“Thank you for consistently sending the best recs and emails!” “Feels like a warm hug and a good chat every time I read it.” "I tell all my friends about this newsletter. It’s like a group chat with your smartest, most stylish friends." Downtime is a cozy, bright spot for your inbox—where 137,000+ readers come for great book recs, insightful interviews, and small joys that make daily life feel a little better. Go paid to unlock:
✨ Flash sale: Get 30% off an annual subscription—just $4/month for the year. This was written and has been sitting in my drafts since April. I decided to say “f it” and hit send. Enjoy, and let me know what you think. If you’d like more in-depth book chats, please lmk! If you’re at all attuned to the literary book world, you’ve most likely stumbled upon heaps of praise for Katie Kitamura’s latest novel, Audition. I loved it so much I read it twice (and still think about it), so I wanted to share my own take. Audition begins with an unnamed narrator, an actress in her midlife. She’s meeting someone at a restaurant in New York’s Financial District, and she’s nervous. She feels ambivalent about this meeting and is ready to turn right back around, but she doesn’t.
Turns out the person she’s meeting is a young man named Xavier, a college student who is about half her age. He’s incredibly handsome, striking, and drips charisma with which he doesn’t know what to do (to the narrator’s great frustration). Oh, and he tells her that he’s her son. The novel unfurls from there. What exactly is the true relationship between this actress and this young man?
The structure of Audition leaves it up to us as the reader to decide. It’s split into two parts: In part one, the two are complete strangers, while in part two, a significant shift happens (no spoilers here, so I won’t elaborate on what exactly), and we’re left wondering what, exactly, part one was even about?! Is the narrator out of her mind? Is this a joke? Will there be a big reveal? Is any of this real? *** My short review: Overall, I really enjoyed the book. It’s a short novel, just under 200 pages, but it packs a punch. The writing style immediately draws the reader in: a stream-of-consciousness style that evokes a bit of chaos, overanalyzing, uncertainty, and above all, intimacy within a particular moment. It feels very real. What I love most about this book is that I know opinions and interpretations will vary among readers. That’s the beauty of this work! It’s one that will spark discussion. Some readers will hate the uncertainty of the book, while others, like me, will love that it keeps you guessing and encourages examining the work from all angles.
In Audition, the characters are indeed striving and trying for the sake of approval from others, whether it’s between the narrator and her husband, the narrator and Xavier, or her husband and a third party that enters their bubble (no spoilers, but I want to talk about Hannah!). As a reader, this makes for an intimate reading experience. We’re inside the unreliable narrator’s head, however frustrating it may be. I found that at one moment, I’d root for the narrator, while in other moments, I wanted to shake her just a bit. Overall, I like the fluidity of this concept of performance; that we’re always donning different masks to meet the moment as our contexts and lives change and shift. An audition implies that there’s an air of being judged; you pass the audition or you do not. There are stakes involved.¹ You fake it ‘til you make it. The tension created between characters through this insistent mental juggling and reconfiguration felt so real in Audition. I was at once appalled by the narrator’s over-self-awareness (and sometimes lack of it) and identified closely with it.
*** [Warning: There are some mild spoilers below, but I don’t think they’ll take away from the experience of reading this book.] This won’t be the case for many readers of this book, but the themes of motherhood and parenting stood out to me the most in Audition. As I’m currently in the thick of motherhood, this is no surprise. What does it mean to be a good parent to a child? How does our perception of our own parenting and nurturing differ from how others perceive it, especially our children? Is parenthood just a performance? I became curious and jotted down a few notes from past interviews about how Kitamura views the themes of Audition (including motherhood) and what she aimed to convey. What I found was deeply resonant…
I don’t have much to add to this besides: yes, yes, and YES. As I sit here and write this, I am loving my job as a writer, editor, and curator. I could get lost in this mode, this flow, this moment forever. And I feel a deep longing to run right back to daycare, pick up my daughter, and take her to the park to play. We contain so many fractured identities that it’s overwhelming. How can we make sense of all these parts? Kitamura is very interested in “passivity vs. agency”
I admit when I first read this quote, I had no idea what Kitamura meant. Of course I have agency! I do what I want! However, upon a second reading, this theme does emerge in her novel, and I see the truth in it. The narrator doesn’t do much to change her situation. She is stuck inside her head (as is the reader). She thinks her husband might be having an affair, but doesn’t say anything to him. She believes the writing of the play she’s been hired to perform in is lacking, but she doesn’t address the writer about it. She is bothered by Xavier’s presence at the theater but she never confronts him. She detests Hannah but plays along. Instead, things are always brewing, bubbling underneath. She has a role to play, and she does not want to upset the balance. Who among us hasn’t been complicit in playing a part and nodding along?
A quote I love on the power and importance of fiction and writing in These Times:
Can I get this printed on a large poster? Should we all do it? Fiction> Authoritarianism? This is one of the main reasons I read (and think everyone should read) books: to increase my empathy for others. To imagine new worlds, frightening worlds, ideal worlds, cozy worlds. Imagination, empathy, safety, connection, and problem-solving…it’s all there. I LOVE BOOKS. Protect them at all costs. I’ll end with this banger of a quote:
Work comes from the mess of life!!! Whew.
So, uh, the thesis of this entire section is, basically, to go read the full Guardian interview if you can. I also have this podcast interview with Katie Kitamura queued up to listen to next, which my friends Olivia Muenter and Becca Freeman over at the Bad on Paper Podcast just published. Have you read Audition yet? Are there any other books that have made you think recently?
📕 IN SUMMARY… Audition is a perfect book for: overthinkers, lovers of more philosophical writing, and readers who want a bit of a challenge. Other themes in Audition—if any of these intrigue you, this might be a great book to pick up:
READ this book if you…
SKIP this book if you…
PREVIOUSLY ON DOWNTIME BOOKS
1 Also, lol, this quote definitely made me think of Taylor Swift’s past interviews and sound bytes of how she looks back on herself in her twenties: someone who’s been constantly shapeshifting to reinvent herself as she figures out who she really is. You know, ~just Swiftie things~!! If you’ve been enjoying Downtime, consider becoming a paid subscriber to receive subscriber-only newsletters, join our community chat, and gain access to the 180+ posts in the archive filled with advice, recs, essays, and more. Join in the fun! Links: Shop my recs // Follow me on Instagram // Refer a friend, get free months This post may contain affiliate links, which means that if you click something and buy it, I may earn a small cut of the purchase at no cost to you.
|
srijeda, 11. lipnja 2025.
I Love a Book That Makes Me Think
Pretplati se na:
Objavi komentare (Atom)
6.23.25 | 💕 How to date with intention
And portable AC units for folks who need help keeping cool this summer ͏ ͏...
-
Also: 'Don’t think I’m touching a man anytime soon.’ Post-election, I asked where you're at when it comes to sex, desire, and your b...
-
What you eat for breakfast can affect your weight, metabolism, and energy levels differently if you're a man or woman. Here's why....
-
And nontoxic shampoos we've tried and loved ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ...
Nema komentara:
Objavi komentar