Narrator

The unnamed first person narrator is the protagonist of the novel. In both Parts 1 and 2, she is a middle-aged woman who lives in New York City, is married to a writer named Tomas, and who works as an actress. In the narrative present of Part 1, the narrator is working on a play called The Other Shore by the talented young playwright Max. In this version of reality, the narrator is convinced that Max has no idea what she [has] written, no idea of how it would work in the play, how it would bridge the two versions of the character” the narrator is playing (87). In Part 1, the narrator’s frustration extends beyond the context of her theatrical work. She is also irked by Xavier, Anne’s new assistant, who believes she is his birth mother. She is both attracted to and irritated by his sudden presence in her...