In Isabel Waidner's 'As If,' Aubrey Lewis, a former actor whose wife died of cancer, encounters Lindsey Korine, a stranger whose life eerily mirrors his own. Korine's wife shares Lewis's late wife's name, Laurie, and he too has a child. This unsettling doppelgänger scenario, noted by The New York Times, sets the stage for a radical identity exchange. While uncannily similar, their lives diverge crucially: Lewis's wife died, Korine's survived, as The Guardian reports. This stark contrast, rather than anchoring unique identities, paradoxically enables their swap, forcing readers to question if personal identity and societal roles are merely fluid, performative constructs.
How Does Isabel Waidner Explore Identity?
Waidner's true genius lies in the radical swap: Aubrey Lewis impersonates Lindsey Korine, who in turn becomes a surrogate husband and father to Lewis's family, as The Guardian confirms. This isn't just a plot device; it's Waidner's blunt declaration that identity isn't some intrinsic core, but a collection of performative roles. The seamless exchange implies that societal expectations—marital status, familial roles—dictate who we are far more than any unique internal self. Individuals become alarmingly interchangeable. The novel even suggests profound personal tragedies, like a wife's death versus survival, are merely transferable scripts, blurring the uniqueness of individual suffering. It's a brutal challenge to the authenticity of our deepest bonds, suggesting they are, in fact, fragile constructs.
What is Isabel Waidner's writing style?
Waidner's prose itself is a weapon. The TLS describes it as 'fidgety,' laced with 'disillusionment' and 'deadpan wit.' This isn't just stylistic flair; it's the perfect vehicle for a novel that dismantles conventional reality, making the unsettling feel utterly mundane.
What are the main themes in 'As If'?
Beyond the performative self, 'As If' delves into 'otherness,' a consistent thread in Waidner's work, as seen in 'Sterling Karat Gold,' notes The TLS. The novel isn't just playing with identity; it's a sharp critique of societal structures that pigeonhole individuals, forcing us to question every category we cling to.
Critical reception, including from The New York Times, praises Waidner for her boundary-pushing narrative. This novel appears poised to continue challenging readers' most fundamental assumptions about self and relationships long after 2026.
