Audition – A Subtle Psychological Exploration of Identity, Performance, and Reality
Written by: Katie Kitamura
Published: April 8, 2025 by Riverhead Books
Genre: Literary Fiction / Psychological Thriller
Pages: Approx. 208
Best for: Readers who enjoy thought-provoking, emotionally restrained narratives about selfhood, relationships, and how life can feel like a performance
Why this book stands out
Known for her cool, precise prose and deep psychological insight, Katie Kitamura continues her masterful exploration of identity and interpretation. With Audition, she pushes this further—creating a haunting, two-act structure that keeps you questioning what’s real and what’s performance . It’s a novel that lingers—challenging assumptions long after you close the book.
Plot summary
The story centers on an unnamed actress—a seasoned performer rehearsing a play in New York. One day, over lunch in Manhattan, she meets a young man named Xavier, who is about her age to be her adult son. He tells her he might be her child, citing similar dates and a past interview where she implied she gave up a child. The narrator is skeptical, believing she never had one. Nonetheless, Xavier begins appearing around her world—sometimes as part of her rehearsal team—blurring boundaries in unsettling ways
Halfway through the novel, the narrative flips. What seemed like a casual encounter becomes a second version of reality—Xavier actually is her son, and she did parent him. Now part of her home and marriage, their dynamic is reshaped. As the play progresses and relationships subtly shift, the choice becomes clear: life is a series of overlapping performances, and no one is quite who they seemed to be .
Key massage
Audition wrestles with the idea that all of life is staged—our roles at work, with partners, and even within ourselves are often constructed. Kitamura uses repetition and ambiguity to question how much of our identity is chosen, performed, or imagined .
Themes of memory, motherhood, marriage, and perception weave together. The middle-aged narrator confronts what it means to parent or not parent, and how roles—like “mother,” “wife,” “actor”—shape our choices and sense of reality Kitamura shows that this sometimes clinical, detached way of writing can still reveal deep emotional and existential truths.
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