Rachel Cusk’s new novel attracted a lot of pre-publication publicity as soon as it was realised that, although she is never named, it is unmistakeably about Natalie Portman, a friend or former friend of Cusk’s.
There is no question about the identification. The novel definitely describes key aspects of Portman’s career, such as her debut as a child actress in Léon and her roles in Black Swan and Vox Lux, and the ubiquity of her image as the face of a major brand, Dior. Yet by never naming her, the novel assumes the right to fictionalise her, to write about her without the responsibilities that would be involved in a factual account.
