Natalie Portman and the Dissolution of Self: Inside Rachel Cusk’s Controversial ‘Life of M’

In the world of contemporary literature, few authors are as polarizing or as precise as Rachel Cusk. Known for her “glassy” prose and a relentless drive to strip away the ornaments of traditional storytelling, Cusk has spent her career dismantling the novel brick by brick. Her latest work, Life of M, takes this experiment to its extreme, sparking a heated debate that reaches far beyond the literary circle and into the spotlight of Hollywood.

The Natalie Portman Connection: Inspiration or Invention?

The most talked-about aspect of Life of M isn’t its philosophical depth, but rather its protagonist. The character ‘M’ is a world-famous actress whose life mirrors that of Natalie Portman with unsettling accuracy. From beginning her career as a child star to starring in a psychological thriller reminiscent of Black Swan, the parallels are impossible to ignore.

While reports suggest that Portman herself may be offended by the implication, Cusk’s defense is a masterclass in literary irony. In the novel’s final scene, the narrator claims that M “isn’t anyone.” This raises a fascinating question: Is M a portrait of a real person, or is she a device used to explore the emptiness of celebrity identity?

The Architecture of Absence: Cusk’s Literary Evolution

To understand Life of M, one must understand Cusk’s trajectory. She has evolved from writing traditional narratives to pioneering a form of autofiction where the boundaries between author and narrator are blurred. Her goal? Total freedom from the “trap” of character.

n
• Early Works: Traditional novels with plots and characters, often reflecting on the restrictions of motherhood and marriage.
• The Outline Trilogy: A shift toward a “recording device” style of narration, focusing on others’ monologues rather than the narrator’s own life.
• The Post-Trilogy Era: A radical move toward abstraction, where names are replaced by letters (M, L, G) and specific locations vanish.

A Bold Experiment or a Literary Failure?

In Life of M, Cusk attempts to imagine a world after selfhood. The book is split into three disparate threads—narrated by “I”, “M”, and “We”—each resisting specificity. However, this pursuit of universality often leads to a void. The critique is simple: in trying to remove the “human” element from the novel, Cusk may have removed the very thing that makes us read.

The irony lies in the descriptions. While Cusk claims to reject the material and the personal, she lingers with luxurious detail on the opulent hotel rooms and marble tables M frequents. It creates a strange tension between a philosophy of emptiness and a fascination with luxury.

Final Thoughts: Can Art Exist Without Identity?

Rachel Cusk’s latest venture is less a novel and more a piece of undergraduate art theory. By attempting to achieve a “voice of an object,” she challenges the reader to question if a story can exist without a stable identity at its center.

Whether you view Life of M as a daring avant-garde achievement or a discombobulated failure, its connection to the image of Natalie Portman serves as a reminder: even when an author tries to erase the self, the world will always look for a face to attach to the story.

For more deep dives into contemporary fiction and the intersection of celebrity and art, check out the latest reviews at The New Yorker’s Books section.