Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2021<\/b><\/p>\n
‘A classic, but with contemporary urgency thumping through it.’
Claire-Louise Bennett<\/b>, author of Pond<\/i><\/p>\n
A woman invites a famed artist to the remote coastal landscape where she lives. Drawn to his paintings, she believes his vision may penetrate the mystery at the centre of her life. But as a long, dry summer sets in, his provocative presence soon twists the patterns of her secluded household. <\/b><\/p>\n
‘The most singular book . . . A psychodrama that is both timeless and up-to-the minute . . . Truly one of a kind.’ Justine Jordan, Guardian<\/i><\/p>\n
‘A novel of deep insight and scarring honesty.’ Martin Chilton, Independent<\/i><\/p>\n
‘Re-sets the dial yet again.’ Claire Harman, Evening Standard<\/i><\/p>\n
‘Extraordinary . . . fearless.’ Alex Clark, The Spectator<\/i><\/p>\n
‘Glittering brilliance.’ Jon Day, Financial Times<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A woman invites a famed artist to visit the remote coastal region where she lives, in the belief that his vision will penetrate the mystery of her life and landscape. Over the course of one hot summer, his provocative presence provides the frame for a study of female fate and male privilege, of the geometries of human relationships, and of the struggle to live morally between our internal and external worlds. With its examination of the possibility that art can both save and destroy us, ‘Second Place’ is deeply affirming of the human soul, while grappling with its darkest demons.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[68],"product_tag":[127],"class_list":{"0":"post-93838","1":"product","2":"type-product","3":"status-publish","5":"product_cat-general-fiction","6":"product_tag-modern-contemporary-fiction-post-c-1945","7":"pa_book_author-cusk-rachel","8":"pa_cover-paperback","9":"pa_dewey-823-92-edition23","10":"pa_edition-1st-paperback-ed","11":"pa_imprint-faber-faber","12":"pa_language-english","13":"pa_pages-9521","14":"pa_publisher-faber-faber","15":"pa_readership-general-trade-code-k","17":"first","18":"onbackorder","19":"taxable","20":"shipping-taxable","21":"purchasable","22":"product-type-simple"},"yoast_head":"\n