Short Story Review: “Evidence of the Affair” by Taylor Jenkins Reid

In “Evidence of the Affair,” Carrie and David meet by letter.

Carrie discovers her husband is having an affair with David’s wife after finding letters between the two of them.

After exchanging several letters of their own and commiserating with one another, they decide to meet in real life and from there, their friendship grows. At the same time, we also see the letters between their spouses showing that their own affair is growing in intensity, and will probably lead to destroying their marriages.

“Evidence of the Affair” is written in epistolary form. Fittingly, the story is set in the 1970s, before cell phones emerged with scathing Facebook posts and immediate takedowns. It lends itself quite nicely to the written form, and allows Carrie and David’s friendship the time and distance to grow.

“Often, I feel overwhelmed by this sinking feeling in my heart that I will never be enough.”
”- Taylor Jenkins Reid, Evidence of the Affair

This story is available for free to Amazon Prime and Unlimited members to download to their Kindles.

The only drawback is that the font changes between letters were difficult to read on the Kindle uniformly. I had to change the font size between each letter to make it readable.

One fun thing: Taylor Jenkins Reid puts in a couple of Easter eggs for us fans. Someone stays at the Victor Hugo hotel. Another listens to Daisy Jones and the Six. It’s a nice little wink and nod.

It isn’t the most groundbreaking short story. Those accustomed to the captivating worlds created by Taylor Jenkins Reid, such as that in The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, may be disappointed in this much smaller world. But it’s still a nice way to spend some time and a lovely read.

“Evidence of the Affair”
Taylor Jenkins Reid
Published September 2018
Amazon Original Stories