"The opening pages of Katie Kitamura's fifth novel establish a nervy, fraught physicality. The narrator is meeting a man at a restaurant. She is anxious, hyper-vigilant."
"Xavier sits back, exhales. The narrator, with a sense of shock, recognises the movement as her own, lifted from my films, my stage performances, and copied without shame."
"In the first half, the narrator recalls with sadness her affairs, after a miscarriage. In the second, it is her husband who has strayed."
"Acutely aware of the very real trauma that attends the loosening of personhood, Audition nonetheless thrills at the freedoms made possible through collapse."
Katie Kitamura's fifth novel, Audition, presents a tense meeting between a narrator and a man named Xavier in a restaurant. The narrator experiences anxiety and hyper-vigilance, while Xavier exudes self-assurance. The narrative unfolds through small gestures and a unique prose style that reflects the narrator's inner turmoil. The story delves into themes of identity and the complexities of personal relationships, particularly in the context of loss and betrayal. The novel examines the suspension of disbelief necessary for coping with reality and the transformative power of performance.
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