What do you think?
Rate this book
Adultery
You read about these things in the newspapers, Daniel Fielding thought when Denise did not return to the car. A moment of brief pity for those whose ordinary lives are shattered by a sniper’s bullet, a burning house, a kidnapped child. He had often wondered how people moved past these tragedies.Some, he supposed, never did. From Adultery DANIEL FIELDING, a quiet, middle-aged editor at a Toronto book-publishing house, has it all. An attractive wife, a charming daughter who excels at her private school, and a desirable house in a nice neighbourhood all add up to a successful life. If his job is becoming a little tedious and his boss a little too supercilious, then so be it. But when Fielding and a pretty, very assertive young colleague travel together to the Frankfurt Book Fair, what begins as an indiscretion unexpectedly explodes into abduction and murder. Now Fielding must navigate the devastation of the lives left behind. Adultery is a subtle, powerful story of a man’s fall from grace and his search for forgiveness, even in the unlikeliest of places.
243 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2004
3 people are currently reading
317 people want to read
About the author
Richard B. Wright
26 books94 followersRichard B. Wright was a Canadian novelist.
Born in Midland, Ontario, Wright attended Trent University, from which he graduated in 1970. He was the author of 13 published novels and two children's books. Many of his older novels were republished after his novel Clara Callan won three of Canada's major literary awards in 2001: the Giller Prize; the Trillium Book Award; and the Governor General's Award.
Born in Midland, Ontario, Wright attended Trent University, from which he graduated in 1970. He was the author of 13 published novels and two children's books. Many of his older novels were republished after his novel Clara Callan won three of Canada's major literary awards in 2001: the Giller Prize; the Trillium Book Award; and the Governor General's Award.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
February 26, 2012
A great idea for a story with alot of potential, but I found it to be a disappointing read. It covered such a short period of time in excessive detail. The detail wasn't interesting enough to justify the level of detail. I guess this was the style the author was going for, however I did not find this style enjoyable at all.
February 17, 2012
I was recently at a used book store when I happened upon ‘Adultery’ by Richard B. Wright. I picked up the book, read a paragraph, and found the writing extremely compelling. In the passage I read, a husband, traveling in Europe, admit to his wife, over the phone, and across the Atlantic ocean, that he’s been unfaithful. In that one paragraph, I felt all the pain of the situation. The writing was so honest and clear.
The rest of ‘Adultery’ was as strong as that paragraph. Richard B. Wright is a great Canadian talent. ‘Adultery’ is a short novel that makes you feel, along with Daniel Fielding, the suffering that comes to all when you hurt someone. As Wright comments in his “p.s” section, “Guilt itself is not a bad thing. If we hurt someone, should we not feel guilty?”
Daniel Fielding does something very wrong. He commits adultery. Wright chooses that word because he wants to display the seriousness of the offence. In a society where affairs and break-ups are common, Wright deals with all the hurt and pain that comes from thoughtless infidelity. Who is hurt by Fielding’s actions? His wife and his daughter, primarily. But Wright ups the ante. Fielding’s ‘indiscretion’ hurts many more, when it becomes part of a journalist’s tale of violence. Denise, Fielding’s ‘friend’ in Europe, is tragically killed. That’s how the novel begins. The circle of those who are hurt by the incident increases: Denise’s mother, friends, brother, extended family etc. Fielding’s family are also drawn into the media whirlwind and all suffer. Wright tells his tale so that you feel the suffering and grief. But he also makes you weirdly enjoy the ride. I can’t explain this fact except by saying that the writing is so good that you feel compelled to go along Fielding’s journey of redemption/non-redemption and enjoy yourself!
While reading ‘Adultery’ I had a weird feeling of deja vu that I couldn’t shake. Something was familiar about this writer. But what? I was sure that I’d never read anything by Wright before. Reading the ‘p.s’, however, I discovered the cause of this deja vu feeling. Back in highschool (in the late seventies, early 80's, I had read his first novel, “The Weekend Man.” My parents had a copy of this little paperback in their home. Funny! Wright’s writing is unique enough that the style somehow stayed with me all these years! Next time I go home, I’ll look for this little old book, and give it another read. I’m definitely putting Wright on my list of novelists to read.
The rest of ‘Adultery’ was as strong as that paragraph. Richard B. Wright is a great Canadian talent. ‘Adultery’ is a short novel that makes you feel, along with Daniel Fielding, the suffering that comes to all when you hurt someone. As Wright comments in his “p.s” section, “Guilt itself is not a bad thing. If we hurt someone, should we not feel guilty?”
Daniel Fielding does something very wrong. He commits adultery. Wright chooses that word because he wants to display the seriousness of the offence. In a society where affairs and break-ups are common, Wright deals with all the hurt and pain that comes from thoughtless infidelity. Who is hurt by Fielding’s actions? His wife and his daughter, primarily. But Wright ups the ante. Fielding’s ‘indiscretion’ hurts many more, when it becomes part of a journalist’s tale of violence. Denise, Fielding’s ‘friend’ in Europe, is tragically killed. That’s how the novel begins. The circle of those who are hurt by the incident increases: Denise’s mother, friends, brother, extended family etc. Fielding’s family are also drawn into the media whirlwind and all suffer. Wright tells his tale so that you feel the suffering and grief. But he also makes you weirdly enjoy the ride. I can’t explain this fact except by saying that the writing is so good that you feel compelled to go along Fielding’s journey of redemption/non-redemption and enjoy yourself!
While reading ‘Adultery’ I had a weird feeling of deja vu that I couldn’t shake. Something was familiar about this writer. But what? I was sure that I’d never read anything by Wright before. Reading the ‘p.s’, however, I discovered the cause of this deja vu feeling. Back in highschool (in the late seventies, early 80's, I had read his first novel, “The Weekend Man.” My parents had a copy of this little paperback in their home. Funny! Wright’s writing is unique enough that the style somehow stayed with me all these years! Next time I go home, I’ll look for this little old book, and give it another read. I’m definitely putting Wright on my list of novelists to read.
January 1, 2018
'Adultery' by Richard B Wright did not work for me. A happily married middle-aged man has a casual week-long fling with a young colleague thinking that no-one will know. However, when she steps out of the car to go to the toilet, she is abducted and brutally murdered. The affair becomes headline news, and the consequences spread far and wide, as ripples on a pond when stone is flung into it. We learn how the affair and murder affect his wife and teenage daughter, his friends, boss, colleagues, the girl's mother, her brother, and her friends. The author says in a discussion at the back of the book that a casual affair such as this is commonplace and most of the time people get away with it; he wanted to explore what happens when the man is unlucky to be caught. This novel was horrible and unsettling, given that the author aligns himself with the main character and expects our sympathy. And there is no indication that the man even liked the woman; he even says in the beginning of the book that he doesn't like her and when they get together he doesn't seem that enthralled, so it was a very annoying story.
April 4, 2016
Unfortunately I think the title will scare away a good number of readers and I admit to giving a thought or two to what my fellow commuters thought the content was when I read it on my bus but I'm glad I stuck with it. Wright has a clean, easy-to-read style but it is his attention to detail that really pulls you in. I'm not sure I've ever read another author who makes fiction feel so life-like.
Yes, there is a short-lived affair and yes there is murder but don't expect this to play out like a detective story. That all gets wrapped up in short order - and just like life, it is the implications of these events that are most interesting, most heartfelt and touching.
Yes, there is a short-lived affair and yes there is murder but don't expect this to play out like a detective story. That all gets wrapped up in short order - and just like life, it is the implications of these events that are most interesting, most heartfelt and touching.
December 22, 2008
The concept of this form of sin is very well explored from a male perspective and its enduring consequences are not sugar coated. I found the whole book moved too slow, though
February 23, 2014
Unusual twist on adultery...
September 1, 2014
A week in the life of a man who�s impulsive affair in the UK goes wrong; the aftermath (it�s impact on both families) is the focus of the story.
November 5, 2022
"Adultery" is an adult book. No, there's actually little if any sex in the novel. It's adult in that, though I was well aware I was reading fiction, the story seemed real in a natural way. Dialogue and observations were all completely believable.
My one quibble would be that perhaps people were just a little too cool as in subdued in reaction to the terrible tragic incident at heart of this novel. Even our narrator keeps it together amazingly well. However, he and Denise had only been having their fling for the shortest of times before tragedy struck, so they were far from in love. At least HE was far from in love; we don't get HER point of view in this novel. She's the biggest enigma and mystery in it (well arguably sharing that rating with her killer, but he's not that important...more a catalyst for cataclysm as Wright/Dan [Writer/Character] observe several times throughout the novel. How one stranger's action can affect so many lives in such a devastating way.)
I enjoyed "Adultery" because I enjoy reading about people in emotionally difficult situations. I'm always wondering, "what is he going to do (or more often, what is he going to say) now, to get out of this particular pickle?" The juxtaposition of the trivial--a wife's hurt feelings, Dan's awkwardness, etc--with the shocking and deeply tragic event of Denise's murder makes for interesting reading.
In the end Dan comports himself admirably...in other words he comports himself admirably throughout the mess of the aftermath of the murder, but it's only by the very end we see that he did the right thing all along, even if he didn't do the right thing BEFORE the murder. So there's a certain beauty and redemption and order that completes this novel. It's really all about Dan, a middle aged book editor and husband fighting his way out of the pickle of a lifetime, and doing it with dignity after all. What great escapism, reading about someone who cannot escape a catastrophe that is way bigger than himself yet also all about himself.
My one quibble would be that perhaps people were just a little too cool as in subdued in reaction to the terrible tragic incident at heart of this novel. Even our narrator keeps it together amazingly well. However, he and Denise had only been having their fling for the shortest of times before tragedy struck, so they were far from in love. At least HE was far from in love; we don't get HER point of view in this novel. She's the biggest enigma and mystery in it (well arguably sharing that rating with her killer, but he's not that important...more a catalyst for cataclysm as Wright/Dan [Writer/Character] observe several times throughout the novel. How one stranger's action can affect so many lives in such a devastating way.)
I enjoyed "Adultery" because I enjoy reading about people in emotionally difficult situations. I'm always wondering, "what is he going to do (or more often, what is he going to say) now, to get out of this particular pickle?" The juxtaposition of the trivial--a wife's hurt feelings, Dan's awkwardness, etc--with the shocking and deeply tragic event of Denise's murder makes for interesting reading.
In the end Dan comports himself admirably...in other words he comports himself admirably throughout the mess of the aftermath of the murder, but it's only by the very end we see that he did the right thing all along, even if he didn't do the right thing BEFORE the murder. So there's a certain beauty and redemption and order that completes this novel. It's really all about Dan, a middle aged book editor and husband fighting his way out of the pickle of a lifetime, and doing it with dignity after all. What great escapism, reading about someone who cannot escape a catastrophe that is way bigger than himself yet also all about himself.
June 18, 2017
I'm puzzled. In a good way, I think. There's no doubt this is an intriguing, if somewhat understated, story. It goes down as smoothly as an expensive single malt. The characters are more than believable--poignant, trapped, exposed, hurt. All of them really. But what's puzzling is how little this work seems to be about "adultery." The offending husband's remorse (most of it unrelated to the affair) is real, and his wife (she hardly rates an encore at the end) is forced to mute her anger. It's the untimely death of the correspondent that Wright places under the microscope, that turns the offence into a media circus, that controls each character's reaction to what might otherwise have been a somewhat ordinary tale of sexual urges and social expectations. Wright steps away from "till death do us part" and drops the nuclear bomb of random homicide in everyone's lap including the reader. What still puzzles me is that a story that isn't much about right and wrong, seems to have a hard time being a story at all. Whatever it is, I enjoyed it very much.
November 6, 2019
The only reason I chose this book when I found it at a used book store was because of the author. Richard Wright was a teacher at Ridley College in St Catharines where I happen to live. He was residing there when he sadly passed away a few years ago at a too-young age.
One of the first books I'd read in my book club many years ago was Wright's 'Clara Cowan'. That book has been a number one favourite for most of us, including me and because of that, I figured Adultery would be a good read as well. It certainly was!
Many of the books I enjoy don't grab me right from the beginning and I sometimes find myself having to force myself to get through them (like Barbara Kingsolver's books), always glad I did. Adultery grabbed me right from the beginning and I found it was hard to put down.
It's not so much about adultery as it is about the ramifications of same. A murder is also thrown in to add a little omph to the story.
It's a great read and one I would recommend.
One of the first books I'd read in my book club many years ago was Wright's 'Clara Cowan'. That book has been a number one favourite for most of us, including me and because of that, I figured Adultery would be a good read as well. It certainly was!
Many of the books I enjoy don't grab me right from the beginning and I sometimes find myself having to force myself to get through them (like Barbara Kingsolver's books), always glad I did. Adultery grabbed me right from the beginning and I found it was hard to put down.
It's not so much about adultery as it is about the ramifications of same. A murder is also thrown in to add a little omph to the story.
It's a great read and one I would recommend.
April 19, 2022
Our hero, Dan, steps out for the first time into the murky world of illicit affairs. In an extraordinary event of grand "karma", his companion in the venture, Denise, is killed by a random stranger while trying to find the nearest washroom. This takes place while the two are on a trip to the Frankfurt Book Fair, and on a side trip to London, UK, and from there to Devon. Having been to the UK and particularly to Devon, I can picture the locale. Due to the unusual circumstances, he is forced to run ahead of the media to inform his wife and daughter in Toronto.
I think I'll leave it there for other readers to pick up the book and make their own assessment.
I am struck by the notion that several serial philanderers in Dan's circle embrace their lifestyle for years in a chronic and quiet fashion, while his transgression goes nuclear in comparison.
And your point is, Mr. Wright?
Highly recommended
I think I'll leave it there for other readers to pick up the book and make their own assessment.
I am struck by the notion that several serial philanderers in Dan's circle embrace their lifestyle for years in a chronic and quiet fashion, while his transgression goes nuclear in comparison.
And your point is, Mr. Wright?
Highly recommended
December 18, 2018
This was a story about consequences of our actions and the ripple effect that ruptures the lives of so many others, all because we do not stop and press the pause button before we choose a certain path. At first, I was inclined to think, as I was reading, this is not exciting. Where is the action, where is the drama? But as I continued to read and absorb within these sober pages, the real depth of human futility and sadness when faced with the end result of one's choices, the reality begins to sink in and I was left with only a vague hope that the healing can begin at last. This is a real life drama and although I felt the bleakness of Dan's life after adultery I was also heartened by his honesty to face whatever he had created. A beautifully written story. Recommended.
August 28, 2019
I didn’t love this book—though I didn’t hate it—and am wondering why not. A generally decent man decides to have a secret affair on a business trip, but because the woman ends up being murdered his secret is exposed. Sounds exciting, but wasn’t really. After muddling through the aftermath in his reasonably decent way, it appears that his life will continue on. It seems as if Richard Wright wondered, as did his character Fielding, what happens to someone who’s momentary bad judgement is exposed to the limelight suddenly. His less than thrilling answer is that things mostly settle back to the way they were. But despite the lack of “excitement”, that wasn’t the reason I didn’t love it. I think it was more that somehow I didn’t care much about any of the characters.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 28, 2023
I don’t understand the point of this one. In the end, nothing really happened. Started off strong, but after the inciting incident I quickly lost interest when it became apparent that the rest of the book was going to be a slow mo recounting of the event to everyone and their dog. I also found it hard to get past what I found to be the unrealistic reactions of the main character’s wife and daughter. The cringey dialogue was too much. This one is going right back to the free book bin where I got it from.
March 5, 2018
The central characters in this novel were intriguing in that (in the present tense) they were in their 80s. Most unusual. A lonely widower reconnects with a woman he loved as a 14-year-old on holiday. She is much coarser than he; her life's path full of hardships and much more sex. But, reconnecting with her gives him a new lease on life. The book held my interest almost to the end. I kept waiting for something big to happen. It never really did.
April 17, 2020
Nope. Boring. I read the first 20%, then I started to skim then gave up about 50% in. I usually like a bit of detail and back story to round out my characters but this was just waffle. I felt like the extra bits were not relevant to the story or to building up the characters personality. Just not my cup of tea at all.
July 5, 2018
I don't know if I've read any of Wright's books before, but I enjoyed his style and the fact that this book took place in Toronto and area.
The title of the book tells what it is all about.
It's a pretty fast read and easy going.
The title of the book tells what it is all about.
It's a pretty fast read and easy going.
November 4, 2019
Richard Wright is one of my favourite Canadian authors, so I was excited to come across this title. His description of characters, places and events doesn’t disappoint and here he shows how a short-lived affair affects several families.
February 26, 2018
Read: Feb 2018.
A sensitive and perceptive book about chance tragedy, guilt, and forgiveness.
A sensitive and perceptive book about chance tragedy, guilt, and forgiveness.
January 17, 2020
It was a compelling story with great potential.
April 23, 2020
A great start to the story, enough to keep me hooked and to continue to read it. Towards the middle, it did get a bit slower, and I was hoping that it would pick up a bit. Overall, not too shabby!
July 17, 2020
2.5⭐️. My thoughts: meh 🤷🏼♀️. Won’t be one I’m thinking about in a years time. Or even a days time...
February 25, 2021
A sophisticated, quiet novel, realistic and well-written.
October 19, 2021
A good book that started out with great pace but then slowed down. 3.5 stars.
January 9, 2022
Perhaps I missed the point of the book? 🤷🏿🤷♀️🤷🏽♂️
March 29, 2022
It was good, but like all the books I've read lately, everyone's perspective is shown and so it feels like you are reading the same thing over and over...and you are
November 26, 2025
Not a bad read. Touches on infidelity/adultery and in this case with deadly consequences. I would recommend it.
August 15, 2017
The third part of this book had me completely bored. Actually, I was never really taken with. However it was well written
November 30, 2009
“Adultery” is a new-style book that worth to read carefully, it was written by a famous author whose name is Richard. B. Wright, he has several brilliant books have done before begins to write “Adultery”, for example: “Clara Callan”, “The age of longing”, “Tourists”. All the books written by him are fantastically attractive, both for the elders and the adolescences, especially “Adultery”. “Adultery” can be called a new-style fiction which has less breathtaking development of the event and main story, but focus on the development of the character relationships and the conflicts inwardly after committing a tremendous fault that causes a young girl dead. Even though it wastes the basic frame of a novel, the special style that filled with personality can excited the readers; Richard analyzes the protagonist Daniel deeply and shows all the inward activity of Daniel after making a mistake. This is the principal aspect that I admire and respect, because there’s no doubt that humans’ thought is the most variable stuff in this world and sometimes the words has no adequate power to describe the inward activities specifically and accurately, that’s why some readers dislike and insult “Adultery” a lot, for example, in the p242 of “Adultery”, it says: “I got punched in the face, I was careless. I knew it was coming. I just didn’t see it.” Frankly, Ray deliberately takes a punch in Daniel’s face, but Daniel prefers to find an excuse to forgive Ray, rather than to blames him badly. However, unfortunately, there’s just a few people can realize Daniel’s helplessness of the event and ashamed of his fantastic fault.
In my standpoint, Richard is an admirable author and has courage to try to write humans’ inward emotions into his lovely book; he hopes to create a new-style of novel, not like the traditional ones. Nevertheless, in the inward aspect ,“Adultery” just did a not bad description, but this is an advanced experiment, that’s why I regard “Adultery” as the best one Richard even write until now, I hope he can write more new-style books and can achieve success in this new-style novel.
(Miao Tang)
In my standpoint, Richard is an admirable author and has courage to try to write humans’ inward emotions into his lovely book; he hopes to create a new-style of novel, not like the traditional ones. Nevertheless, in the inward aspect ,“Adultery” just did a not bad description, but this is an advanced experiment, that’s why I regard “Adultery” as the best one Richard even write until now, I hope he can write more new-style books and can achieve success in this new-style novel.
(Miao Tang)
July 13, 2018
Library Request. I found the protagonist Dan Fielding a happily married man in his fifties knowing where he was going, when he finds himself at a fork in the road and made a cliched of all cliches of an adulteress weekend, thinking that no repercussions if it occurred out of the country. What a load of hoopla, well needless to say the preverbal shite hits the fan, when things escalate out of his control and all the people that matter the most find out about the sorted weekend abroad.
Again, I didn't like the character of Dan, I felt him detached and not really understanding what everyone was faced to endure because of his shortcomings. I was hoping for more remorse, I don't know maybe even some more fear of his possibility of arrest might have made me feel a bit better of what his cliched ass did to his would have been retribution, not sure though just saying.
He was actually embraced by Lucille and Sandy, literately suggesting if things played out differently he could have been a member of the family, really,really..........
It was a bit much in some parts to much detail, but all in all I read it I one sitting, not that long, would like to have read about the trail, and having Dan exposed again, but that could only assault his family again. First read oct 2014 and i re-read it again August 2015, I pretty much had the same opinion as the first time. Same view this third time around in July 2018. Why Dan if you were so happy with your life and marriage, did you have the affair, I’m still not understanding the issue, was it your ego that needed the stroke, and to have to be found out in such a devastating way, not just for you but your family so blindsided. It’s nuts.
Again, I didn't like the character of Dan, I felt him detached and not really understanding what everyone was faced to endure because of his shortcomings. I was hoping for more remorse, I don't know maybe even some more fear of his possibility of arrest might have made me feel a bit better of what his cliched ass did to his would have been retribution, not sure though just saying.
He was actually embraced by Lucille and Sandy, literately suggesting if things played out differently he could have been a member of the family, really,really..........
It was a bit much in some parts to much detail, but all in all I read it I one sitting, not that long, would like to have read about the trail, and having Dan exposed again, but that could only assault his family again. First read oct 2014 and i re-read it again August 2015, I pretty much had the same opinion as the first time. Same view this third time around in July 2018. Why Dan if you were so happy with your life and marriage, did you have the affair, I’m still not understanding the issue, was it your ego that needed the stroke, and to have to be found out in such a devastating way, not just for you but your family so blindsided. It’s nuts.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews