Parade has perplexed reviewers and will perhaps do the same to readers — unless they understand what Cusk is after or are curious enough to find out ... When Cusk writes about the erasure of women, whether on the page, in society or in relationships, she means it (as Lawrence did) literally. It is not only spiritual or mental death but an all-encompassing end. Parade takes this idea a step further, exploring the total destruction of the female self through art ... While the last section of the book, 'The Spy,' is the weakest, Parade ultimately reveals itself to be the work of the same genius of the 'Outline' trilogy and Second Place, one of the most exacting, terrifying novelists working today. Parade is either a guide or a warning. How thrilling not to know which.
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