#NataliePortman famously saw a twisted version of herself in mirrors as part of her Oscar-winning performance as a tortured ballerina in #BlackSwan.⁠ ⁠ She may experience the same queasy sensation if Unherd writer Valerie Stivers is to be believed, as she suggests in a July 17 column that Cusk's upcoming novel, 'Life of M,' is a thinly-veiled portrait of Portman.⁠ ⁠ And Portman, despite apparently being friends with Cusk and a cheerleader for her novels, may not be flattered with what she sees in the literary mirror. "Chatter in New York literary circles says that Cusk's upcoming novel, 'Life of M,' is based on Cusk's relationship with Portman," Stivers reveals in her Unherd column, entitled A Novelist's Dark Portrait of Natalie Portman — Rachel Cusk's New Book Mines the Actress's Life.⁠ ⁠ Read more at the link in bio.⁠ ⁠