The Temporary

There were times, when reading this novel, where I found myself staring at a sentence so perfectly and interestingly structured, that I couldn't go on reading. I would read the sentence again and again, feeling a mixture of awe and complete despair that I'll never write as well.This book kept me riveted, not so much by the plot, as by the writing itself. It is writing for readers who love words and the way they can fit together to express something that is so familiar and yet never properly articulated. Rachel Cusk has an astonishing talent and she's only 36. She has a great future ahead of her.The story is about a young lonely woman, and a young lonely man, who are somehow thrown together in a world that is disorienting, and alienating. At times it is painful, other times it is so funny that you cannot help laughing out loud. The main characters, Francine and Ralph, are a match made in hell. She is vain and petty and superficial. He has resigned himself to a life of familiarity. Their relationship is fascinating and depressing and often hilarious all at once. You feel genuine compassion for these two; neither is bad nor good. And you want a happy ending for them both because they are suffering. Unfortunately, the ending bothered me and left me uneasy. But it's a good story and it is written in language that requires a certain amount of penetration; it is not a book that you read with the stereo on. I highly recommend it and will add Rachel Cusk to my list of admired writers.

I do not understand why this book is out-of-print, when Rachel Cusk's first novel won an award, and her third is doing so well. I have not yet read The Country Life, but Saving Agnes seemed like a mere preliminary exercise to gear up for the writing of the masterpiece that is The Temporary. Just as I could not understand what was so outstanding about Saving Agnes (although I did enjoy it), I could not understand why this wonderful book has been overlooked. Aside from the sophisticated, intricate writing, the kind that may not have been successfully executed since Jane Austen, Rachel Cusk's insights into human behavior are dizzying. She uses unique, unexpected metaphors to describe, and almost every paragraph includes a disturbing glimpse into the human psyche. In my opinion, The Temporary is a psychological thriller, and the genius of it is that Cusk has created a sympathetic character whose behavior we sometimes question, and an unlikable character for whom we come to have compassion. At least that's how it worked for me. The fact that the ending left me mildly baffled only increased the novel's success. It ends with a cliffhanger, which in hindsight is almost the only way the author could end this book without disappointing, b/c I wanted to feel that the characters go on and are not trapped in their happy/unhappy/anticlimactic fates. Anyway, I cannot say enough good things about this story of a temporary, her hapless victim, and the womanizer who brings the whole thing to a head in one of the most chilling scenes I have ever read. Go to the out-of-print section and get it!