Arlington Park

Set over the course of one rainy day in a London suburb, "Arlington"" Park" is a viciously funny portrait of a group of young mothers, each bound to their families, each straining for some kind of independence. As the hours pass, Rachel Cusk's graceful, incisive prose passes through the experience of each mother, following them all from the early-morning scrambling, through car trips and visits to the mall, and finally to a dinner party in the evening, when the husbands return and all the conflicts come to the surface. Penetrating and empathetic, "Arlington Park" is "a domestic adventure about the perils of modern privilege that is as smartly satirical as it is warmly wise" ("Elle").