A review by rj42
In Love by Alfred Hayes

emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

An overlooked but incredibly powerful piece of writing, In Love is a simple, concise story in which our middle-aged narrator tells a stranger the tale of his entanglement with a younger woman in the recent past. Their affair is doomed by both his jealousy and insecurity and her lack of faithfulness but the process of ending the relationship is tortuous and overwrought, as she is courted by an older, richer man. Modern readers will find plenty here alarming – set in the 1950s, the narrator is possessive and disdainful towards his partner and expresses his desire to hit her, but this is perhaps unsurprising in a period piece and needs to be seen in the context of the powerful writing and frenzied emotions. Hayes captures not just the frustrations of an affair but the wider malaise of young adults in post-war society, despite the skimpy nature of the book, with the inner narrative of the protagonist as powerful as the plot itself.