The Paper Lovers

Gerard Woodward Picador €16.99

A middle-aged poet stands in his hallway, embracing an empty black duffel coat belonging to his wife’s friend. Arnold Proctor is soon propelled into an obsessive, guilt-ridden affair with the duffel-wearing Vera. She, despite being a devout Christian, seems spiritually unruffled by their trysts, but Arnold’s wife Polly, her world upturned, is forced to re-evaluate every detail of her married life. The wry truths that Woodward teases from the ensuing identity crises are universal in their poignancy.

Hephzibah Anderson