Audition Audiobook By Katie Kitamura cover art

Audition

A Novel

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Audition

By: Katie Kitamura
Narrated by: Traci Kato-Kiriyama
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About this listen

INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER

“A tightly wound family drama that reads like a psychological thriller."—NPR

“Bold, stark, genre-bending, Audition will haunt your dreams.”—The Boston Globe

One woman, the performance of a lifetime. Or two. An exhilarating, destabilizing Möbius strip of a novel that asks whether we ever really know the people we love.

Two people meet for lunch in a Manhattan restaurant. She’s an accomplished actress in rehearsals for an upcoming premiere. He’s attractive, troubling, young—young enough to be her son. Who is he to her, and who is she to him? In this compulsively readable, brilliantly constructed novel, two competing narratives unspool, rewriting our understanding of the roles we play every day–partner, parent, creator, muse–and the truths every performance masks, especially from those who think they know us most intimately.

Taut and hypnotic, Audition is Katie Kitamura at her virtuosic best.

©2025 Katie Kitamura (P)2025 Penguin Audio
Genre Fiction Psychological Women's Fiction
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Critic reviews

"[Kitamura's] most thrilling examination yet of the deceit inherent in human connection."—The New York Times

"[A] taut, keenly observed take on the roles we play. . . worthy of a standing ovation."—People

"A deftly crafted, slow-burn psychological thriller full of sly metafictional reflections on the nature of storytelling and identity.”—The Washington Post

What listeners say about Audition

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

An unsettling, fascinating portrait of a family.

If David Lynch ever wrote a novel, it might look something like this. Fascinating. Engaging. I’ll be thinking about it for a while.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Left up to the reader

I liked the dichotomy in the story. I thought the character development of the husband was really good. I was hoping to find out an explanation for the mother/son relationship but I understand the author not answering everything. Beautifully written. The exquisite details were very effective and not at all over the top or tiring. I listened to the book after hearing K.K.'s interview on NPR. I'm glad I caught that. Well done, Katie!!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

great book, not-so-great narrator

the reader would have been fine- albeit somewhat robotic- had she not pronounced the silent “g” at the end of every word ending in “ing”, making either a hard “g” or a “k” sound. it was distracting and pretty goll dog annoying. i could understand if it were a first-person narrative about a quirky woman who pronounces the “g” at the end of every “ing”. we’ll wait for that book. unfortunately, this was not that.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Writing and story

Mispronunciation of a name used many times over and over again. Xavier was one of the main characters.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Though-provoking and uncomfortable in a good way

Once I started, I did not want to put it down. Interesting exploration of motherhood, young, adult, childhood, and the roles that we play.

I don’t know how books audiobooks can be produced without editing attention to something like the correct pronunciation of a very important name within the story. Strange.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Bizarre

There are MUCH better listens out there. Don’t waste your time or credits on this one.

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Bizarre, reader was annoying

The story was truly bizarre and the reader made me cringe. Every “g” was pronounced “guh.” I awaited every gerund with dread.

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Missed Something

I must’ve missed something; this was a terrifically well read story, but I went back a few times to try to find where exact the “son” became family. Originally he was a friend, and seen as if he might be a young companion, as she explained that she’d never had children. Then Anne came along, there was some jealousy, and all of a sudden, he was the actual child of our protagonist. The rest of the story seemed a very good story of family dynamics, the interjection of a son’s girlfriend, and marital growth, but for all is wonderfully descriptive wording, in the end, there isn’t much here to contemplate, beyond what happens with most families.
Still, I MUST have missed something.

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1 person found this helpful