Skip to content

Top Navigation

EW.com EW.com
    • All TV
    • TV Reviews
    • TV Reunions
    • Recaps
    • What to Watch
    • Winter TV
    • Comedy
    • Crime
    • Drama
    • Family
    • Horror
    • Reality
    • Sci-fi
    • Thriller
    • All Movies
    • Movie Reviews
    • Trailers
    • Film Festivals
    • Movie Reunions
    • Movie Previews
    • All Music
    • Music Reviews
    • All What to Watch
    • What to Watch Podcast Episodes
    • TV Reviews
    • Movie Reviews
    • All BINGE
    • EW's Binge Podcast Episodes
    • Recaps
    • Survivor
    • This is Us
    • RuPaul's Drag Race
    • Stranger Things
    • The Boys
    • The Blacklist
    • The Walking Dead
    • Better Call Saul
    • All The Awardist
    • The Awardist Podcast Episodes
    • Oscars
    • Emmys
    • Golden Globes
    • SAG Awards
    • Grammys
    • Tony Awards
    • All Books
    • Book Reviews
    • Author Interviews
    • All Theater
    • Theater Reviews
  • Podcasts
  • Gaming
    • All Events
    • Comic-Con
  • Celebrity
  • Streaming

Profile Menu

Your Profile

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletter
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout
Login
Subscribe

Explore EW.com

EW.com EW.com
  • Explore

    Explore

    • The 10 best songs of 2022

      The 10 best songs of 2022

      From disco-trap to deconstructed techno to Dolly-style country, we rank our favorite tracks this year. Read More
    • The 10 best movies of 2022 (and 5 worst)

      The 10 best movies of 2022 (and 5 worst)

      Let there be Mavericks, Bollywood magic, and a Cate Blanchett maestro on the loose. Read More
    • The true story of the g-strings and murders behind Welcome to Chippendales

      The true story of the g-strings and murders behind Welcome to Chippendales

      A look back at the crazy true story of Chippendales founder Somen "Steve" Banerjee and the murder and murder-for-hire plots at the center of the Hulu series. Read More
  • TV

    TV

    See All TV
    • TV Reviews
    • TV Reunions
    • Recaps
    • What to Watch
    • Winter TV
    • Comedy
    • Crime
    • Drama
    • Family
    • Horror
    • Reality
    • Sci-fi
    • Thriller
  • Movies

    Movies

    See All Movies
    • Movie Reviews
    • Trailers
    • Film Festivals
    • Movie Reunions
    • Movie Previews
  • Music

    Music

    See All Music
    • Music Reviews
  • What to Watch

    What to Watch

    See All What to Watch
    • What to Watch Podcast Episodes
    • TV Reviews
    • Movie Reviews
  • BINGE

    BINGE

    See All BINGE
    • EW's Binge Podcast Episodes
    • Recaps
    • Survivor
    • This is Us
    • RuPaul's Drag Race
    • Stranger Things
    • The Boys
    • The Blacklist
    • The Walking Dead
    • Better Call Saul
  • The Awardist

    The Awardist

    See All The Awardist
    • The Awardist Podcast Episodes
    • Oscars
    • Emmys
    • Golden Globes
    • SAG Awards
    • Grammys
    • Tony Awards
  • Books

    Books

    See All Books
    • Book Reviews
    • Author Interviews
  • Theater

    Theater

    See All Theater
    • Theater Reviews
  • Podcasts
  • Gaming
  • Events

    Events

    See All Events
    • Comic-Con
  • Celebrity
  • Streaming

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Profile

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletter
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Home
  2. Books
  3. 8 books to read if you love The Affair

8 books to read if you love The Affair

Pick up one of these novels to fill the void left by Showtime's steamy drama.

Unknown-5
By Ruth Kinane Updated November 09, 2022 at 10:05 AM EST
Skip gallery slides
FB

1 of 9

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Books for The Affair fans

Episode 305
Credit: Phil Caruso/SHOWTIME

If the exploits of Noah (Dominic West), Helen (Maura Tierney), Alison (Ruth Wilson), and Cole (Joshua Jackson) — and Vik (Omar Metwally) and Luisa (Catalina Sandino Moreno) and Max (Josh Stamberg) and Juliette (Irène Jacob) and that publicist and probably some other adulteresses we're forgetting — get your blood pumping when watching The Affair, check out some of these reads with equally scandalous plots and conflicted characters.

1 of 9

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 9

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Nora Ephron, Heartburn

heartburn

Tackling adultery and the dissolution of a marriage with humor can't be done by just any writer. But Nora Ephron? Sure, no problem. Take a break from the heavy tone of The Affair and delve into Heartburn instead for a similar subject matter — the seven-months-pregnant narrator sees her marriage fall apart when her husband leaves her for another woman — but with a whole different approach. Plus, there's the bonus of delicious recipes in there, too, thanks to the cookbook-writing protagonist and the resounding truth that food will get you through any breakup.

2 of 9

3 of 9

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Eleanor Catton, The Rehearsal

rehearsal

Like drama? The Rehearsal is for you. Eleanor Catton's novel tells the scandalous story of a student-professor affair and the avid interest it evokes in the student's friends. Keeping infidelity a secret is never easy, but, when the relationship becomes the subject of the school play, everything is literally on display for all to see. Mixing teen angst with an affair makes for some fast page-turning, that's for sure.

3 of 9

Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

4 of 9

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Sarah Waters, The Paying Guests

paying-guests

Affairs are nothing new, kids! Back in 1922 London, cheating on your significant other was just as juicy a scandal as it is today. Set in south London, The Paying Guests is the story of Mrs. Wray, her unmarried daughter, and the lodgers that come to stay at their fancy villa when the Wrays' finances no longer allow them to afford the home. (Picture Helen's Brooklyn brownstone but in the English capital and with fewer annoying kids.) Things change drastically for the ladies when a modern young couple arrives, bringing with them passion, discord, and — ultimately — crime.

4 of 9

Advertisement

5 of 9

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

John Updike, Couples

a1mjod0sl7l

John Updike's novel Couples details the actions of 10 young married couples — just one major twist: They're in a sex cult. In the age of Fifty Shades of Grey, the sexual content in Updike's novel isn't super raunchy, but the real fascination lies in the exploration of marital dissatisfaction and the concept of infidelity as a necessary outlet.

5 of 9

6 of 9

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Zadie Smith, On Beauty

on-beauty

On Beauty chronicles the misadventures of a British/American interracial family living in Massachusetts. Zadie Smith's wit and insight is peppered throughout, making this a worthwhile read. Plus, the novel is set in a university town, there's a relationship between an older party and a teen, and there's plenty of family drama — sounds a lot like season 3 of The Affair to us.

6 of 9

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

7 of 9

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Emma Straub, The Vacationers

vacationers
Credit: Penguin

Nothing like a trip to the beach to deal with a little infidelity. Whether it's the Hamptons on The Affair, or Mallorca, Spain in The Vacationers, there's something about that sea air that brings indiscretions bubbling to the surface. Despite (or, perhaps, because of) 35 years of marriage, Jim and Franny are dealing with Jim's affair with a twentysomething intern, while also confronting the love lives of other children — their own. Sun, sand, and sex: What more could you want from a vacay read?

7 of 9

Advertisement
Advertisement

8 of 9

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Jenny Offill, Dept. of Speculation

speculation

Dept. of Speculation examines what happens when what was once a happy and functional marriage suddenly begins to unravel. The wife (who remains unnamed throughout) analyzes every aspect of the relationship in an attempt to understand where it all went wrong. It's kind of like the breakdown of Noah and Alison's short-lived marriage, but without quite so many heartbreaking obstacles and pesky murder convictions.

8 of 9

Advertisement

9 of 9

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

 Hanif Kureishi, Intimacy

intimacy

This one is pretty heavy, so if you're a fan of The Affair's realistic take on self-involved spouses, toxic marital relations, and their messy demise, Intimacy is the book for you. Husband Jay is the restless, intellectual type who finds himself torn between his love for a new paramour and his commitment to his sons — sounds just like the deplorable Noah Solloway. It's impossible not to become wrapped up in the narrator's agony as you turn the pages.

9 of 9

Advertisement
Advertisement
Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By Ruth Kinane

    Share the Gallery

    Pinterest Facebook
    Trending Videos
    Advertisement
    Skip slide summaries

    Everything in This Slideshow

    Advertisement

    View All

    1 of 9 Books for The Affair fans
    2 of 9 Nora Ephron, Heartburn
    3 of 9 Eleanor Catton, The Rehearsal
    4 of 9 Sarah Waters, The Paying Guests
    5 of 9 John Updike, Couples
    6 of 9 Zadie Smith, On Beauty
    7 of 9 Emma Straub, The Vacationers
    8 of 9 Jenny Offill, Dept. of Speculation
    9 of 9  Hanif Kureishi, Intimacy

    Share & More

    Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message
    EW.com

    Magazines & More

    Learn More

    • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
    • Advertise this link opens in a new tab
    • Content Licensing this link opens in a new tab
    • Accolades this link opens in a new tab

    Connect

    Subscribe to Our Newsletter
    Meredith© Copyright 2023 Meredith Corporation. Entertainment Weekly is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation All Rights Reserved. Entertainment Weekly may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
    © Copyright EW.com. All rights reserved. Printed from https://ew.com

    View image

    8 books to read if you love The Affair
    this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.