Rachel Cusk: Life of M

Critically acclaimed author Rachel Cusk shares her irresistible new novel.

Life of M introduces us to movie star M, one of the most recognizable faces of our time, whose image has been ubiquitous since she was a child.

With such fame, her life has the appearance of freedom: people are instantly obliging, spaces are altered to accommodate her, time can be rearranged. M may live in the same places as real people. She may meet her friends or collect her children from school or walk her dogs as they do. But it seems the rules of reality have melted away.

Now, a writer has decided to pay close attention to M’s life in the hope of understanding who she really is. It is hard not to feel ugly next to M, hard not to feel insignificant. But what truths―about the very experience of living―might this proximity allow the writer to briefly capture?

Rachel Cusk speaks with Sheila Heti about Life of M, an astonishing new novel about fame, power, beauty, and truth