Outline

Outline (2014) is a novel by Rachel Cusk. It is the first in a trilogy of semi-autobiographical works that track Faye, a novelist and a divorced mother of two children, as she tries to reclaim a new self through a new style of writing. In Outline, Faye flies to Athens, Greece, to teach a writing course, meets interesting people, is challenged by her students, and declines an unwanted sexual proposition. She explores themes of the difficulties of defining the self, the complex relationship dynamics between women and men, and how narratives are shaped. Told as 10 different conversations in which Faye is more listener than teller, Outline merges structure and subject.

Cusk is the author of over 12 works of nonfiction and fiction, including the memoirs A Life’s Work (2001) and Aftermath (2012) and the novel Second Place (2021). Cusk is known for her innovative writing style and her themes of difficult interpersonal relationships and the changing, slippery self.

This guide refers to the Faber and Faber, UK, 2014 e-book edition.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of animal cruelty and death, disordered eating, death, and mental illness.

Plot Summary

After a painful divorce, English novelist and writing teacher Faye has moved to London, England, with her two sons. Faye is offered a position teaching a week-long writing workshop in Athens, Greece. Before she leaves for the airport, she has an odd meeting with a billionaire to discuss the launch of a literary magazine. The billionaire ends up telling Faye about his life, giving her an outline of his plans. The magazine is not mentioned at all. 

On the plane to Athens, Faye strikes up a friendship with the older man sitting next to her, whom she’ll call her “neighbor” for the rest of the book. The neighbor has had an interesting life filled with ups and downs and two bitter divorces. Faye tells the neighbor that his narration of his life is biased, as it is more charitable about his first wife than his second. The neighbor admits that this may be true. He takes Faye’s number, hoping to meet her in Athens.

In Athens, Faye is put up in the immaculate apartment of Clelia, which contains artifacts that seem very close to life, blurring the boundaries between illusion and reality. Faye meets Ryan, another writer teaching in the workshop. Ryan is in his forties, is married, and has two children. He tells Faye about his Irish childhood and his move to the US to study writing. In the US, Ryan learned the concept of self-transformation and understood that he could work toward a better self. He exercised, wrote a book, and returned to Dublin to a good teaching position. However, he has been unable to write another book since, suggesting that he has changed from his days in the US. Throughout talking to Faye, Ryan looks at the beautiful waitress attending to them. He explains to Faye that he and his wife allow each other such forays. Faye finds Ryan’s view of his marriage transactional. Meanwhile, the neighbor from the plane texts Faye, inviting her for a swim off his boat.

The neighbor drives Faye to the marina where his boat is anchored. In their second meeting, Faye notes that the neighbor appears different from his previous self on the plane. The story of his life has also changed, with the neighbor telling her that he has been divorced not two but three times. Faye and the neighbor sail out, dropping anchor near a rocky outcrop. Faye notices another boat nearby, with a couple and their children. She is disturbed by the happy idyll they represent. Faye swims out to the sea, wishing that she could go on swimming forever. However, she knows that the desire for anonymity is an illusion. She returns to the boat. 

That same evening, Faye meets her old friend Panitois for dinner. They are joined by Angeliki, a famous writer who wrote a novel with feminist themes. Panitois gives Faye a photo of her with her family that he’d taken when he last met them. At the time, Panitois had considered Faye’s life perfect and his shabby in comparison. Now, he reminds Faye that the picture of her past happiness is also part of her truth.

Faye’s writing workshop begins. The first assignment she gives her students is to describe something interesting that they saw on their way to class. As they narrate their descriptions, the students, who range from teens to people in their fifties, have a freewheeling discussion about what constitutes a story. A woman called Cassandra stays quiet throughout the class, visibly getting more and more upset. When Faye asks her to contribute to the discussion, Cassandra tells Faye that she is disappointed in the writing class. She had assumed that Faye would teach her to write and use her imagination. Cassandra will be demanding a full refund. Meanwhile, Faye’s younger son calls her to say that he is lost on his way to school. Faye stays on the phone with him, guiding him to the building.

The neighbor contacts Faye during class, inviting her for another swim. Faye accepts, but matters between her and the neighbor turn sour when he confesses to Faye that the reason for his first divorce was his infidelity. He goes on to reveal that he is attracted to Faye and awkwardly attempts to embrace her. Faye feels repulsed by the neighbor but tells him politely that she has no interest in dating post her divorce. Later that night, Faye meets Ryan and her publisher friend, Elena. 

After Ryan leaves, Elena introduces Faye to the poet Melete. The women talk about their recent experiences with men. Elena chides Faye for not being upfront with the neighbor: Had she told the neighbor at the onset that she wasn’t interested in him, Faye would not have experienced today’s unpleasantness. Elena herself is always brutally frank with men. However, she admits that she hasn’t been as frank with Konstantin, the man she is currently dating, as he projects a boundary that she cannot breach. Melete suggests that Elena wants to control the fact that the relations between men and women are always fraught. She says that the truth is that there is always a flaw in this equation, which cannot be fixed by a rule or trick such as defensive frankness.

As Faye’s week in Athens draws to a close, she meets her students for a last class. They are supposed to turn in a story featuring an animal, but many do not finish the assignment. The class once again takes the form of a flowing conversation that includes the stories of some students and the observations and reminiscences of others. Faye is interrupted by a call from her loan officer. The loan officer calls Faye by her name, the first such instance in the novel. She tells Faye that her request for a loan extension has been denied. Meanwhile, Cassandra, the student who threatened to get a refund, is absent from class. One of the students has brought perfect-looking cupcakes, which Faye passes around. She takes the extra cupcake, meant for Cassandra, back to Clelia’s apartment.

On the day that Faye is supposed to leave for London, the next occupant of the apartment arrives early in the morning. This is a woman named Anne, a playwright, who will also teach the writing workshop. As Faye makes the hungry-seeming Anne coffee and offers her the cupcake, Anne tells Faye the reason for her nervous-seeming demeanor. A few months ago, Anne was nearly killed in a violent mugging. The incident traumatized Anne to the extent that she has been unable to write since and depends on teaching assignments to make a living. The trauma of the mugging followed the sadness at her divorce; thus, Anne has become a shadow of her former self. 

However, Anne has very recently achieved a minor breakthrough. On her plane to Athens, Anne struck up a conversation with her neighbor, a diplomat. As the diplomat told her stories of his life, Anne began to define herself in opposition to the man—the first sense of selfhood that Anne has experienced in a long time. Anne now asks Faye for recommendations on what to see in Athens, and Faye suggests the Agora, with its rich history of being destroyed and rebuilt. Faye agrees to take Anne sightseeing. 

The neighbor calls again, wondering if he can see Faye. Faye declines the invitation, and the neighbor tells her that he will be spending the day in “solicitude.” Faye corrects the neighbor: The right word is “solitude.” On this note, the novel concludes.