I remember what it was like to be young,single, and female in the big city and things have not changed all that much in 30 years. From the bittersweet,to the absurdly funny,to the grotesque and nightmarish aspects of Agnes's life, Rachel Cusk manages to hit the nail on the head in every case. This is somewhat of a problem , however, as the tone of the book shifts constantly and rapidly ,but not enough of a problem for the reader to abandon Agnes till we find out if she will be OK out there.