Saving Agnes
Ratings1
Average rating3
15
Ratings1
Average rating3
The acclaimed winner of the Whitbread First Novel Award, by the author of The Country Life Chronically confused, terminally middle class, hopelessly romantic, Agnes Day lives with her two best friends in the London suburbs and works at an obscure trade magazine. Life and love seem to go on without her. But she gives a convincing performance that everything is alright--that is, 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. Rachel Cusk explores the business of growing up and moving on with a deftly comic, surprisingly moving touch, confirming her reputation as one of England's smartest and most entertaining young writers.
Reviews with the most likes.
A bit of slow starter and as 50+ male I may not be the primary audience for this book. However Rachel Cusk is an amazing writer and I was pulled into the story. Given that this book book was written over 30 years ago the world in which this is set seems itself almost fictional. But having lived in that world to an extent and experienced many of the same emotions at the very same time as the protagonist I was able to partially empathize, I am male so not completely. This is a just out of university, first job, first non-collegiate romance and dealing with transitioning to fully independent adult life story. But Cusk's writing elevates what is now a well used trope to something more than just a relatable twenty-somethings romp. There is real insight into the larger emotional world inhabited by many of the characters and that is the strength of this novel.
