Why a Booktrail?
2000s: A story of fame, power, beauty and truth
Life of M
What you need to know before your trail
M is a film star, and one of the most recognisable faces of our time.
With such fame, her life has the appearance of freedom: people are instantly obliging, spaces are altered to accommodate her, time can be rearranged. For her, it seems, the rules of reality have melted away.
Now M has agreed to let a stranger write her biography. Their project will sprawl and expand: to the olive groves and holiday beaches where M spends her days; across hotel rooms, bourgeois facades, film sets; through endless modern cities. It is hard not to feel ugly next to M, hard not to feel insignificant. But what truths – about the very experience of living – might this proximity allow the writer to briefly capture? And what in the end will M make of their work?
Travel Guide
Europe
The novel is set in an unnamed European capital which often suggests Paris if the following is to be interpreted in the right way:
The “Big Ugly Tower”: Could this be the Eiffel Tower or the Tour Montparnasse
The river and the famous boulevards: There are many mentions of “rain-soaked boulevards,” grand old apartments and a river dividing the city – sounds like Paris!
Greece
No real place is mentioned in the book but the Med location is very reminiscent of Greece and the islands where celebs go such as Sifnos so that is on the map!
Real life inspiration
It is said that Rachel Cusk who currently lives in Paris met actress Natalie Portman who also resided in Paris at one point. Allegedly, the two are known to have crossed paths in the city’s literary and social circles. This could have been the inspiration for the story of an ordinary person living in a city compared with how a global superstar moves around the same streets and places.
BookTrail Boarding Pass: Life of M
Destination/location: Europe, Paris, Greece Author/guide: Rachel Cusk Departure Time: 2000s
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