"A frustrating, high-concept piece of writing. It was beautifully-written and I appreciate it was clever, but it was not my cup of tea.

I was unfamiliar with Kitamura’s work going into this, which was likely an error on my part. Had I known the author typically writes abstract, postmodern stories, I wouldn’t have mistook the premise for something I would enjoy.

In Audition, the narrator is an actress, currently in a play of two very different Acts, struggling to figure out how to play a transitional scene that bridges the two. In true meta fashion, the book itself also consists of two very different parts with Part 1 teasing an important scene, one we never get to see and is completely unmentioned in Part 2.

As noted above, the writing is quite beautiful, and the narrator provides us with with some interesting commentary on race in theatre, as well as on being a mother/childless. But this is one of those literary novels that forces you to ask many questions, yet the answers remain elusive after the final page.

I was contemplating giving it three stars for being quite clever, but the last fifty pages just went completely off the rails. Up until that point, I had felt I somewhat understood the novel structurally and thematically, even if I did not necessarily enjoy it, but then the narrative dissolved into what, in parts, read like random chaos.

In the end, I was left thinking that this is one of those books so abstract that I think you could say it means literally anything, "oh, this symbolises this" and "this is a metaphor for that", so very deep, but books like this exhaust and frustrate me. I don't personally think it's clever to make a mess and wait for others to see art in it.

Don't get me wrong, there are certainly readers for this book. In fact, it is every Literature student’s wet dream� abstract, subjective, meta, and rooted in the heart of western literature: theatre.

Hence why I wasn't a Lit student.

I’ll also be glad when this trend of not using speech marks is over. I don’t know which hipster made this the “literary� thing, but it’s trite at this point. Even the other book I am currently reading is the same (Old Soul)."

"Chapter 1 � What's this awkward stream of consciousness trying to imitate Joyce, just because we're in Dublin? Peter is such a caricature at this point in literature. Also this: “A purring mechanical tone tells him the call is ringing while he sits on the sofa unlacing his shoes.�

Chapter 2 � We meet Ivan and Margaret, and I’m ready to fall in love with this book—their sweet awkwardness touches me.

Chapters 3 through 17 � Repetitive droning, over-rationalizing everything that initially felt magical, with banal musings about grief and relationships. Now, I’m disliking (if not hating) every character the more I get to know them. Ivan slowly loses all the good will he earned in Chapter 2, and Peter never escapes being a walking cliché with poorly executed existential angst.

The End. Finally.
Verdict: A tedious, self-indulgent, inept novel about relationships between five very poorly written characters, with one good chapter (Chapter 2)."

"In a deliberately quiet almost hissing voice Ivan says: I actually hate you. I’ve hated you my entire life.
Without stirring, without looking around to see whether the other diners or staff are watching them, Peter just answers: I know.


hate when i dislike a book and go to read negative reviews but none of them hate it for any reason that even remotely resembles my sentiments. “It’s just people talking for four hundred pages� the fuck do you want? explosions? go watch a marvel movie.


rooney stuns with a writing that has never been this distinctive in her works before. the change in writing style between pov chapters brilliant. peter’s short, rapid fired, sometimes incoherent thoughts the best part. (of course most will hate and criticise this stylistic choice cause in the booktok age of reading experimentation is a big no-no)

but quite frankly style is the only thing i liked with this one.


the ivan/margaret chapters (and why on earth were the ivan chapters mostly from margaret’s point of view anyway? i thought this was supposed to be about the brothers?) feel like reading about a twelve year old falling in love with an adult. ivan just does not read like a 22 year old at all. making this age gap relationship more cringe and at times simply unbearable than the actually very mundane thing that it is. i guess ivan is supposed to be on some kind of autistic spectrum but i find his portrayal highly questionable.

peter’s chapters while more emotionally complex simply don’t go anywhere. his inner turmoil doesn’t really reach its climax and instead he gets an out of nowhere saccharine ending where everything gets handed to him on a silver platter and we have to pretend that he’s conflicted about that for the last five pages like yeah, woe is him.


overall, this book might have profited from a harsher editing with the ivan chapters especially being way too long and dragging on unnecessarily. somewhere between 2 and 3 stars.


- - -

usually depressive episodes hit me by surprise but i'm glad to know that i can plan one for september"