She goes by Sadie Smith from Priest Valley, California but that is not her real name and Priest Valley has a population of zero. She worked undercover for the government, was fired and now spies for a private agency whose personnel and whereabouts are unknown. She’s clever, a good liar and drinks a bit too much. He latest assignment is to infiltrate a commune in rural France that is against the French government’s megabasins. The government’s plan is to divert the local water supply into huge basins that will aid large agricultural corporations.

While the plot of Creation Lake doesn’t sound exciting, as told by Sadie it is. She is smart, perceptive and amoral. Creation Lake is long listed this year for The Man Booker Prize and The National Book Award, and, I believe, it’s because of Rachel Kushner’s rendering of Sadie Smith.