Mona Acts Out
By (Author) Mischa Berlinski
Simon & Schuster Ltd
Simon & Schuster Ltd
16th July 2025
United Kingdom
General
Fiction
Street fiction / urban fiction
Humorous fiction
Satirical fiction and parodies
Contemporary lifestyle fiction
Narrative theme: Social issues
813.6
Hardback
320
Width 153mm, Height 234mm, Spine 23mm
Celebrated stage actress Mona Zahid wakes up on the morning of Thanksgiving to the clamour of guests packed into her Manhattan apartment and to a wave of dread: her in-laws are lurking on the other side of the bedroom door; she has been fighting with her husband; and in just a few weeks she will begin rehearsals to play Shakespeares Cleopatra, the most challenging role of her career. On an impulse, and pretending she needs to do some last-minute shopping, Mona leaves her family and heads out into the city to visit her estranged mentor, Milton Katz, the legendary director who has been forced out of the theatre company he founded amid accusations of sexual misconduct. Monas escape turns into an overnight adventure that brings her face-to-face with her past, with her creative power and its limitations, and ultimately, with all the people she has ever loved.
At once funny and sad and wise,Mona Acts Outis a deeply moving novel about acting and telling the truth, about how we all play roles to negotiate our lives, and how the great roles teach us how to live.
Berlinski deserves a standing ovation for this bravura performance Publishers Weekly starred review