Variations in the Night: A Novel

by Emily Listfield

Amanda halfheartedly works in Legacies, a small Greenwich Village clothing boutique. She’s never had a serious involvement, only casual flings. Sam is a midwesterner trying to make it as a reporter in the big city. He just left his hometown girlfriend back in Ohio. Amanda is afraid of commitment, but doesn’t know it. Sam is prepared to abandon the budding relationship rather than risk rejection. From New York City’s downtown night spots East to Lower East Side Lofts, here is a wry and bittersweet look at the complex 1980s relationships of two people whose own hearts have them terrified.

Reviewing her first novel, It Was Gonna be Like Paris, The New York Times called Emily Listfield “an accurate, often disarming reporter of her generation’s foibles." Variations in the Night continues her contemporary chronicles.

Genres: Fiction

180 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1987

About the author

I’m fascinated by how well we can ever truly know another human being — whether it’s a romantic partner, a best friend, or our own child.
My new novel, Reasons to Lie, pushes three mothers and best friends to confront this question when a student is murdered on a class trip all their teenagers were on. Suddenly, everyone is a suspect. And everyone is lying. How far will they go to protect their kids? How far would YOU go?

I grew up in New York City, raised my daughter here, and set the book in an elite Manhattan private school. Having navigated this world firsthand, I had a front-row seat to rich people behaving badly — and it was too good a story not to share! .

This is my eighth novel and I’m thrilled that Oprah Daily named it one of the most anticipated books of 2026.

I love hearing from readers and the conversations that stories create long after the last page. So get in touch!