Seduction Theory - by Emily Adrian (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

When two married professors tiptoe toward infidelity, their transgressions are brought to light in a graduate student's searing thesis project.

"This tour de force is a campus novel, a love story, a coming-of-age narrative, a satire, a performance piece, an M.F.A. exposé, a trove of literary references and a primer on writing." --The New York Times Book Review​

Simone is the star of Edwards University's creative writing department: renowned Woolf scholar, grief memoirist, and campus sex icon. Her less glamorous and ostensibly devoted husband, Ethan, is a forgotten novelist and lecturer in the same department. According to Simone and Ethan, and everyone on campus, their marriage is perfect. That is, until Ethan sleeps with the department administrative assistant, Abigail, and the couple's faith in their flawless relationship is rattled.

Simone, meanwhile, has secrets of her own. While Ethan's away for the summer, she grows inordinately close with her advisee, graduate student Roberta "Robbie" Green. In Robbie, Simone finds a new running partner, confidante, and disciple--or so she believes. Behind Simone's back, Robbie fictionalizes her mentor's marriage in a breathtakingly invasive MFA thesis. Determined to tell her version of the story, Robbie paints a revealing portrait of Simone, Ethan, Abigail, and even herself, scratching at the very surface of what may--or may not--be the truth.

Simultaneously provocative and tender, Seduction Theory exposes the intoxicating nature of power and attraction, and is a masterful demonstration of how love and betrayal can coexist.

Review Quotes

"Pin-sharp and witty, Seduction Theory also has the twists and turns of a thriller. I ripped through the last ten pages holding my breath."--Esther Walker, author of Well, This Is Awkward

"Sexy, engrossing book about the nature of attraction, ambition and loyalty."

--The New York Times Book Review

"Seduction Theory is a deliriously smart, funny, sexy, page-turner in which Emily Adrian upcycles the postmodern love triangle plot into a novel of ideas. Her wayward academics raise provocative questions about truth, desire, power, obsession, and what it really means to live a shared life. There are welcome resonances with novels such as Andrew Martin's Early Work and Christine Smallwood's The Life of the Mind, with enough Nabokov in the mix to keep you on your toes to the last page, at which point you'll likely do what I did: let out a shocked and gleeful scream."--Justin Taylor, author of Reboot

"Seduction Theory is funny, clever and beguiling: Emily Adrian has written a hugely enjoyable, satisfying campus novel that somehow also subverts and invigorates the genre."--Lisa Owens, author of Not Working

"[A] terrifically inventive matryoshka doll of a novel....It's a tender portrait of an enviable marriage balanced by a delightfully smarmy tone with laugh-out-loud passages of humor....A masterful exploration on the varieties of truth, and the stories we craft about ourselves."--Kirkus (starred review)

"A book that is actually just as fun as it sounds... A little bit postmodern, a little bit sexy, and quite funny indeed, you will feel both smarter and more indulgent than usual while you're reading it." --Lit Hub

"A ferociously clever, funny and compulsive read. Seduction Theory is an absolute gift of a novel, playing with form and expectation in the most exhilarating ways. It's by far and away my favorite book of the year - and probably next year, too."--Nathan Filer, author of The Shock of the Fall

"Adrian's clear sighted, blistering prose always leaves me out of breath, nervously laughing and turning the page, excited and a little scared by what she's going to say next. Seduction Theory nails the campus satire with savagery and grace, and it's clear that Adrian is a major talent."--Rufi Thorpe, author of Margo's Got Money Troubles

"David Lodge meets Charlotte Mendelson, with shades of Rachel Cusk, but with a style all Emily Adrian's own. This summer's smart, classy sun lounger read--you will LOVE it."--Georgina Moore, author of The Garnett Girls

"Emily Adrian's Seduction Theory is so classy, so cool and so funny. You'll pick it up and find yourself five hours later putting it down finished. It's completely insightful about midlife and marriage, and propulsive too."--Naomi Wood, author of Mrs. Hemingway

"I love novels set in the claustrophobic world of academia. From Albee and Amis to Russo and Jonas, trapping frustrated adults and barely-adults together is always a recipe for exploding characters' egos and foibles. This novel, which explores the rippling fallout from infidelity in a long-standing faculty marriage, promises to be another addition to the canon."--Nicola Kraus, author of The Nanny Diaries

"If you want your beach candy with a side of brain food, Adrian's incisively original campus drama is the perfect bite-size feast. It's juicy, yes, but also a sharp, aching interrogation of where we draw the line of betrayal and the stories we tell about our relationships and ourselves."--Oprah Daily

"So emotionally honest, clever, and sexy, I really enjoyed Seduction Theory." --Charlotte Mendelson, author of Wife

"The most fun I have had with a novel in years. Seduction Theory breathes new and mesmerizing life into the campus novel and the marriage plot to produce a book so enjoyable that reading it felt almost decadent."--Megan Nolan, author of Acts of Desperation

"With sparkling wit and striking formal ingenuity, Emily Adrian's Seduction Theory gives vibrant new life to the marriage-in-crisis novel. I was completely hooked from the first page, and couldn't sleep until I finished it."--Andrew Martin, author of Early Work

"Hotly anticipated...When one half of a perfect couple is a scholarly superstar and the other is barely remembered for a long-ago novel, things can go wrong pretty easily. Add in an affair and a roman a clef, and it's on."

--Boston Globe

"[A] dizzingly meta narrative... This clever, layered tale is well worth a read." --Bookpage

"A campus novel for our times...Sharply funny."--New York Magazine

"A sophisticated ivory tower drama... with a persuasive, entertaining voice tinged with scorn and wicked humor. [Merges] fact and fiction to craft a story that is, at its core, a breathtaking act of betrayal." --Shelf Awareness

"Adrian poses intriguing questions about the nature of betrayal, the blurry ethics of professor-student intimacy, and the right to tell another person's story."--Publishers Weekly

"In lesser hands, the story of husband and wife getting a mid-marriage itch for adventure could be banal, but Adrian (via Roberta) probes the hearts and minds of her characters in a way that reveals the combination of desire and stupidity that rests in all of our hearts."--The Chicago Tribune

"Sharply satiric...Ms. Adrian brilliantly and hilariously captures academic life--its triumphs, its discontents, its infernal peer reviews, its ghastly parties."--The Wall Street Journal

About the Author

Emily Adrian is the author of Everything Here is Under Control and The Second Season, as well as the memoir Daughterhood and two critically acclaimed novels for young adults. Her work has appeared in Granta, Joyland, The Point, EPOCH, Alta Journal, and Los Angeles Review of Books. Originally from Portland, Oregon, Adrian currently lives in New Haven, Connecticut.