by Rachel Cusk
First published 2024
Three painters share a cramped studio in Paris's gritty 11th arrondissement. Each harbors secret ambitions that clash with brutal intimacy. When an unexpected commission arrives—a massive public mural project—tensions erupt between their competing visions of art and identity. One painter will betray the others. One will destroy their collective work. One will vanish completely. What emerges is a razor-sharp exploration of creative rivalry, where personal mythology becomes a weapon more dangerous than any brush.
Genres: fiction, drama, art, contemporary
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: betrayal, creative-conflict, secrets
Setting: Paris
Period: 21st-Century
198 pages · Hardcover · Farrar, Straus and Giroux