LARB Book Club Discussion: “Audition” by Katie Kitamura

Join LARB staff and members in conversation about the latest Book Club pick, Katie Kitamura’s Audition! Take a front row seat to Kitamura’s exploration of power, performance, and identity. The conversation will take place on April 30, 2025, at 6 p.m. PST on Zoom. Log in to your account before registering for the discussion here.

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Audition follows an accomplished actress who crosses paths with an attractive, troubling young man. What begins as a simple encounter—an arranged lunch at a Manhattan restaurant—soon becomes an ambiguous performance of its own as she finds herself navigating the blurred boundaries between different roles both on and offstage. Through Kitamura’s signature hypnotic prose, two competing narratives unravel, redefining the dynamics of our everyday relationships and unmasking the truths hidden behind every performance.

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“A dizzyingly skilled writer whose fictions always seem to manage two contradictory effects: a supple, seductive surface, under which the chaos of minds and repressed realities roil. She’s an original, building an entire métier of her own.”
—Rachel Kushner

“Among the most brilliant and profound writers working today.”
—Garth Greenwell

“This elegant knife of a story begins at a mundane restaurant in Manhattan’s financial district … So much glints below the surface in her purring, pared-down sentences … In this searing, chilly, and psychologically profound story lies insight into some harrowing human questions.”
—Kirkus Reviews (starred)

“Kitamura’s novels are short, sharp and deadly. I’m not sure there’s anyone better writing in America today.”
—The Guardian

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Katie Kitamura is the acclaimed author of four previous novels, including Gone to the Forest, The Longshot, Intimacies, and A Separation, which was named best book of the year by over a dozen publications and has been translated into 16 languages. A master of psychological tension, Kitamura has crafted work described as “mesmerizing” and “unsettlingly brilliant.” She is a recipient of fellowships from the Lannan Foundation and Santa Maddalena Foundation, and has written for publications including The New York Times, The Guardian, Triple Canopy, and Frieze.

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LARB Friend-level members and higher receive a free copy with their membership and access to the discussion. All other members are invited to join the discussion and purchase a copy of Audition at a bookstore near you, or through our partnership with Bookshop.org. Check out the latest membership newsletter for the 10% off discount code with Bookshop.org, or email us!

If you are not a member, please upgrade or join to access member-only perks, like the LARB classic tote, a subscription to our signature print magazine, conversations with LARB editors and members, and more. Join the LARB Book Club and support the work of LARB staff and writers.

If you have questions or thoughts about the book that you want to address during the discussion, please email [email protected] before January 21, 2025.