Hari Kunzru's Blue Ruin and Rachel Cusk's Parade explore the savage intellect required for artistic creation

Hari Kunzru's novel Blue Ruin presents the story of artist Jay, who disappears after burning his possessions and reappears 20 years later delivering groceries to his ex-girlfriend Alice during the pandemic in a New York State suburb. The entire narrative functions as an ekphrastic description of Jay's performance art piece, exploring his artistic journey from 1990s London art schools through YBA circles to his rejection of commercial galleries. Jay seeks to create art without the artist's trace, questioning whether intellectual or savage approaches define artistic creation. Rachel Cusk's 17th book Parade features four sections with multiple first-person narrators discussing artists referred to as 'G's, examining themes of motherhood, artistic identity, and parental neglect. Both novels investigate the relationship between violence and art, with Kunzru's protagonist using disappearance as artistic method while Cusk's characters navigate gendered expectations and emotional voids. The review by Roz Dineen identifies parallel concerns about artistic self-erasure and the necessary savagery underlying intellectual creation in both works.