The Affair

The Affair (2003)
By Sandy Hingston — Berkley Books
ISBN: 0425189074, Condition: Used, as sold by Crappy Old Books

If you’ve ever wanted to peer into the tangled emotional spaghetti of infidelity—but with humour, insight, and a whiff of early-2000s melodrama—then The Affair is your next deliciously guilty pleasure.

Sandy Hingston’s novel offers a romp through love, lies, and the questionable life choices people make when confronted with temptation, midlife crisis, or just a very persuasive smile. It’s clever, sharp, funny in that “oh no, this is uncomfortably real” sort of way, and filled with characters who would all benefit from a group chat, a spreadsheet of consequences, and possibly a therapist.

This particular copy, triumphantly salvaged by Crappy Old Books, arrives in Used condition, which means:

• A softly creased spine—evidence that someone before you was absolutely not prepared for the cascade of questionable decisions within.

• Edges aesthetically frayed, very much like the nerves of anyone trying to maintain a double life.

• Pages gently tanned, giving the novel a nostalgic glow, as if the drama has been slow-cooking for twenty years.

Inside, you’ll find:

• Relationships stretched to snapping point.

• Secrets kept in increasingly implausible ways.

• A cast of characters juggling romance, guilt, denial, and the faint hope that maybe nobody will notice… even though absolutely everybody will.

Expect:

• Emotional plot twists, the kind you’d normally only see in the best kind of gossip whispered over brunch.

• Modern moral confusion, set in a world just primitive enough to lack smartphones, making cheating simultaneously easier and harder.

• Sharp social observation, because Hingston knows that affairs aren’t just about sex—they’re about ego, longing, boredom, identity, and the ongoing human belief that consequences are for other people.

As for your Crappy Old Books artefact, it may also contain:

• A mysterious dog-ear on the chapter where the drama peaks;

• Faint indentations suggesting someone gripped the book with “OH NO THEY DIDN’T” energy;

• A possible, almost metaphysical residue of early-2000s fashion choices and questionable relationship advice.

Perfect for readers who:

• Enjoy novels where adults behave badly, entertainingly, and with full commitment to poor decision-making;

• Pretend they’re above this sort of drama but absolutely aren’t;

• Love the cozy, lived-in feel of a paperback that has seen some emotional chaos and survived with only cosmetic damage.

And because this is a Crappy Old Books treasure, you can enjoy all the scandal at a fraction of the emotional cost. This copy has already absorbed at least one reader’s gasps, eye-rolls, and whispered “Honestly, what did you think would happen?”

So take The Affair home. Curl up with it. Judge everyone. Judge no one. Have fun.

After all, reading about other people’s catastrophes is far safer and infinitely more satisfying than having one of your own.

Keep browsing: See more Romance books Other books by Sandy Hingston