I have mixed feelings about Kate Kitmura's Booker Prize shortlisted novel, but I also suspect that this is what the author intended. The author's talent lies in the way she sets the scene for one story, that of a middle aged woman who meets a young man in a Manhattan, and then, in each chapter, changes things over and over again. Who are these two people to each others? Lovers caught in an uncomfortable encounter? A mother and the son she gave up for adoption? A mother and the son she cast out? Two actors playing a part? A shyster and a bored middle aged couple who were sucked in? The possibilities are endless and each chapter changes things and challenges the readers perceptions. There are no clear answers.
Ultimately, I feel that the story and the relationship the characters have with one another what each individual reader will see and will want it to be. It could be easy to explain it all using one bit of evidence or another from the narrative, but I also suspect that may not necessarily be the point. To me, the question, which of the stories, or selves, that the narrator put forward is true, is far more important than a conclusive answer.
This is not a book that will appeal to every reader. I cannot say that I enjoyed it, but I suspect that it will remain a story that will linger in my mind for some time.
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