Rachel Cusk’s recent works are mystifying and mesmerizing in a way that lets the reader know she is in control of her slicing prose and yet she will not give way to convention for your ease. If you know me, you know I love cerebral novels that are up for interpretation, or require extra consideration. I love a book that makes me think. And however opaque PARADE may seem, I was transfixed.

PARADE likely refers to many things, from the literal parade in part 3 to the veritable procession of artists throughout the novel, each named “G.” And these Gs are all based (I believe) on real artists. I picked out Louise Bourgeois, Paula Modersohn-Becker, Eric Rohmer, and had a vague recognition of others; I’m choosing not to take to the internet yet as I let the story sink in. And while ‘story’ may be too structure-based a word for PARADE, the way Cusk tells this story telegraphs a major theme, the relationship between identity and artists (I enjoyed underlining many sentences about artists who were mothers). It navigates a lot more and in between: violence, shame, duty, marriage, family, community—and humanity in general.

After having read and loved the OUTLINE trilogy and SECOND PLACE, PARADE makes sense as an evolution of what Cusk has been seeking to accomplish. I can’t speak to what exactly that goal is, but to me it’s something akin to finding a new form. For instance, there’s a first person voice in the beginning of the book that eventually morphs into first person plural. Who are we? She’s done with the restrictions and conventions of a novel and its form, what else can be produced? It’s definitely art. And I believe it may be Cusk’s best production to date.

And so I’ll leave you with a line from PARADE, a book I know I’ll be rereading many times: “Art is the pact of individuals denying society the last word.”

Thank you to FSG books for the review copy.