“You can be entranced by an idea…and at a certain point you can no longer see the edges of it…But at the same time, it’s important to be able to come out the other side, you have to be able to come up for air. Otherwise, you won’t survive,” (Kitamura 66).
A successful actress meets a man young enough to be her son for lunch at an elite Manhattan restaurant. Who are they to each other? What parts do they play in each others lives, if any at all?
I’d heard a lot about Audition and was intrigued by it’s vague description, but was left pretty disappointed in the end. I haven’t read anything by Kitamura before but she’s an excellent writer. I loved the voice of our protagonist and trying to piece together the strangeness that was presented at the start of the story, but after reading a few more reviews of this book it seems that Kitamura generally delves into postmodern writing which is a genre I could never really get into.
I understand what Kitamura is doing in this novel, right down to separating the book into two acts to mirror the play her protagonist is rehearsing. I thought the overall message was clever even if it took me a bit (and reading a few reviews) to help me piece together what exactly did happen in the last bit of the book, but the book was too vague for me to enjoy completely. I don’t mind a bit of vagueness, but being vague for vagueness sake just leads itself to pretention.
I’m curious about some of Kitamura’s other works but don’t plan on checking out her work right away. I’m sure there are some passionate postmodern English majors who will absolutely adore this though!
Publication: April 8 2025
Publisher: Riverhead Books
Pages: 197 pages (Hardcover)
Source: Library
Genre: Fiction, Literary, Contemporary
My Rating: ⛤⛤⛤
Summary:
Two people meet for lunch in a Manhattan restaurant. She’s an elegant and accomplished actress in rehearsals for an upcoming premiere. He’s attractive, troubling, and young—young enough to be her son. Who is he to her, and who is she to him? In Audition, two competing narratives unspool, rewriting our understanding of the roles we play every day—partner, parent, creator, muse—and the truths every performance masks, especially from those who think they know us best.
Sarah O'Connor 