Review of Creation Lake

Picture a very successful “Hit Woman."  And she is willing to take on other nefarious tasks that don't quite seem like hits.  The government, the American government, hires her to take on the most challenging of hits. 

The author Rachel Kushner does us no favors as she shows this youngish woman in her fits and starts accomplishing her work.  It seemed to me most of the time that Sadie (not her real name) was in over her head.   She also has an ailment where she sort-of passes out that you’d think would cause a hit woman to take up a different line of work, but we learn sort of after the fact that she usually succeeds.  On one occasion when she doesn’t, she was fired, but we learn along the way that only means she no longer works directly for the government answering to a boss, but subsequently, agencies in the government feel free to give her ad hoc assignments.  

So what’s all this business about Bruno, Neanderthals and very dark caves?  Bruno is a sort of philosopher who impresses Sadie, but in a passing way.  Sadie looks for him as she’s bailing out of her most recent “hit” (in quotes because the target, Paton, is killed in an accident.  Sadie’s employers pay her without question because they don’t always know how she does it).

There is a lot of very well-written, interesting but as far as I can tell after a single reading, material irrelevant to what is presumably the main narrative, not all of it even true.  For example, someone argues convincingly that the Neanderthals discovered tobacco and Sadie, believes it.  She speculates that she probably has a large amount of Neanderthal DNA accounting for her inability to quit smoking.

Someone could advance the observation that Kushner’s well-written, interesting but irrelevant (to the purported main narrative) information is more interesting than Sadie’s narrative.

I’m no doubt being unfair inasmuch as I read most of the novel underestimating Sadie.  Perhaps I would appreciate the novel more upon a second reading.

I was very impressed with Rachel Kushner’s writing style and erudite cleverness.