We Do What We Do in the Dark

A Novel

By: Michelle Hart

Narrated by: Barrie Kreinik

"Hart’s novel does something exceptional that few pieces of fiction have done successfully….[H]as flashes of Sally Rooney’s Conversations With Friends." – New York Times

“An unforgettable account of a forbidden romance.” – Nicole Dennis-Benn, author of Patsy

“Moving and memorable.” – Meg Wolitzer, author of The Female Persuasion

“Sensual and wise.” – Tayari Jones, author of An American Marriage

A novel about a young woman’s life-altering affair with a much older, married woman.

Mallory is a freshman in college when she meets the woman. She sees her for the first time at the university’s gym, immediately entranced by this elegant, older person, whom she later learns is married and works at the school. Before long, they begin a clandestine affair. Self-possessed, successful, brilliant, and aloof, the woman absolutely consumes Mallory, who is still reeling from her mother’s death a few months earlier. Mallory retreats from the rest of the world and into a relationship with this melancholy, elusive woman she admires so much yet who can never be fully hers, solidifying a sense of solitude that has both haunted and soothed her as long as she can remember.

Years after the affair has ended, Mallory must decide whether to stay safely in this isolation, this constructed loneliness, or to step fully into the world and confront what the woman meant to her, for better or worse. This simmering, unsettling debut novel reveals the consequences of desire and influence, portraying two women whose lives have been transformed by love, loss, and secrecy.

©2022 Michelle Hart (P)2022 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Hart has written a realistic world where women do all the talking, to each other, and rarely about the men in their lives.... Hart’s novel does something exceptional that few pieces of fiction have done successfully: She presents the older married professor as not only a complicated figure worthy of desire and suspicion, but makes her a woman too.... We Do What We Do in the Dark has flashes of Sally Rooney’s Conversations With Friends, or Halle Butler’s The New Me. Sometimes it’s erotic, sometimes it’s devastating. Maybe this is what the new erotic thriller has morphed into in literature.... [T]he writing always crackles, written by someone who clearly knows what it’s like to desire another woman in ways you just barely understand." – New York Times

s“Hart debuts with a transfixing queer coming-of-age novel about a woman’s affair with a much older professor….. Mallory’s intense interiority and self-consciousness will remind readers of Sally Rooney’s work, and Hart’s prose is delicate and piercing. This is auspicious and breathtaking.” – Publishers Weekly *STARRED review*

“Michelle Hart’s first novel is a haunting study of solitude and connection, moving and memorable.”
– Meg Wolitzer, author of The Female Persuasion and The Interestings

A bit boring

I enjoyed the dialogue but wish there was more to hold onto — not the most enticing story aside from the sexual tension with the main character and her fling

Engaging slow and easy listen

Engaging slow and easy listen. I really enjoyed the characters and flow of the story.

Somber character study

Well written story about a young woman as she experiences a first romantic relationship with an older woman. It seemed pretty clear to me that this woman, who is never named, was a rather cruel and self-absorbed person. She treated Mallory badly. This is not a plot driven book, but it has relatable, sympathetic characters - apart from the woman - and the narration is wonderful.

It was okay

Very very light read. I enjoyed the story but wish it would have taken a deeper dive into the characters and the main plot. Felt surface level. However, enjoyed a story about lesbian romance that felt just a part of the story vs. a dramatic plot line revolves around the character’s sexualities.

Intriguing read

I kept wondering how this story would end. I love a book that doesn’t allow me to indulge in the predictable. The main character was quite relatable in a truthful sort of way that resembles real life, real fears, real emotion that has been actualized in a fictional character. This book was written in such a way that feels almost autobiographical in subject matter. Great read, wish it was longer!

Beautiful

It took me a bit to become interested and invested and had a hard time connecting to the woman. But I love Mallory and wish we could have heard more of her future life. I wasn’t ready for the end.

Poignant and Moving

This story is moving and relevant to any female on earth. It’s a slow burn but I couldn’t stop listening. The character is so relatable and you just want to follow her through the rest of her life.

Disappointed

based on the glowing reviews, I felt this story would somehow be rewarding. It wasn't.

Not that interesting!

I didn’t like much about this book. The characters were not interesting, and the woman who was the attraction for the narrator was a bore.
The person who read the book was very good though.

Couldn’t finish it…

Where was this story supposed to be going ? It simply wasn’t interesting enough to finish …