Evidence of the Affair, by Taylor Jenkins Reid – Book Review

Short stories are usually harder to execute since there’s not a ton of space to build up a character or an enthralling plot. Short stories always feel like they lack enough depth to leave a mark. But once again, Taylor Jenkins Reid took this as a challenge and wrote what is probably one of the best written romance short stories I’ve read. Evidence of the Affair is an 86-page short story told in one of the most unconventional ways of storytelling – through letters. 

Read below for the summary.

SUMMARY

Evidence Of The Affair is a short story told in a series of correspondence between two strangers, Carrie and David. The story begins when Carrie discovers a stack of love letters written by another woman stashed away in her husband’s briefcase. Carrie then decides to write to the woman’s husband, David, and the two strangers begin writing to each other sharing the pain of learning of their spouse’s infidelity.

Both Carrie and David are not yet ready to end their marriage with their respective spouses and neither of them immediately confronts their own spouse about the affair. Not wanting to discuss this with anyone else, Carrie and David slowly form a bond as they continue to write and comfort each other in their heartache.

MY THOUGHTS

I really enjoyed this story, especially the unconventional format of letter exchanges. Both the concept of the story and the format made it a more compelling read. Reading their letters felt very personal and realistic as if we’re reading someone else’s journal. The emotions and feelings from their letters felt raw.  

With the story set in the 70’s, this form of correspondence made it even more believable and authentic. And though we only get a glimpse of Carrie and David’s life, we get to know their characters well enough through their letters. For a short story, this was very well-written with a lot packed into it. Although this novella was indeed short, it totally makes up for its uniqueness.

At the end of the story, they are both just tangled in their own series of lies and betrayal. The ending was very satisfying and not something that I had predicted. Overall, this was a very enjoyable read. 

And in true TJR fashion,  there are once again some easter eggs in the book with the mention of Daisy Jones.

MY RATING