In her 2026 novel Life of M, writer Rachel Cusk crafts a fictional biography of a film star who closely resembles Natalie Portman. The novel is written in the now-familiar late-Cusk sans serif typeface, a style that has become a hallmark of her recent works. It explores themes of fame and identity, wrapped in a fictional narrative. The New York Times described it as “rarefied, cosmopolitan, self-serious.” One line from the novel reads: “Everything I did or said in her company was false. It was as if I was acting, while M came across as authentic and real.” Cusk’s earlier work, The Lucky Ones (2003), is a collection of interconnected stories centered on characters influenced by a newspaper columnist. The stories begin with some unevenness, particularly in Cusk’s portrayal of a working-class female prisoner, but gain strength as she shifts focus to more relatable subjects like ski trips and lawyers. A sample line reads: “Jane and Thomas were ironing out their lives in preparation for parenthood, starching and folding and putting away their youth, their excitement, their spontaneity.” Cusk’s debut novel, Saving Agnes (1993), is a lighthearted and comic work that reflects the style of a young writer. It occasionally relies on elaborate language as a means of humor. One example from the book is: “Like a mirror he gave back nothing but what was already there; smash it and he would be gone, leaving her with nothing but a rearranged face and a few years of bad luck.” The Temporary (1995) is a romantic comedy about two Londoners—Francine, a publishing temp, and Ralph, a posh man—who bond over a dried-out risotto. The novel is witty and sharp, with a line like: “‘I’m something of an intellectual myself,’ Neil had said, straightening a tie across which autonomous golf clubs roamed.” In Second Place (2021), Cusk tells the story of a writer who invites a mysterious painter named L to live in her home, leading to complex and tense dynamics. A line from the book reads: “I’ve been criticised all my life – it’s how I’ve come to know that I’m there.” Cusk’s memoir A Life’s Work (2001) is a candid reflection on the experience of becoming a mother, challenging the idealized view of parenthood. It was controversial for its unflinching honesty. One line reads: “When I found myself pregnant again when Albertine was six months old I greeted my old cell with the cheerless acceptance of the convict intercepted at large.” Arlington Park (2006) is a novel with a Joycean opening that evolves into an exquisitely written social comedy. It feels like an extension of A Life’s Work, focusing on five young mothers. A line from the book reads: “It was funny that she had ended up as a teacher, back at school. It made it seem that she wasn’t bright or gifted or exceptional at all. She was merely good at going to school.” In the Fold (2005) combines the humor, cynicism, and linguistic precision that define Cusk’s early work. One line reads: “[The schoolboys] make a list of the mothers they’d most like to sleep with. This is the first time she hasn’t made it. It’s so embarrassing for her.” Cusk’s The Country Life (1997) is her longest novel and one of her darkest early comedies. It features a character who is a slow and careful eater, having been taught by her mother about the social pitfalls of eating. A line from the book reads: “I am normally a slow and careful eater, having been schooled by my mother in the many social atrocities it is possible unwittingly to commit during the ingestion of food.” The Outline trilogy (2014–2018) marks a significant evolution in Cusk’s writing, moving away from traditional character development and description. A line from the series reads: “But what other people thought was no longer of any help to me. Those thoughts only existed within certain structures, and I had definitively left those structures.”