Isabel Waidner's Novel 'As If' Explores Grief and Identity Through Role-Swapping Characters

Isabel Waidner's novel 'As If' presents a surreal narrative about two men who exchange lives in Central London. Lewis, a grieving actor mourning his wife Laurie, encounters Korine, another actor struggling with family pressures whose wife shares the same name. Their uncanny resemblance enables them to literally swap roles: Korine auditions for a part Lewis cannot face, while Lewis assumes Korine's domestic responsibilities. The story unfolds against vivid London settings including the Barbican underpass, a greasy spoon café, and the Golden Lane estate. Waidner's direct prose masks confusing viewpoint shifts while exploring themes of performance, disguise, and circumstance. Published by Hamish Hamilton in hardcover for £16.99, the work appears in the March 2026 issue of ArtReview. Though touching on artistic struggles in contemporary Britain, the novel ultimately centers on grief—for lost dreams, unrealized identities, and profound personal entanglement.