A middle-aged actress, preparing for a challenging part, meets a younger man who asks her a question that changes the nature of roles they each play, on-stage and off. Halfway through, this book changes its own rules, morphing into a bewildering and beautiful sleight of hand. Katie Kitamura’s sparse, intricate, and always confident prose pushes this from a simple story into something way more beguiling. Auditionexplores performance, expectation, and how hard choices can shape the story of a life. This is my favorite kind of book – one that leaves me eager to talk to other readers about its many layers.
Audition by Katie Kitamura, (List Price: $28, Riverhead Books, 9780593852323, April 2025)
Reviewed by Rachel Knox, Tombolo Books in Savannah, Florida