If you’re looking for a quick read that punches above its weight, The Performance Review by Adrian M. Mompoint is a very short, enjoyable, and mind-bending story. I was initially uncertain about what to expect, but I ended up enjoying it far more than I anticipated. It’s the type of story that would translate exceptionally well into a full-length novel, with plenty of room for expansion and deeper exploration of its intriguing premise, but also works as a short story.
The story follows Francis, a former theater actor forced to abandon his passion of acting due to debilitating migraines. With his savings depleted and his dreams of performing slipping away, Francis reluctantly takes a job at a mysterious place simply called “The Company,” expecting nothing more than a standard corporate office gig. But as soon as his first day, something about the workplace feels deeply off.
The employees all look the same and eat the same things. Conversations sound rehearsed. Everyone smiles creepily. What appears initially to be an ordinary corporate job gradually reveals itself to be something far stranger. As the days pass, Francis begins to realize that The Company may not be what it seems, and that everyone around him might be playing a role in something he doesn’t yet understand.
The premise itself has echoes of a forgotten Stephen King story, which makes perfect sense given that the author cites The Shining as a major influence in their author bio. It also carries strong Severance vibes, with shades of The Game in its escalating paranoia and reality-bending tension, alongside the eerie psychological unease of Black Mirror and the dread of Cube.
The book is easy to get into. Mompoint writes in a straightforward, accessible style that keeps the pages turning without demanding intellectual labor from the reader. The prose is mostly well-written with few typos or errors. That said, there are moments where the writing could be tighter. The story occasionally relies on telling rather than showing, particularly in the opening chapter, namely the rapid exposition explaining Francis’s background.
Francis works as a protagonist, even if we don’t learn an enormous amount about him due to the length and point-of-view constraints. His interiority and thought patterns feel relatable; his confusion is palpable, and his gradual unease mirrors the reader’s own growing dread. One of the highlights is watching Francis’s relationship develop with Fiona, a fellow new hire who becomes his anchor in the oppressive Company environment. Their banter is charming, their chemistry feels genuine, and when Fiona disappears you can feel Francis’s panic.
Maybe it’s inevitable with the short story format, but Fiona herself also feels somewhat hastily drawn. We don’t learn a great deal about her motivations, her art, or her inner life beyond what serves the plot. Her relationship with Francis develops quite quickly, too quickly for us to fully invest in it before the story’s third-act complications arrive. The point-of-view also becomes a bit confusing when it briefly shifts to Fiona’s perspective.
Here’s where I need to be cautious with my words: the book features a very strong twist at its conclusion that fundamentally recontextualizes everything you’ve read. Discussing it in detail would rob you of the experience, so I’ll simply say that I can imagine this ending working perfectly as an episode of Doctor Who. The clues are there throughout the book, and plenty of hints to the revelation if you’re paying attention, but Mompoint plants them with enough subtlety that most readers will experience genuine surprise.
The primary downside of The Performance Review is that the writing occasionally feels a touch amateurish. The dialogue, in particular, struggles with grammatical polish as there is not really proper paragraphing between quotations, which makes it a bit difficult to read at points. Some paragraphs are simply too long. Additionally, one can’t help but feel a more prominent antagonist figure would strengthen the story. Nonetheless, the story is so engaging and entertainingly written that it’s easy to overlook these things.
At its heart, The Performance Review is about losing yourself to survive, something that probably hits different if you’ve ever felt trapped between your dreams and paying the bills. The story plays with what’s real and what’s just an act, asking whether pretending to be someone long enough actually makes you that person. It’s the kind of story that taps into real anxieties about fitting in at work and wondering if you’re being yourself or just playing a part everyone expects.
“Someone tell me what’s going on here!” For a moment, nothing. Then all the coworkers slowly turned to him, faces eerily smiling, eyes unblinking. Francis’s stomach dropped. He lunged toward the nearest person — a man with glasses and a neat crew cut — and grabbed him by the shoulders. “Who are you people? What else is fake around here?!” The man’s smile never faltered. “Francis… everything will make sense once you take part of the family.”
What’s particularly intriguing is that even after the twist lands, the story leaves certain questions intentionally ambiguous. Without spoiling anything, it remains somewhat unclear whether Francis is subconsciously aware of the true nature of his situation, whether this is an elaborate performance piece, a social experiment, or something else entirely. This ambiguity strengthens rather than weakens the ending.
Despite its modest length and occasional rough edges, The Performance Review is well worth a read. The premise is compelling, the pacing moves briskly, and it’s not a taxing effort to get through; you can consume this in one satisfying sitting. Most importantly, that final twist is very memorable. It will stick with you, it will prompt discussion, and it will make you want to immediately revisit the story to catch all the foreshadowing you missed.
Final verdict: For fans of Borges or Kafka, this is exactly the kind of compelling, reality-warping story you’ve been craving.
You can get your copy of The Performance Review or read for free on Kindle Unlimited here!
