The Other Profile

Maia is muddling her way through existence, using weed to numb the shame of being a 26-year-old dropout with a dead-end job and a dysfunctional relationship. When she lands a job curating content for 18-year-old influencer Gloria, she realizes there is an extreme degree of pressure behind the perceived perfection of social media. Despite this disillusionment, Maia is initially flattered when Gloria begins to echo her thoughts and emulate her writing. Eventually, Maia begins to fear that Gloria would be content to absorb her identity until nothing remains. Graziosi makes a thought-provoking debut with this unsettling story about flawed friendships and social scrutiny. Translated from Italian by Lucy Rand, some of the colloquialisms become clunky in English, but this detracts minimally from the compelling, character-driven story. Narrator Barrie Kealoha gives a sedate but striking performance of Maia’s first-person perspective. Her expressive portrayal of this grimly humorous narrative yields an absorbing listening experience.