Rachel Cusk on Her Novel ‘Life of M,’ Gossip and Natalie Portman

She wanted a “vacation” from herself, so she wrote a novel about a celebrity whose life bears a striking resemblance to Natalie Portman’s. Now it’s tabloid fodder.

The buzzy novel ‘Life of M’ is a thinly veiled — and largely unflattering — portrait of the A-lister, by an acclaimed writer she has championed. The apparent betrayal has become the literary scandal of the year.

Uncanny parallels between the writer’s latest protagonist and the Oscar-winner have reignited an age-old cultural debate.

Uncanny parallels between the writer’s latest protagonist and the Oscar-winner have reignited an age-old cultural debate.

A source close to the actor tells VF that the backstory behind Rachel Cusk’s new book is little more than “a very clever marketing ploy.” From Life of M to Jonathan Safran Foer’s inbox, the Oscar winner frequently gets thrust into other people’s narratives. But why?

Rachel Cusk’s new novel is a ‘calculated form of humiliation’  The Times