If you find yourself looking for some reading matter with a distinctive edge not just in terms of content but also in style then you could do a hell of a lot worse than pick up a copy of Homewrecker : The Adultery Reader available through Soft Skull Press. Edited by Daphne Gottlieb this is a collection of short stories, poems and essays on the subject of infidelity. As is often the case releases from Soft Skull Press rarely take a shy approach to their subject matter and that remains the case here. The collection takes a look at a topic which society often portrays in a decidedly black and white fashion. Rather than define the characters and narrators in these pieces as morally suspect or figures of salvation this collection takes a broader viewpoint as it snapshots the lives of the other men/women. No fingers are pointed and there is a consistent sense of detachment throughout the texts which helps the individual pieces hang together as a cohesive whole.
These stories reflect on infidelity without bias, gender and sexual orientation become largely irrelevant because the issues at stakes are universal. We see lives that are realised by infidelity and the fact that time stolen for an illicit tryst can quite easily become as mundane as the relationship that an individual is trying to escape from. Some of the takes on “cheating” are wry and inventive. “Confessions Of A Dial Up Gigolo” returns to the halcyon days of the Internet and the birth of cybersex in which the narrator breaks up an unhappy relationship armed only with his imagination, a keyboard and a dial up account. Some of the more reflective stories look at the long term effects of adultery long after the affair has ended (and nobody got caught). The “nobody got hurt” mindset seemingly never applies because even if the partner remains oblivious, the adulterer is left to carry the baggage of what he or she has done alone. Of course the affairs within these pages don’t always involve “traditional” partners. One of the stories is called “Animal Husbandry” which kind of speaks for itself and another in which the other party is none other than God, and we watch while someone struggles with the guilt of juggling a relationship and a newfound enthusiasm for religion.
You might wonder if the characters within these stories aren’t glamorised or chastised for their actions then what is the point. A recurrence in the stories is the fact that all infidelity is based around lies. So if anything the true message of the book is how we as people learn to deceive each other and the various ways we cope with our actions.
Homewrecker might not be everyone’s cup of tea and you certainly don’t have to be an adulterer to get the messages within. However if you’re looking to read something that wanders just off the beaten path a little and doesn’t require your attention in a linear fashion then this could be a rewarding use of your reading time.
