We Do What We Do in the Dark, by Michelle Hart
We Do What We Do in the Dark by Michelle Hart
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I’m really torn over this one: I liked Mallory, the queer protagonist of this story, and most other characters were also interesting. For me, the major let-down is the story itself: the first part tells us about Mallory’s affair with a professor, only ever referred to melodramatically as “the woman”, from her college and the affair’s circumstances. I found that mostly… boring.
As problematic as this affair is due to power differences, conflict of interest, fairness to others, in the end it’s a “normal” affair – one partner (Mallory) silently hoping “the woman” will leave her husband (which she tells Mallory she won’t), the other hoping for non-disclosure and enjoying the hero worship by a younger person.
We then shift to Mallory’s childhood and youth during which she discovers she’s queer. This part is relatable but, again, just not all that interesting.
Finally, the story moves a few years forward and Mallory and “the woman” briefly reconnect. It’s a disappointing but also liberating experience for Mallory which is marred by the very laconic kind of storytelling: We are relentlessly told about all that happens, but it’s being told in a literary “voice” that’s not engaging at all.
Imagine being exposed to a long, emotionless monologue. This is what reading this book felt like. It touched on important topics but never managed to really do any of them justice or to make me feel their importance.
The writing was similarly challenging: It was always adequate and readable, but it never shone. There was not a single passage that felt passionate or of any kind of artistic value. Imagine a mild grey day during which nothing happens – not annoying but not inspiring either.
I still liked this novel, but I cannot award more than three stars out of five.
P.S.: Sometimes it’s both fun and confusing not to be a native English speaker:
“She even taught herself how to throw pottery.”
Initially thinking, “uh, what? I can hurl ceramics just fine without learning how!”, I looked it up.
