by Susan Choi
First published 2021
David and Sarah are fifteen and madly in love when they enter a prestigious drama school in the American South during the early 1980s. They dream of driver's licenses and artistic careers while studying under Professor Kingsley, a Broadway veteran whose unconventional teaching methods involve exposing and dissecting his students' emotions and vulnerabilities. Behind the scenes, a darker game of power and predation unfolds. Twelve years after graduation, Sarah reunites with former classmates and discovers a different version of events. The roles shift as hidden truths emerge and shadows lift to reveal another reality. What actually happened during those school years? Who can be trusted? Can anyone rely on their own memories? Susan Choi examines the boundaries of consent and how memory can be reshaped, questioning the trust between reader and author.
Genres: fiction, drama, literary-fiction, contemporary
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: power-dynamics, unreliable-narrator
Setting: American South
Period: 1980s, 1990s
359 pages · Paperback · Actes Sud
Content warnings: abuse