David's Reviews > Second Place

This is one of the standout works of the year. On the surface, Second Place takes the form of a letter written by a woman called M to an unknown character, Jeffers, about an artist called L who stays in M’s guest cottage. The story is reminiscent of Mabel Lujan’s Lorenzo in Taos, which Cusk acknowledges in a postscript. Through this form, Cusk deftly explores gender roles, aging, family dynamics, art, what it means to be an artist, and other themes. I thought this was excellent.