I really enjoyed Rachel Kushner's The Mars Room, so I was looking forward to Creation Lake. I was very impressed. The novel tells the story of a woman who goes undercover infiltrating radical groups in order to encourage them to perform acts that will get them arrested.

The novel takes place in France where "Sadie" has infiltrated an environmental group. The novel spends a lot of time talking about caves and early man. These aren't necessarily my passions, but Kushner truly makes it all interesting. I actually learned a lot about Neanderthals and how those early stages of man might still influence us today. It's an interesting literary novel that becomes a bit of a thriller over the final 50 pages.

Thanks to Netgalley who provided me a free e-galley of this book in return for an honest review.

I really loved this book. It reminded me at times of Sara Gran’s CLAIRE DEWITT series, which is the highest praise I can give out. This is the first Rachel Kushner novel I’ve truly loved. It’s the kind of book I look forward to rereading a year or two from now. Thank you the ARC I had a blast with this one.

"Sadie" "Smith" is an amoral Secret Agent infiltrating a commune in rural France for her shadowy political bosses. She becomes interested in their thought leader, a man who lives in a cave and has kooky but earnest and existentially profound beliefs about Neanderthals. It's essayistic about contemporary Europe, human nature, the development of political groups and communes, and it's fun to watch Sadie ruminate, analyze, and observe.

Unique and smart novel!

If I had to categorize it, I'd say it was an anthropological thriller. For fans of Eleanor Catton's BIRNAM WOOD or Norman Rush's MATING.

I wasn't even halfway through this book before I started recommending it to people to preorder. Rachel Kushner has been a darling of the literary establishment since her debut, though her actual output has been somewhat uneven. Sharp, yes, but sometimes off. CREATION LAKE brings together her best qualities: intelligence, humor, and verve. Though the novel centers on an infiltrator, it doesn't quite have the narrative tension of a thriller novel, but it doesn't need to rely on this tension to make it a compelling read, combining anthropological reflections with political intrigue. Kushner isn't necessarily writing for a mass audience, trained on the narrative pacing and cliffhangers of TV shows, but I think the book will appeal to a broad set of readers. The marketing department should be kicking itself for not putting this book out during summer vacation season. It isn't exactly a beach read in the strict sense, but it's the sort of book you want to have a reason to take with you wherever you go.

Thanks to Netgalley and Scribner for the ebook. Sadie Smith, not her real name, was working undercover for the FBI, but when a court case goes wrong, and gets too much attention, she is forced to take the blame and banished. Now Sadie has taken her talents to Europe and to the highest, though faceless, bidder. She’s currently in rural France, slowly infiltrating a commune filled with young activists. She’s playing a lot of different sides as she tries to get their upcoming demonstration to take a more violent turn. A fascinating story by one of the best novelist in America.

Engaging and immersive. A recommended purchase for collections where crime and thrillers are popular.

Another outstanding and transporting novel from Kushner. Like others in her oeuvre, it’s full of vivid information about a group/sect/area of interest transfused into fiction and led by a strong female voice. Did I feel the pace was a little slack? Yes. Nevertheless I was held and informed by the topics and the curious character at the book’s centre. Bravo.