Reading a Katie Kitamura novel is like entering a house of mirrors: You’re not sure what’s real, what’s a reflection, and what might be glinting off the next surface. She blurs lines again with great effect in “Audition,” a tense and inscrutable story that explores the nature of performance and identity.
In the opening scene, a middle-aged actress is meeting a much younger man for lunch at a restaurant in Manhattan’s financial district. Our unnamed narrator is nervous about the encounter and how it might be perceived by those around her. She fears the other restaurant patrons might assume something scandalous, and when her husband unexpectedly walks into the restaurant, the tension ratchets up several more notches.
The young man, Xavier, says he thinks he might be the woman’s son, given up for adoption decades ago. She quickly corrects him and explains why that assumption is impossible. Or … is it? Who is Xavier, exactly, and what is his purpose? When he reappears as an assistant on the set of her play, every exchange takes on added mystery.
“There are always two stories taking place at once: the narrative inside the play and the narrative around it,” the actress/narrator says at one point. “And the boundary between the two is more porous than you might think.”
“Porous” is an apt descriptor for this novel as well, as Kitamura explores the blurred lines between reality and imagination. Everyone here seems to be auditioning for roles, both onstage and off, and the overall effect is disorienting.
I’d describe “Audition” as a slow-burn psychological thriller. It’s one of those books you can’t stop reading, even though you’re not exactly sure what’s going on. An addictive little morsel that will keep you puzzling long after the final page.
