Karen Foster's Reviews > The Performance

I love this kind of book. A beautiful character study of three women, as a their lives intersect.
Three women, connected to The Arts (a philanthropist, a young drama student working as an usher, and a literature professor facing retirement) are watching the Beckett play ‘Happy Days’, as the terrible wildfires rage close the city.
As this strange performance plays out in real time, their minds wander, contemplating their hopes and anxieties, past and present traumas, their inner struggles reflecting the themes of the play, as the woman on stage literally becomes buried deeper and deeper into a mound of dirt and trash. I felt close to each of these women, felt such empathy for each of them.
The writing is intimate and lovely, the characters so real. The themes of identity, aging, trauma, fear and expectations are handled with such care. Such a fantastic read. Can’t wait to read more from this author.

(No prior knowledge of the play is required, but a quick browse of the wiki page definitely gave me a greater understanding of the way these women’s lives and the themes of the play intertwine)