The Flamethrowers

Kushner’s Creation Lake was one of the novels which has impressed me most so far in 2026. It was with this knowledge that I embarked on her much earlier The Flamethrowers recently. The work began promisingly and the arresting image of the quasi-heroine, Reno, riding across the salt flats of Nevada immediately made me think of Sadie Smith in Creation Lake. Had we here an earlier prototype, another cool and sassy lead-female character? Critics mostly lauded The Flamethrowers for its broad canvas and bold remit. However, it was in precisely these areas that I felt the novel failed. The action jumps between New York and Italy and covers themes that interest me, particularly in Futurism and the art world more generally. I really ‘should’ have loved this work, but found the characters mostly dislikeable and feckless. The Flamethrowers reads more as a coming-of-age novel where the hopes and dreams (speed?) of Reno are dashed with the brutal reality of the world. It is messy and people are nasty. She only seems to have learned this lesson by the closure. There is no doubting Kushner’s talent and erudition. Her storytelling is superb, even if a little digressive, and I am delighted that it found its arguable apogee in a later work such as Creation Lake

By Rachel Kushner