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Quote by Jenny Offill

“It is easy in retrospect to see why he’d want to go. There are two women who are furious at him. To make one happy, he must take the subway across town and arrive on her doorstep. To make the other happy, he must wear for some infinitely long period of time a hair shirt woven out of her own hair.”

Book:Dept. of Speculation

Work

Dept. of Speculation

In this thought-provoking novel, the protagonist navigates the complexities of relationships and self-discovery, intertwining philosophical musings with personal anecdotes. more

Author

Jenny Offill

Jenny Offill is an American novelist born in 1968. Her works are known for their unique sense of humor and profound insights into the complexities of modern life. Her novel 'Department of Speculation' won the National Book Award in the United States in 2016. more

“It has always been my opinion," Bea said musingly, "that there can be worse kinds of infidelity than the merely sexual. I'm a simple woman with a very simple outlook on life. I've always found that things work out best if you keep to certain simple rules. Right down the line. And one of the first rules for a successful marriage is loyalty to your partner. Total loyalty.”

Infidelity Emotional Neglect

Author:Emma Darcy

“After all, she knows how painful it can be not to follow your heart and she knows about the obstacles and about loyalty and duty and about the countless kinds of love. If only Eve and Myles were freer to make the right choices, she thinks.”

Romance Passion Infidelity Literary Fiction Contemporary Fiction 1950s Cheating Spouse

Book:The Perfect Affair

Source: The Perfect Affair

“I was sixteen back then, and I was going to a party with my girlfriend and Earl. Earl was driving, and his new squeeze was in the passenger seat. I was in the back, holding hands with mine. That was such a big thing at that age, clasping the hand of someone you loved. A heady declaration, the closing of a circuit, the joining of two souls. When you get older you don't seem to do it so much. Your hands are generally busy with other things, and every relationship goes through an accelerated evolution. Everyone you meet has an apartment, and either self-confidence or a desperate lack of it: Either tends to make you rush through the hand-holding stage. Sure, you may do it later, but it's not the same. It's like eating your appetizer after your dessert. When you're a grown-up, the only time you get to trace slowly through that delicious progression is when you're having an affair, which I guess is why so many people have affairs. A trip back in time, to when everything had weight, through the medium of unfaithfulness.”

Love Infidelity

Book:One of Us

Source: One of Us

“Sadness is never bad," said Amparo. "Sadness is the mirror of being happy”