Natalie Portman famously saw a twisted version of herself in mirrors as part of her Oscar-winning performance as a tortured ballerina in Black swan.
You might feel the same uneasy feeling if Unherd writer Valerie Stivers is to be believed, as she suggests in a July 17 column that Cusk’s next novel, life mis a thinly veiled portrait of Portman.
Although Portman seems to be a friend of Cusk’s and a fan of her novels, she may not be flattered by what she sees in the literary mirror. “Talk in New York literary circles is that Cusk’s next novel, life m“, is based on Cusk’s relationship with Portman,” Stivers revealed in her titled Unherd column A dark fictional portrait of Natalie Portman – Rachel Cusk’s new book delves into the actress’s life.
The novel, scheduled for release on August 25, 2026 and available for pre-order, centers on a famous actress, M, and a writer who is hired to chronicle her life amid the glamor of olive groves, beaches, and behind the tinted windows of limousines.
“Film star M is one of the most recognizable faces of our time. Her image is everywhere. It has been that way since she was a child. With this fame, her life has the appearance of freedom: people are bound on the spot, spaces are changed to accommodate them, time can be rearranged. M may live in the same places as real people. She may meet her friends, collect her children from school or walk her dogs as they do. But the rules of reality seem to have dissolved,” a synopsis of the film states Macmillan Publishers, which will release Cusk’s next novel for the US market, on her website.
“Now, the writer has decided to pay close attention to M’s life in the hope of understanding who she really is. It’s hard not to feel ugly next to M, and it’s hard not to feel insignificant. But what truths—about lived experience itself—might this proximity allow the writer to briefly capture?”, the summary continues.
Stivers, who like Portman lives in Paris, after sneaking a peek at a pre-publication copy, hints in her column that “Cusk’s book about you will never be interesting,” and that the Hollywood actress made up that point.
“The main biographical information for M is very similar to that of Portman. The actress’s dissatisfaction with and betrayal of the final product, as recorded in the final pages of the book, is also said to apply to life.”
Portman is certainly a fan of Cusk’s novels. In March 2021 deer A magazine column in which Portman, a best-selling author, was asked to recommend other books, Cusk reported. Regarding the books that surprised Portman, she replied: “You can learn a lot about the protagonist through the people around him: outline triple (Outline, crossingand glory) Written by Rachel Cusk.
Hollywood Reporter She has reached out to Portman’s reps for comment.