“Outline,” the first book in a trilogy by Rachel Cusk, is a novel in 10 conversations. The main character, Faye, is a novelist who is visiting Athens to teach a week-long writing course, and the book details her conversations with various people. We know the main attributes of her character: recently divorced, a mother, a writer, and yet we know very little about who Faye is. In her conversations, we don’t typically hear what she says, just what those around her say, and she is never explicitly described. As the title suggests, the conversations create an outline of Faye and give us insight into her values and perspective on life. The reader finishes the book having been told nothing about Faye, and yet understanding who she is based on the way she interacts with others. In “Outline,” what is left out is just as important as what is said.
We rarely hear the narrator’s thoughts, but when we do, they offer a piercing perspective on other characters. She is able to understand the desires and failings of those around her based on the way they tell their own stories in conversation. The parts they gloss over, the dramatized retellings, and the way they summarize people all show their values. As Faye interacts with other characters, we are able to develop an understanding of who she is. This idea, that the way we tell the stories of our life reveals our perception of reality, is the core of the novel. Our sense of self and sense of reality must therefore be intertwined in unimaginable ways. “Outline” argues that this is what makes identity so unique because it is, essentially, a new understanding of reality.
Cusk has created some of the best writing I’ve ever read. Her sentences are so carefully built that they demand to be reread, and she is able to put such specific emotions and experiences into words. This is a book that both helps you gain perspective on what you know and urges you to think about different ideas. While the characters and the themes are interesting to read about, my favorite part of this book is the poignant lines on practically every page.
“Outline” focuses on themes of storytelling, identity, and the fracturing of relationships. Even as the characters interact with one another, you can feel their loneliness building because of the way they have lost purpose, or watched their relationships fall apart, taking parts of their identity along with it. It shows how we are more connected than we would like to believe, and that this connection is one of the most valuable parts of life. This book is the epitome of no plot, intriguing characters, and just vibes. Read this book not because you want a page-turning plot, but because you want to read something so sharply insightful that you are forced to pause your reading and contemplate it. This is a book for the constant overthinker, the psychoanalyzer and the lover of unique, layered writing.