads to a more unfortunate yet comical outcome than she had feared. Through Cusk's impeccable prose, we see through Stella's eyes this world fraught with hidden agendas and misinterpreted motives. Cusk writes with precise observation of the minutia around us, and we must nod knowingly that her observations are so spot on - whether she's describing the ancient tins of food lining the shelves of a provincial shop, or the entitled self-regard of the privileged class. Her characters are so vividly articulated that they nearly emerge from the page fully formed. ( )