*** REVIEW *** Evidence of the Affair by Taylor Jenkins Reid

 

 

 

 

The repercussions of an illicit affair unfold in this short story by bestselling author Taylor Jenkins Reid.

Dear stranger…

A desperate young woman in Southern California sits down to write a letter to a man she’s never met—a choice that will forever change both their lives.

My heart goes out to you, David. Even though I do not know you…

The correspondence between Carrie Allsop and David Mayer reveals, piece by piece, the painful details of a devastating affair between their spouses. With each commiserating scratch of the pen, they confess their fears and bare their souls. They share the bewilderment over how things went so wrong and come to wonder where to go from here.

Told entirely through the letters of two comforting strangers and those of two illicit lovers, Evidence of the Affair explores the complex nature of the heart. And ultimately, for one woman, how liberating it can be when it’s broken.

 

Evidence of the Affair is a very short book (print 88 pages: audio one hr. 19 min), but it is so powerful.  An absolute must read. 

 

Carrie Allsop finds love letters from another woman in her husband’s briefcase.  It is clear--her husband is having an affair.  The letters reveal that the other woman is also married to an unsuspecting spouse.  After some thought and anguish on how to proceed, Carrie writes to David Mayer, the other woman’s husband, to let him know what she found.  They go back and forth for several months while each spouse reads the letters they found around their houses.  Reading the letters causes hurt and pain for these two people who are deeply in love with their mates.  They learn a lot about each other, and their perspective spouses they didn’t know before the letters and the affair were discovered.  There are decisions to make, and we find that every person cheated on does not treat the revelation the same way.  However, regardless of their individual choices, there is growth, change, and a future. 

I read this book while listening to the audio. The four narrators, Julia Whelan, George Newbern, James Daniels, and Dara Rosenberg, bring the letters, pain, relief, and joy to life. A must-read or listen. Currently, the book and audio are included with Kindle Unlimited. Try it as soon as you can.

5 stars