Katie Kitamura's spectacular Audition, shortlisted for the 2025 Booker Prize, examines the enigmatic relationship between a middle-aged woman and a younger man, until readers "can no longer distinguish between what is real and what is not real." Kitamura (A Separation) divides her spare, Manhattan-set novel into two distinct parts that open and close in the exact same settings--a "large establishment in the financial district" and a theater stage. Both feature the same main cast: an unnamed actor; her husband, Tomas; director Anne; playwright Max; and Xavier. While the actor claims the definitive "I"-voice throughout, the linchpin is actually Xavier, as the mutability of who he is drives both narratives, with unpredictable results.
Kitamura offers a virtuoso performance of sly agility, presented in elliptical, elegant prose. "There are always two stories taking place at once, the narrative inside the play and the narrative around it," the actor observes about the theater, "and the boundary between the two is more porous than you might think." Provocatively perplexing and utterly beguiling, Audition deftly captures that playacting magic on every page. --Terry Hong