Outline
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- Create Date：2021-07-05 08:54:28
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Rachel Cusk
- ISBN：0571346766
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Summary
A woman writer goes to Athens in the height of summer to teach a writing course。 Though her own circumstances remain indistinct， she becomes the audience to a chain of narratives， as the people she meets tell her one after another the stories of their lives。
Beginning with the neighbouring passenger on the flight out and his tales of fast boats and failed marriages， the storytellers talk of their loves and ambitions and pains， their anxieties， their perceptions and daily lives。 In the stifling heat and noise of the city the sequence of voice begins to weave a complex human tapestry。 The more they talk the more elliptical their listener becomes， as she shapes and directs their accounts until certain themes begin to emerge: the experience of loss， the nature of family life， the difficulty of intimacy and the mystery of creativity itself。
Outline is a novel about writing and talking， about self-effacement and self-expression， about the desire to create and the human art of self-portraiture in which that desire finds its universal form。
Beginning with the neighbouring passenger on the flight out and his tales of fast boats and failed marriages， the storytellers talk of their loves and ambitions and pains， their anxieties， their perceptions and daily lives。 In the stifling heat and noise of the city the sequence of voice begins to weave a complex human tapestry。 The more they talk the more elliptical their listener becomes， as she shapes and directs their accounts until certain themes begin to emerge: the experience of loss， the nature of family life， the difficulty of intimacy and the mystery of creativity itself。
Outline is a novel about writing and talking， about self-effacement and self-expression， about the desire to create and the human art of self-portraiture in which that desire finds its universal form。
Reviews
Barbara Gorman
，
literary writing at its best。。。This book isn't about anything much， just the detritus of divorce， some stuff about parenting， a working trip to Athens， but that is why it's such a great book。 It makes a great deal about nothing， and ain't that the truth about what we do most of the time！ literary writing at its best。。。This book isn't about anything much， just the detritus of divorce， some stuff about parenting， a working trip to Athens， but that is why it's such a great book。 It makes a great deal about nothing， and ain't that the truth about what we do most of the time！ 。。。more
Mariana S
，
Nadie narra de la forma en que Cusk lo hace。
Bendik Bergh
，
filosofisk feriebok om moderne ekteskap og forhold。 veldig interessant， fikk lyst til å dra til Athen
David
，
OMG， I could barely get halfway through before stopping。 Aside from the insufferable “Yellow Bird”， I haven’t come across a more lauded， pretentious show off than Cusk。
Diann
，
Outline ， was a blast that you need to try for yourselves。
Jean
，
It’s unusual that I don’t finish a book but this one took too much effort （read some of the other reviewers）。 Can’t say I’ve totally given up on it but I have put it aside for now。 （As in out in the neighborhood library）
Morgan
，
This was… not for me lol
Marta Antelo
，
¿Qué ha ido mal entre este libro y yo？ La verdad es que no lo sé。 El concepto me gusta y realmente no puedo pensar en una forma de llevarlo mejor a cabo， así que no estoy segura qué es lo que ha fallado para mí。Cada capítulo es una conversación distinta。 La narradora protagonista nos transcribe sus conversaciones con otros personajes que， a su vez， también son narradores de sus vivencias， quedándonos con un doble narrador no fiable: el que cuenta la historia y la que cuenta lo que le han contado ¿Qué ha ido mal entre este libro y yo？ La verdad es que no lo sé。 El concepto me gusta y realmente no puedo pensar en una forma de llevarlo mejor a cabo， así que no estoy segura qué es lo que ha fallado para mí。Cada capítulo es una conversación distinta。 La narradora protagonista nos transcribe sus conversaciones con otros personajes que， a su vez， también son narradores de sus vivencias， quedándonos con un doble narrador no fiable: el que cuenta la historia y la que cuenta lo que le han contado。 Me ha gustado especialmente la visión que le daba la narradora a las otras historias， cómo analizaba lo que nos decían， algo que también nos decía cosas sobre ella。 Eso ha sido increíblemente interesante， pero ha provocado que no pueda conectar ni con ella ni con ninguno de los personajes que iban apareciendo。 De nuestra narradora sabemos poco， simplemente cosas que recuerda por asociación a otras: por cosas que ve， que oye， o que se encuentra。 Sé que la intención no es que nos familiaricemos completamente con la autora， la dinámica del libro no lo permite， pero sí que es algo que he echado un poco de menos。 Siento que con este libro sólo me puedo limitar a exponer el "cómo me hubiera gustado que se hicieran las cosas"， pero eso no solucionaría absolutamente nada， ya que no sería una crítica constructiva sobre la novela， su estructura o sus contenidos。 Es una novela objetivamente bien llevada a cabo y me sabe muy muy mal el no haber conectado con ella tanto como me hubiera gustado。 。。。more
Ellie Kakoulli
，
Outline is a fragmented， conversational style novel， fuelled by a collage of seemingly ordinary soliloquies， that astutely explore and observe what makes and shapes us and our lives。 Looking at other reviews， this appears to be SUCH a marmite book， and truthfully， I can see why。 The writing， though sharp， does border on the pretentious and cerebral at times and the plot， or lack of， can make the book feel meaningless given the grand scheme of things。 All that said， I’m total here for it！ Though Outline is a fragmented， conversational style novel， fuelled by a collage of seemingly ordinary soliloquies， that astutely explore and observe what makes and shapes us and our lives。 Looking at other reviews， this appears to be SUCH a marmite book， and truthfully， I can see why。 The writing， though sharp， does border on the pretentious and cerebral at times and the plot， or lack of， can make the book feel meaningless given the grand scheme of things。 All that said， I’m total here for it！ Though the biggest issue many fellow readers seem to have with Outline， is the passivity of our narrator， Faye。 Who occupies very minimal ‘physical’ space in the novel and instead， is more of an active listener rather than an active participant。 However I’d like to pose an alternative viewpoint。 Where the many interactions Faye engages in -especially with the female characters， being a far more introspective projection of her own experiences of love and loss as a woman， making it all the more intimate and intriguing。Sparse and lucid， outline is an utterly absorbing meditation on how we see， and shape ourselves in relation to both our own perceived expectations， and those inflicted on us from those around us。 4 stars https://www。instagram。com/elliekakoulli/ 。。。more
Tim Combes
，
This book performs a bit of a magic trick: nothing much happens， yet I didn't really notice or care until the book was over。Admittedly， my favorite parts of books are when a bunch of characters pontificate to each other about life， love， philosophy， relationships， etc。 Plot can be so dull sometimes。 And this book is essentially that: a series of conversations where characters pontificate to our narrator。Not much happens to the narrator， and we get her backstory in a series of interruptions: phon This book performs a bit of a magic trick: nothing much happens， yet I didn't really notice or care until the book was over。Admittedly， my favorite parts of books are when a bunch of characters pontificate to each other about life， love， philosophy， relationships， etc。 Plot can be so dull sometimes。 And this book is essentially that: a series of conversations where characters pontificate to our narrator。Not much happens to the narrator， and we get her backstory in a series of interruptions: phone calls from people in her life that drag her out of Greece and into her life， and the reader along with her。A line at the end clues us in to the purpose of this:"While he talked she began to see herself as a shape， an outline， with all the detail filled in around it while the shape itself remained blank。 Yet this shape， even while its content remained unknown， gave her for the first time since the incident a sense of who she now was。"This passage is describing a woman who was mugged and loss the sense of herself， and then found its antithesis in a person sitting next to her on a plane。Since we first meet our narrator sitting on a plane next to a man who kicks off our series of pontificaters， it's safe to assume that this story （the final story in the book） is meant to reflect our narrator， whose own incident is her divorce。 She feels unmoored by her divorce and has lost a sense of herself， and so we get her outline through the stories of those around her。 。。。more
Kassidy
，
You're immediately drawn in。 You find yourself wanting him to find peace if not happiness。 You're immediately drawn in。 You find yourself wanting him to find peace if not happiness。 。。。more
Cute。Bunny
，
Something about this story just has stuck in my mind。 Maybe it’s the writing or the exploration of characters through the main character， who plays as a more of an ‘outline’ （haha get it） of a person herself。 I think the setting and atmosphere was intoxicating and I may bump my rating up。
Carmen Marie
，
Rating: 3。5
Mikaela Wapman
，
Nuanced and psychologically rich， this whole book felt compelling， sad， and pleasurable 5/5
Hannah
，
What to say about this book？ I loved it。 It was so thought-provoking and deep while having basically no plot。 If you are looking for a super interesting story with a bunch of super deep and developed characters， this is not the book for you。 However， if you are looking for a book that will make you think and reflect on life and human nature， this is 100% the book for you。 Never before have I had the overwhelming urge to highlight and write in a book， until I read this book。 There are so many lin What to say about this book？ I loved it。 It was so thought-provoking and deep while having basically no plot。 If you are looking for a super interesting story with a bunch of super deep and developed characters， this is not the book for you。 However， if you are looking for a book that will make you think and reflect on life and human nature， this is 100% the book for you。 Never before have I had the overwhelming urge to highlight and write in a book， until I read this book。 There are so many lines that were so good that I had to stop， re-read them a few times， and read them out loud just to fully digest and reflect on them。 My copy was from the library， but I am definitely going to buy my own copy so when I inevitably re-read it， I can write all over it and annotate to my heart's content。 。。。more
Jolanta （knygupe）
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3，3*
h
，
The way it is written is stylish and beautiful。 The introduction of characters is really interesting: first words， then appearance， then interaction， but these characters are not worth being written about。 These characters are not worth being read about。I would have had more joy if her conclusions about the world， life， etc。 were published as essays。 Not going to torture myself with the rest two books， sorry。
LW
，
Vrouw registreert gesprekken van anderen waarin die zich blootgeven。 Alles staat of valt met hoe interessant haar gesprekspartners zijn。 Wel， niet alles， want doordat zij zelf weinig aan het woord is， raken we ook geïntrigeerd door haar。 Wie is deze quasi zwijgende luisteraar， is zij zo luisterbereid omdat ze nog in shock is na haar echtscheiding， is het omdat alle vertellers die ze ontmoet， monologisten zijn die nauwelijks de moeite doen om haar een vraag te stellen of interesse te veinzen？ Is Vrouw registreert gesprekken van anderen waarin die zich blootgeven。 Alles staat of valt met hoe interessant haar gesprekspartners zijn。 Wel， niet alles， want doordat zij zelf weinig aan het woord is， raken we ook geïntrigeerd door haar。 Wie is deze quasi zwijgende luisteraar， is zij zo luisterbereid omdat ze nog in shock is na haar echtscheiding， is het omdat alle vertellers die ze ontmoet， monologisten zijn die nauwelijks de moeite doen om haar een vraag te stellen of interesse te veinzen？ Is het omdat ze haar eigen inbreng in het gesprek niet weergeeft en zo een vertekend beeld neerzet？ Want nu krijg je van haar gesprekspartners toch altijd de indruk dat ze kleine egoïsten zijn， nog los van het feit dat ze zich in hun verhalen mooier voorstellen， of zich graag als slachtoffer afschilderen， geen verantwoordelijkheid dragen， willen imponeren。 En gek genoeg ga je daardoor als lezer de schrijver onsympathiek vinden。 Want je identificeert je al snel met die vertellers die zich in de plotse ruimte die hen wordt gegeven om te vertellen， vergalopperen， zonder dat ze merken dat ze heel streng worden beoordeeld。 Dit is geen safe space。 Maar Cusk weet dat ze onsympathiek kan gevonden worden， werkt dat ook in de hand。 Ze verbergt voor de lezer niet volledig wat ze vindt van al die windbuilen。 De eenvoudige set-up， vrouw luistert naar wat mensen （voornamelijk mannen） haar vertellen， creëert dus al snel een ongelooflijke leeservaring， je leest de verhalen， maar je weet dat je niet alles meekrijgt， je moet werken als lezer want dit is geen geval van onbetrouwbare verteller maar van een redacterende verteller。 Pat Barker wil de vrouwen een stem geven in The Silence of the Girls en al wat ze hen laat doen， is kwekken over de mannen。 Outline is een veel doeltreffender manier om de machtsverhoudingen bloot te leggen。 De titel zegt het al。 We krijgen maar heel indirect een beeld van wie ze is， namelijk door de ontmoetingen met anderen。 Een beetje zoals we een beeld krijgen van Woolfs overleden Jacob door de indruk die hij naliet bij anderen。 Maar Rachel Cusk is gelukkig niet dood， ze leeft en kijkt en registreert en toont。 Ze toont ons ook aan onszelf， want door onze reacties， onze indrukken van het boek en de personages， krijgen wij als lezer ook vorm。 Je wordt vanzelf feminist van dit boek。 Want in je ergernis met het hoofdpersonage dat veel te veel ruimte geeft aan de mannen in haar omgeving en hen daardoor in de val van oversharing en patserij lokt， wil je dat ze zelf meer plaats inneemt。 Je wil geen gelijke rechten omdat dit nu zo mooi klinkt， maar omdat te veel plaats innemen ten koste van de andere niet gezond is voor diegene die uitdeint。 Misschien moeten we die hele discussie rond privileges zo verkopen: het is niet dat je anderen iets gunt dat jij hebt （dat is menslievendheid en rechtvaardigheid en dus voor veel mensen geen motivatie） maar het is ongezond voor jou om te veel te hebben， een beetje als buikvet。 （dat gaat over zelfbehoud en vertrekt van egoïsme en spreekt dus die mensen aan die bang zijn om iets te verliezen）Nu ja， ik zit nog maar halfweg het boek， het kan nog kantelen， maar voorlopig is het een heel fijne leeservaring。 。。。more
Brendan Monroe
，
In my final semester of college， back in 2011， I took a listening class。 Yes， a class about listening。 Everyone I knew who had taken it raved about it， in the most emphatic terms — "The best class you'll EVER take！" "Professor Bommelje changed my life！" "I'm a better person now！" I had an elective to take so I enrolled alongside my English classes， figuring I might as well see what all the fuss was about。 The idea， of course， was simple — you'd come out of the class having improved your listenin In my final semester of college， back in 2011， I took a listening class。 Yes， a class about listening。 Everyone I knew who had taken it raved about it， in the most emphatic terms — "The best class you'll EVER take！" "Professor Bommelje changed my life！" "I'm a better person now！" I had an elective to take so I enrolled alongside my English classes， figuring I might as well see what all the fuss was about。 The idea， of course， was simple — you'd come out of the class having improved your listening skills — but the way you did this involved no small degree of BS。 You'd write papers （so many papers！） about the importance of listening。 You'd watch videos （so many videos！） of people talking about the importance of listening。 You'd do group activities where you'd talk about the importance of listening。 At the end of the 15-week term， we all told our classmates， told our professor， how going into this course we had had no idea just how important listening was but now 。。。 now we knew。 It was all a bunch of nonsense， of course。 Just another way for the college to bilk you out of thousands of dollars and leave you thanking them for it。 Because everyone already knows listening is important。 Who wouldn't take pride in being called "a great listener，" after all？ But to have a degree attesting to the fact that you're a great listener， that you had taken a listening class？ Now you were certified！ So you tell others， tell your friends， tell your relatives — "What a life-changing class！ Got problems？ I'm your guy！ I'll gladly listen。"The number of people who think they're great listeners would seem to be dwarfed only by the number of people who think everyone else would like to listen to them。Donald Trump probably thinks he's a fantastic listener。 And， like DT， the vast majority of us are deluded。Except for Rachel Cusk。When was the last time you read a book in which the protagonist， often some version of the author， barely figured in it at all？ We only learn our protagonist's name toward the end of the book， but it doesn't matter。 She's a mere "outline" who takes shape only thanks to the presence of the other voices around her。 "Outline" is divided into 10 stories。 A writer named Faye has traveled to Athens to teach a writing workshop。 In these stories an array of characters talk to Faye about their lives， and Faye just 。。。 listens， chiming in occasionally， but unlike the "My Struggle" series by Karl Ove Knausgaard （to whom Cusk has been much compared） Cusk isn't in her own head， the way Knausgaard was， she's in everyone else's。 I really enjoyed this novel， more than I expected to。 It's the opposite of the noisy， narcissistic books that pass for literature nowadays and is an enlightening， introspective look at others。 Cusk gives her own perspective， of course， but the filter works so beautifully at appearing transparent that you don't notice its artifice while scrolling through。 If a writer's job is to observe others and to make such observations compelling， then Cusk's "Outline" shines。 。。。more
Nicolas McGuire
，
Finished this at my parents' house a couple weekends ago。 My sister hadn't come along so it was just the three of us and pretty quiet。 We didn't watch TV that night and instead read， or at least I did。 My parents were on their laptops most of the time。 Also read a Goya book。 Just a brief overview。 Have read a lot about him and seen many of his paintings multiple times。 But all those times to see his paintings are shaped less by his work and more by who I was with。 There's a difference between lo Finished this at my parents' house a couple weekends ago。 My sister hadn't come along so it was just the three of us and pretty quiet。 We didn't watch TV that night and instead read， or at least I did。 My parents were on their laptops most of the time。 Also read a Goya book。 Just a brief overview。 Have read a lot about him and seen many of his paintings multiple times。 But all those times to see his paintings are shaped less by his work and more by who I was with。 There's a difference between looking at Third of May alone and looking at it while holding someone's hand。 I liked Outline， though。 Something I realized near the end because of the nature of the narrative （every chapter is a conversation but the narrator rarely speaks， and never with any keen focus on herself） was how absence can fuel our perception and how we are perceived。 You never learn much about the narrator， maybe a few details and even the big-serious ones are thrown in all lackadaisical。 But you do listen to who she talks to， who she records， who she remembers。 It is the people around us that define us， that 'outline' us， so to speak， and she emphasizes that aspect of identity constantly。 It's an interesting proposition， maybe a gimmick， but I think the book lasts the right amount。 I didn't tire of reading it。 She's definitely a writer who not only writes intelligently but makes you feel intelligent while reading。 There's a distinction， but I won't get into it。 I will say I finished it feeling unsatisfied。 Maybe that's a tactic to get me to read the other two in this trilogy。 Anyways， I might recommend this to my parents。 。。。more
Juliet
，
The narrator is so removed and all these people open up to her in such detail。 The book fits funny but is enjoyable。 Reading the trilogy as part of a course so will plow through but I'm not sure I would otherwise。 The narrator is so removed and all these people open up to her in such detail。 The book fits funny but is enjoyable。 Reading the trilogy as part of a course so will plow through but I'm not sure I would otherwise。 。。。more
Amanda ✨
，
3。7
Kristen
，
The writing was very good， characters well-developed， but the lack of plot bothered me。 Why am I reading this？
Aprylinne
，
Rachel Cusk is cool。 Her book has a cool cover， cool people read her， her takes are cool and callously detached。 She is a great observer and listener。 She comes off as incredibly rational and level headed while discussing the most personal relationships and any turbulence in them。 There is a charismatic quality in the self-aware distance to the writer which allows her to be elusive while she extracts from others。 This book is a series of character sketches told through the perspective of the wri Rachel Cusk is cool。 Her book has a cool cover， cool people read her， her takes are cool and callously detached。 She is a great observer and listener。 She comes off as incredibly rational and level headed while discussing the most personal relationships and any turbulence in them。 There is a charismatic quality in the self-aware distance to the writer which allows her to be elusive while she extracts from others。 This book is a series of character sketches told through the perspective of the writer who meets various people while she is out in Athens on a teaching job for a week。 I personally thought the book to be largely boring。 Nothing really happens in this book， just characters narrating their stories。 Although the book is， in essence， just a series of stories about post divorce mid-life crisis and failing relationships， the detached writing does make it compelling。 This book works because of the way it is written。 It especially seems to be demonstrating that telling can be just as invigorating as showing。 One of the underlying concept is that most relationships are doomed to fail and that everything about it is an illusion。 I feel that this belief is somewhat melodramatic。 The authors aims to shred that illusion of romance here， something I believe comes from an underlying bitterness。 I read that the author wrote this book in the aftermath of her divorce and the ghosts of that unresolved dejection， bitterness and cynicism can be felt。 As gripping the writing is， sometimes， it comes off as snobbish and gives the impression that the author is just bored。 。。。more
Frazer MacDiarmid
，
This was really refreshing。 I like how the narrator makes so little effort to be likeable and to justify herself。 The narrative style is so spare， but if anything this actually emphasises the unreliability of the narrator of the book， as well as how everyone narrates their own lives。 I was drawn into the stories of each of these incidental characters， knowing full well how incidental they were。 She seemed to construct such revealing portraits using only the finest of pens。 Very excited to read t This was really refreshing。 I like how the narrator makes so little effort to be likeable and to justify herself。 The narrative style is so spare， but if anything this actually emphasises the unreliability of the narrator of the book， as well as how everyone narrates their own lives。 I was drawn into the stories of each of these incidental characters， knowing full well how incidental they were。 She seemed to construct such revealing portraits using only the finest of pens。 Very excited to read the rest of the trilogy （though I think I need a little break from Cusk for the moment）。 。。。more
Maanvi
，
"What Ryan had learned from this is that your failures keep returning to you， while your successes are something you always have to convince yourself of。"I love reading books that centre a woman's interior life。 When I first read Virginia Woolf's "Mrs。 Dalloway，" it blew my mind because for the first time I'd read fiction that wasn't limited by story or plot; but by a character's inner monologue。 It's the stream of consciousness-style of writing that remains my favourite to read， and be lost in。 "What Ryan had learned from this is that your failures keep returning to you， while your successes are something you always have to convince yourself of。"I love reading books that centre a woman's interior life。 When I first read Virginia Woolf's "Mrs。 Dalloway，" it blew my mind because for the first time I'd read fiction that wasn't limited by story or plot; but by a character's inner monologue。 It's the stream of consciousness-style of writing that remains my favourite to read， and be lost in。 Rachel Cusk's Outline is like that。A woman goes to Athens to teach， and plot wise， that's pretty much it。 But it's the stories of the people she meets that reveals so much about not only her; but about who we are as humans。There were many times in the book I paused to re-read sentences， inhale its beauty， and move on。 An unsettling book， but an incredible read。 。。。more
Elena Sala
，
A writer is traveling to Athens to teach a writing workshop。 She meets a Greek man on the flight and starts a conversation with him。 OUTLINE （2014） is a book about conversations: ten conversations in ten chapters， lengthy exchanges with the neighboring flight passenger， or her students， or colleagues。 Actually， to be precise， the conversations are really condensed recollections， told in a confessional style， with almost no direct speech。 The reader is always kept at arm's length as the details o A writer is traveling to Athens to teach a writing workshop。 She meets a Greek man on the flight and starts a conversation with him。 OUTLINE （2014） is a book about conversations: ten conversations in ten chapters， lengthy exchanges with the neighboring flight passenger， or her students， or colleagues。 Actually， to be precise， the conversations are really condensed recollections， told in a confessional style， with almost no direct speech。 The reader is always kept at arm's length as the details of the narrator's life are kept somewhat vague。We know very little about her life or her family， there is a sense of mystery about her， and some trouble lurking in the background。 She listens and absorbs what the characters tell her， sometimes she makes a short comment， but otherwise she remains disengaged。 Some subjects emerge repeatedly: fraught relationships， loss， disappointments， divorce。 All the stories are compelling and effective。Cusk's prose is dense， spare and unpretentious， quite fitting because each of these stories seem to be mere outlines of a possible novel。 This is not a plot driven novel but rather， it is like a writing exercise in which the narrator self-consciously plays around with the form of the novel。 OUTLINE is the first part of a trilogy; I look forward to the rest。 。。。more
Devon
，
my friend left this out for me with the note that she thought I would enjoy itI did in fact enjoy it it was a very serene novelthough i read the entirety of it in a second floor apartment in chicago it almost makes you feel like you are in an air-conditioned house on the jersey shore not that ive been to the beach in ~9 years because i do not like sun but feels reminiscent of that i like that names were secondary for many players in the novel we love unnamed figures（although we do get the narrat my friend left this out for me with the note that she thought I would enjoy itI did in fact enjoy it it was a very serene novelthough i read the entirety of it in a second floor apartment in chicago it almost makes you feel like you are in an air-conditioned house on the jersey shore not that ive been to the beach in ~9 years because i do not like sun but feels reminiscent of that i like that names were secondary for many players in the novel we love unnamed figures（although we do get the narrator's name like 4/5's of the way through; unless it popped up earlier then partially ignore me） 。。。more
Racheli Zusiman
，
פיי טסה לאתונה ללמד קורס כתיבה。 היא מנהלת שיחה ולאחר מכן נפגשת עם האיש שישב לצידה במטוס， ובאתונה נפגשת ומנהלת שיחות עם המורה המקביל אליה בקורס， ועוד מכרים שונים。 רוב השיחות נסובות על ענייני זוגיות ומשפחה。 פיי בעצמה היא גרושה וגם אימא。 בספר יש מקום גדול להתבוננות בסביבה ובאנשים שמסביב， ופיי אף נותנת תרגיל דומה לתלמידיה。 שם הספר - קווי מתאר - מהדהד את הרעיון שאנו מציירים את קווי המתאר שלנו על פי מה שקורה סביבנו， מעין ציור הפוך כזה שבו הדמות עצמה חלולה ומה שמעצב אותה אלו הפרטים והצבעים שמסביב。 העני פיי טסה לאתונה ללמד קורס כתיבה。 היא מנהלת שיחה ולאחר מכן נפגשת עם האיש שישב לצידה במטוס， ובאתונה נפגשת ומנהלת שיחות עם המורה המקביל אליה בקורס， ועוד מכרים שונים。 רוב השיחות נסובות על ענייני זוגיות ומשפחה。 פיי בעצמה היא גרושה וגם אימא。 בספר יש מקום גדול להתבוננות בסביבה ובאנשים שמסביב， ופיי אף נותנת תרגיל דומה לתלמידיה。 שם הספר - קווי מתאר - מהדהד את הרעיון שאנו מציירים את קווי המתאר שלנו על פי מה שקורה סביבנו， מעין ציור הפוך כזה שבו הדמות עצמה חלולה ומה שמעצב אותה אלו הפרטים והצבעים שמסביב。 העניין הוא שרוב הדמויות וגם האינטראקציה עימן היו די מוזרות， הסיפורים היו מעניינים אבל לא מלהיבים， ואמנם היו כמה תובנות ומשפטים שבלטו לי， אבל אין בספר שום דבר סוחף。 נחמד אבל לא חובה。 。。。more
Carolyn DeCarlo
，
A woman flies to Greece and falls into a conversation with her seatmate。 Several hours later in the audiobook， we have learned more about her from conversations about other people than most traditionally set up novels reveal about their characters across the whole span of a narrative。 Rachel is brilliant at letting her characters absorb the flavours of each other。 Her conversations feel real， or even more vibrant than real – they feel aspirational。 This style of dialogue challenges the reader's A woman flies to Greece and falls into a conversation with her seatmate。 Several hours later in the audiobook， we have learned more about her from conversations about other people than most traditionally set up novels reveal about their characters across the whole span of a narrative。 Rachel is brilliant at letting her characters absorb the flavours of each other。 Her conversations feel real， or even more vibrant than real – they feel aspirational。 This style of dialogue challenges the reader's perception of the characters and their world。 This is similar to the way I felt while reading Olivia Laing's Crudo。 Some things washed over me; I could stand to reread Crudo， and will probably need a reread of Outline soon enough （but not before I finish the trilogy！） 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Outline
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Outline&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Outline&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0