Susan Johnson

Hello, readers.

Welcome to the Bookshelf.

I'm Kate Evans.

No, we're a team, Cassie.

We're a team.

We're a team.

And at the top of the pile, Rachel Cusk's Kudos, the much-anticipated third book in a trilogy.

And also Maria Tamarkin's Axiomatic.

a cleverly accented book that plays around with its form.

Let's begin with English writer Rachel Cusk's novel, Kudos.

It follows outline and transit, so there's three in a series.

She's an English writer.

This is her ninth novel.

She's also written three works of non-fiction, including A Life's Work, a memoir of pregnancy and motherhood, which brought the heavens down upon her in the way that

in the way that it happens, I think, when women speak critically of this parts of their lives.

And also Aftermath, an account of her divorce, which raised even more ire.

And a whole lot of reviews of her work, Cassie, talk about how often people dislike her or are irritated by her, which...

Which is a sort of curious way to start off talking about a book.

So very low key about their assessment there.

Stand back, Brontes.