Synopses & Reviews
Agnes Day has enjoyed the traditional experiences a middle-class upbringing has to offer: a comfortable home she is eager to escape, parents who love and misunderstand her, a terrifying bout of boarding school followed by an impressive and nearly useless university degree. Now she finds herself on her own and embarking on adult life, without a clue as to how that should actually work.
Living with her two best friends in the London suburbs, toiling as a junior editor at an obscure trade magazine, Agnes manages to give a convincing performance that everything is alright. But her roommates are acting strangely, her boyfriend's strict schedule is becoming a nuisance, and the world in general seems increasingly out of her control. In great despair, Agnes decides to make it her business to set things straight. How she does this, and what she learns in the process, make for a novel that is a pure delight. Rachel Cusk explores the business of growing up and moving on with a deftly comic, surprisingly moving touch, confirming her reputation as one of her generation's smartest and most entertaining writers.
Review
"Smart, subtle, stylish, and witty."—
The Boston Herald Sunday"A novel so much more than just clever and sharp that it might be said to be wise . . . Cusk has heart and depth in abundance, and Saving Agnes showcases both."—Abby Frucht, The Village Voice
"Quirky but appealing characters and wry social commentary. . . Exquisite and sometimes diabolical."—Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
Winner of the Whitbread Prize for Best First NovelAgnes Day is mildly discontent. As a child, she never wanted to be an Agnes—she wanted to be a pleasing Grace. Alas, she remained the terminally middle class, hopelessly romantic Agnes. Now she's living with her two best friends in London and working at a trade magazine. Life and love seem to go on without her. Not only does she not know how to get back into the game, she isn't even sure what the game is. But she gives a good performance—until she learns that her roommates and her boyfriend are keeping secrets from her, and that her boss is quitting and leaving her in charge. In great despair, she decides to make it her business to set things straight. Saving Agnes is a perceptive, fresh, and honest novel that has delighted readers and critics on both sides of the Atlantic.
About the Author
Rachel Cusk is also the author of
The Country Life. She lives in Oxford.