Rachel Kushner is an author whose works frequently explore themes of feminism, contemporary art, revolutionary politics, and modernism. Her writing style is incisive, offering penetrating examinations of complex social and cultural issues. Kushner is noted for her ability to craft compelling narratives that provoke thought and engage readers deeply. Her fiction and essays have graced the pages of prominent literary journals, underscoring her significant voice in contemporary letters.
Longlisted for the prestigious Booker Prize 2024, this novel captivates with its intricate storytelling and rich character development. Set against a backdrop of profound societal change, it explores themes of identity, resilience, and the human condition. The narrative weaves together diverse perspectives, creating a tapestry of experiences that challenge and inspire. Readers are drawn into a world that is both familiar and foreign, prompting reflection on personal and collective histories. A compelling read that promises to leave a lasting impact.
À l’heure où Donald Trump quitte la Maison Blanche et que les États-Unis entrent dans une nouvelle ère, America tire sa révérence avec un dernier numéro agrémenté pour l’occasion d’un poster inédit et d’une vingtaine de pages supplémentaires. Dans ce 16ème opus, retrouvez d’abord un grand entretien avec l’écrivain irlando-américain Colum McCann qui nous avait fait l’honneur de participer au premier numéro. Persuadé du rôle déterminant de la littérature, l’auteur livre ses inquiétudes nouvelles mais aussi ses espoirs face à l’inconnue de ces années post-Trump. Alors que Joe Biden vient d’être élu 46ème président, America s’interroge sur l’avenir de l’Amérique à travers des portraits de figures démocrates, un reportage sur le devenir du trumpisme ou encore un essai sur les GAFA, les autres maitres du pays. Autre temps forts de ce numéro, un conte fantastique inédit de la star de la BD Emil Ferris inspiré de la trouble période du confinement, une nouvelle de l’immense écrivain Ernest Hemingway, encore jamais publiée en France, ainsi que le parti pris de l’auteure Rachel Kushner qui imagine la conclusion minable de la relation entre le fils de Donald Trump et sa petite amie, métaphore du désamour du pays pour la défaite en hommage au film « Shame ».
"In Rachel Kushner's latest work of fiction, The Mayor of Leipzig, an unnamed artist recounts her travels from New York City to Cologne - where she contemplates German guilt and art-world grifters, and Leipzig - where she encounters live "adult entertainment" in a business hotel. The narrator gossips about everyone, including the author."--Provided by publisher
In her twenties Rachel Kushner went to Mexico in pursuit of her first love - motorbikes - to compete in the notorious and deadly race, Cabo 1000. As fellow racers died on the roadside, bikes were stolen and friends abandoned one another in the heat of the chase, she crashed at 80mph and miraculously survived; soon after, she decided to leave her controlling boyfriend and manoeuvred her way into a freer new life. The Hard Crowd is a white-knuckle ride through that life; a book about muscling your way through, finding your own path and, as she says in the hair-raising opening essay, 'completing the ride without dying'. Charged with hot-blooded humanity - with anger against the world's cruelties, and a free-wheeling passion for rare people, machines, movies, music, art and writing - it is an electrifying work about a woman's determination to reach the finish line.
From the Booker Prize-shortlisted author of The Mars Room, a wildly original first essay collection about living fast and free in a crowded worldIn her twenties Rachel Kushner went to Mexico in pursuit of her first love - motorbikes - to compete in the notorious and deadly race, Cabo 1000. As fellow racers died on the roadside, bikes were stolen and friends abandoned one another in the heat of the chase, she crashed at 80mph and miraculously survived; soon after, she decided to leave her controlling boyfriend and manoeuvred her way into a freer new life.The Hard Crowd is a white-knuckle ride through that life; a book about muscling your way through, finding your own path and, as she says in the hair-raising opening essay, 'completing the ride without dying'. Charged with hot-blooded humanity - with anger against the world's cruelties, and a free-wheeling passion for rare people, machines, movies, music, art and writing - it is an electrifying work about a woman's determination to reach the finish line.
From twice National Book Award-nominated Rachel Kushner, whose Flamethrowers garnered acclaim as one of the year's best, comes a compelling novel about a life derailed in contemporary America. Set in 2003, Romy Hall begins two consecutive life sentences at Stanville Women's Correctional Facility in California's Central Valley. Outside, she is cut off from her past, including her youth in San Francisco and her son, Jackson. Inside, she faces a harsh new reality: thousands of women striving for survival amid the bluffing, pageantry, and casual violence from both guards and inmates. Kushner captures the absurdities of institutional life with humor and precision. This stunning, unsentimental work showcases her mastery and depth, blending audacity with tragedy in a propulsive yet refined narrative. As noted in The New Yorker, her fiction is rich with diverse stories and histories, all vividly alive. Kushner is poised to be a significant voice for serious readers seeking insight and wisdom in challenging times. Critics, including Robert Stone and George Saunders, praise her ability to convey profound themes in an entertaining and mesmerizing manner, solidifying her status as a young master of the craft.
* Shortlisted for the Folio Prize 2014* *Longlisted for the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction* Reno mounts her motorcycle and sets a collision course for New York. In 1977 the city is alive with art, sensuality and danger. She falls in with a bohemian clique colonising downtown and the lines between reality and performance begin to bleed. A passionate affair with the scion of an Italian tyre empire carries Reno to Milan, where she is swept along by the radical left and drawn into a spiral of violence and betrayal. The Flamethrowers is an audacious novel that explores the perplexing allure of femininity, fakery and fear. In Reno we encounter a heroine like no other. Best Books of the Year: * Guardian * New York Times * The Times * Observer * Financial Times * New Yorker * Telegraph * Slate * Oprah * Vogue * Time * Scotsman * Evening Standard * Shortlisted for the National Book Awards 2013
The New York Times bestselling debut novel by the author of the Folio Prize shortlisted The Flamethrowers *A New York Times bestseller* *Finalist for the National Book Award in Fiction* Fidel and Ra*l Castro are in the hills, descending only to burn sugarcane plantations and recruit rebels. Rachel K is in Havana's Cabaret Tokio, entangled with a French agitator trying to escape his shameful past. Everly and K.C. are growing up in the dying days of a crumbling US colony, about to discover the cruelty and violence that have created their childhood idyll.
The year is 1977 and Reno - so called because of the place of her birth - has come to New York intent on turning her fascination with motorcycles and speed into art. Meeting up with a group of dreamers and raconteurs who submit her to a sentimental education of sorts, Reno begins an affair with an artist named Sandro Valera, the semi-estranged scion of an Italian tyre and motorcycle empire. When they visit Sandro's family home in Italy, Reno falls in with members of the radical movement that overtook Italy in 1977, and betrayal s
