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nerdinthelibrary 's review for:
Evidence of the Affair
by Taylor Jenkins Reid
content warning: infidelity
We all know my undying love for TJR, evidenced by the fact that the three novels of hers I've read have all gotten five stars from me. Apparently even when writing a novella that barely cracks a hundred pages she still manages to get a five star out of me!
As I said, this is a novella that genuinely took me about thirty minutes to read. The entire novella is told in letters, predominantly the correspondents of a man and woman who discover that their spouses are cheating on them with each other. A very In the Mood For Love situation. And just like with In the Mood For Love, I absolutely loved this.
TJR's writing is incredible, and it especially shines here. Most of the letters we read come from Carrie and David, the two being cheated on, but we do read a few from their spouses to each other. And all four of these peoples' voices were so distinctive that even without them all being written in a different font I think I would have instantly been able to pick up on what was happening.
The concept of this novella isn't groundbreaking - the aforementioned In the Mood For Love that plays with the same concept came out almost two decades ago - but what makes this stand out from others like it is the characters and the relationships. As with most of these stories, the two who are being cheated on and begin confiding in each other form a bond that has come from the strangest of circumstances. It's a bond that isn't quite a friendship and always feels like it could be something more. And I ate it up.
There are little twists here and there that I probably should have seen coming but I was so engrossed in this that I didn't take a second to think of where the story could be going, I just let it take me. The final lines of this novella are some of the best I've ever read, and I'm so glad I finally picked this up. To anyone who needs a fantastic read, especially a short one, I would highly recommend this.
“Lying has just become so much easier than telling the truth. I don’t remember when things got so hard. But life has been a matter of keeping our heads above water for years now.”
We all know my undying love for TJR, evidenced by the fact that the three novels of hers I've read have all gotten five stars from me. Apparently even when writing a novella that barely cracks a hundred pages she still manages to get a five star out of me!
As I said, this is a novella that genuinely took me about thirty minutes to read. The entire novella is told in letters, predominantly the correspondents of a man and woman who discover that their spouses are cheating on them with each other. A very In the Mood For Love situation. And just like with In the Mood For Love, I absolutely loved this.
TJR's writing is incredible, and it especially shines here. Most of the letters we read come from Carrie and David, the two being cheated on, but we do read a few from their spouses to each other. And all four of these peoples' voices were so distinctive that even without them all being written in a different font I think I would have instantly been able to pick up on what was happening.
The concept of this novella isn't groundbreaking - the aforementioned In the Mood For Love that plays with the same concept came out almost two decades ago - but what makes this stand out from others like it is the characters and the relationships. As with most of these stories, the two who are being cheated on and begin confiding in each other form a bond that has come from the strangest of circumstances. It's a bond that isn't quite a friendship and always feels like it could be something more. And I ate it up.
There are little twists here and there that I probably should have seen coming but I was so engrossed in this that I didn't take a second to think of where the story could be going, I just let it take me. The final lines of this novella are some of the best I've ever read, and I'm so glad I finally picked this up. To anyone who needs a fantastic read, especially a short one, I would highly recommend this.