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Love After Love
BRAND NEW, Exactly same ISBN as listed, Please double check ISBN carefully before ordering.
Hardcover
Published March 1, 2018
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About the author
Alex Hourston
3 books21 followersIN MY HOUSE is Alex’s first novel, and was shortlisted for the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize 2013.
After fifteen years writing strategy for advertising agencies, Alex took a break to go back to university and her first love, books. She completed a Masters in English and started a PhD, but put it aside when the idea for this novel surfaced.
Alex lives outside Brighton with her family.
She is working on her second novel, an exploration of infidelity and emotional inheritance.
After fifteen years writing strategy for advertising agencies, Alex took a break to go back to university and her first love, books. She completed a Masters in English and started a PhD, but put it aside when the idea for this novel surfaced.
Alex lives outside Brighton with her family.
She is working on her second novel, an exploration of infidelity and emotional inheritance.
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February 24, 2025
Alex Hourston’s debut, In My House, is one of those books that has always lingered in my mind, partly because the writing struck me as remarkable, but also because I seem to be in a minority by actually liking it. It’s taken me a while to get round to Love After Love, which seems to have suffered the same fate; low ratings across the board, lukewarm reviews. Like so many of my faves, this is a book that’s hard to categorise, with the cadence of a thriller but little in the plot to reflect that. Hourston hasn’t published anything since, which is a shame, because this was exactly the sort of reading experience that would usually have me running to snap up the rest of the author’s work.
Nancy is a married therapist in early middle age who bumps into Adam, whom she briefly knew at university, at a conference. Later, they set up a practice together, and eventually, after a long period of walking around their obvious attraction to one another, they start an affair and fall in love. Nancy, a mother of three, doesn't want to leave the family home, especially with teen daughter Frieda going through a difficult phase; still, she's walking a fine line, and of course it all eventually starts to come undone. None of this happens in a dramatic way, though; this is a reflective first-person narrative about Nancy trying to untangle the threads of herself – as a mother, wife, therapist and, arguably (& controversially) most precious to her, as Adam’s lover.
Love After Love is just as beautifully written as I remember In My House being, the descriptions so precise (Nancy and Adam’s office is so vividly realised I felt like I’d been there), and incredibly well-controlled in its emotional weight. It’s also bold, because Nancy – as a protagonist, as a narrator, as a person – is such a tough nut to crack, so often withholding, sometimes seemingly even to herself. She’s not just secretive because she’s having an affair (although obviously, that’s part of it), but because that’s who she is: reluctant to let anyone, including the reader to whom she’s addressing this account, all the way in. It’s an unusual choice for a first-person narrative, which typically comes with a sense of built-in intimacy, and it’s exactly what made the book work so well for me. Nancy’s inscrutability is her characterisation, you’re meant to feel shut out.
This whole theme – the ways people hide from themselves – gets neatly reflected in Nancy’s therapy sessions with her client Marie, who at first insists she had a perfectly normal, happy upbringing before eventually cracking and admitting, flatly: I hated it as a child. All of it. All the time. It’s a pivotal moment not just because of what it tells us about Marie, but because it underlines so much about Nancy too – what she’s refusing to face, what she’s unable to say out loud.
Certain scenes are charged with tension – so much of this book is unbearably taut in a way I wasn’t expecting, especially considering how quiet and interior it is. A family party, a school talent show, an encounter with strangers in a bar; moments that feel loaded, like something is just about to tip over. And then there’s the ending, sombre and understated, giving you just enough to project whatever you want onto it. I loved it.
Not that I don’t have nitpicks. There are a lot of characters to keep track of in Nancy’s family (I was fine with the subplots about her children and brother, but do we really need all the aunts and uncles as well?). Some of the therapy sessions, if they unfolded exactly as written, would last about five minutes (should’ve been caught in edits), and the mechanics of the plot become a little too visible towards the end. But none of that really mattered to me because the book as a whole is just so good.
The writing reminded me of Louise Doughty in its elegance and emotional precision, with something of Katie Kitamura in all the layers of meaning. One of my standouts of the year so far.
Nancy is a married therapist in early middle age who bumps into Adam, whom she briefly knew at university, at a conference. Later, they set up a practice together, and eventually, after a long period of walking around their obvious attraction to one another, they start an affair and fall in love. Nancy, a mother of three, doesn't want to leave the family home, especially with teen daughter Frieda going through a difficult phase; still, she's walking a fine line, and of course it all eventually starts to come undone. None of this happens in a dramatic way, though; this is a reflective first-person narrative about Nancy trying to untangle the threads of herself – as a mother, wife, therapist and, arguably (& controversially) most precious to her, as Adam’s lover.
Love After Love is just as beautifully written as I remember In My House being, the descriptions so precise (Nancy and Adam’s office is so vividly realised I felt like I’d been there), and incredibly well-controlled in its emotional weight. It’s also bold, because Nancy – as a protagonist, as a narrator, as a person – is such a tough nut to crack, so often withholding, sometimes seemingly even to herself. She’s not just secretive because she’s having an affair (although obviously, that’s part of it), but because that’s who she is: reluctant to let anyone, including the reader to whom she’s addressing this account, all the way in. It’s an unusual choice for a first-person narrative, which typically comes with a sense of built-in intimacy, and it’s exactly what made the book work so well for me. Nancy’s inscrutability is her characterisation, you’re meant to feel shut out.
This whole theme – the ways people hide from themselves – gets neatly reflected in Nancy’s therapy sessions with her client Marie, who at first insists she had a perfectly normal, happy upbringing before eventually cracking and admitting, flatly: I hated it as a child. All of it. All the time. It’s a pivotal moment not just because of what it tells us about Marie, but because it underlines so much about Nancy too – what she’s refusing to face, what she’s unable to say out loud.
Certain scenes are charged with tension – so much of this book is unbearably taut in a way I wasn’t expecting, especially considering how quiet and interior it is. A family party, a school talent show, an encounter with strangers in a bar; moments that feel loaded, like something is just about to tip over. And then there’s the ending, sombre and understated, giving you just enough to project whatever you want onto it. I loved it.
Not that I don’t have nitpicks. There are a lot of characters to keep track of in Nancy’s family (I was fine with the subplots about her children and brother, but do we really need all the aunts and uncles as well?). Some of the therapy sessions, if they unfolded exactly as written, would last about five minutes (should’ve been caught in edits), and the mechanics of the plot become a little too visible towards the end. But none of that really mattered to me because the book as a whole is just so good.
The writing reminded me of Louise Doughty in its elegance and emotional precision, with something of Katie Kitamura in all the layers of meaning. One of my standouts of the year so far.
March 8, 2018
Thank you to Faber & Faber for providing me with an early copy of this book to review! Unfortunately this one missed the mark for me.
.
I really want to reiterate that this book is not a bad book! The writing was enjoyable, elegant and easy to read, but the plot didn’t do anything for me. If you’ve been following me for a while then you may know that I usually love books that are introspective and not plot-driven, but in those cases I need to really love the characters and their development which wasn’t the case here.
.
I found Nancy annoying and didn’t agree with any of her choices which AGAIN, I love books where characters make questionable decisions and are morally grey! But she just wasn’t clicking for me. It also, perhaps irrationally, really annoyed me that she never names her dog during the entire book? It’s always just ‘the dog’ and it’s mentioned A LOT. What kind of a person doesn’t name their dog or call it ridiculous nicknames? Not a person I want to know, and it made her seem really cold.
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You might enjoy this one if you like family dramas and affairs, plus the writing really is lovely! It just didn’t grip me at all. I can’t help but feel bad, but you have to keep things honest.
.
I really want to reiterate that this book is not a bad book! The writing was enjoyable, elegant and easy to read, but the plot didn’t do anything for me. If you’ve been following me for a while then you may know that I usually love books that are introspective and not plot-driven, but in those cases I need to really love the characters and their development which wasn’t the case here.
.
I found Nancy annoying and didn’t agree with any of her choices which AGAIN, I love books where characters make questionable decisions and are morally grey! But she just wasn’t clicking for me. It also, perhaps irrationally, really annoyed me that she never names her dog during the entire book? It’s always just ‘the dog’ and it’s mentioned A LOT. What kind of a person doesn’t name their dog or call it ridiculous nicknames? Not a person I want to know, and it made her seem really cold.
.
You might enjoy this one if you like family dramas and affairs, plus the writing really is lovely! It just didn’t grip me at all. I can’t help but feel bad, but you have to keep things honest.
February 27, 2018
Beautifully written family drama here from Alex Hourston, really compelling set of characters and an emotional and utterly fascinating set of interpersonal relationships playing out on the page. Loved it. Full review to follow.
April 14, 2019
Nancy Jansen is happily married to Stefan, has three children, a fulfilling career as a psychotherapist but steps out of her settled life and embarks on an affair with Adam.
She tries to navigate her way through increasing turbulence in the lives of her loved ones, but will she stay in her marriage or will she embark on a new path with Adam?
The author writes beautifully, and the ending is quite unexpected.
She tries to navigate her way through increasing turbulence in the lives of her loved ones, but will she stay in her marriage or will she embark on a new path with Adam?
The author writes beautifully, and the ending is quite unexpected.
April 7, 2018
“I stage-set the house to happy families.”
Nancy, wife and mother of three children (maybe four, I lost track) is a psychotherapist, her husband Stefan a designer of some sort (I lost interest). They live in a beautifully restyled old terraced house in, erm, somewhere or other. When Nancy bumps into old uni friend, Adam, at a work conference, their mutual attraction is rekindled…Ho hum, we know where this is going. And it does.
The difference between this and any other ‘eternal triangle’ story is that Nancy considers her affair with Adam is the glue that’s keeping her family together. Dotted throughout are the counselling sessions between Nancy and her withholding client, Marie. These fail to convince on any level, ditto the dialogue throughout, and the whole thing is a little too humourless for my taste. The author has a tendency to build up to things – dilemmas, revelations, confrontations – that never amount to anything.
Alex Hourston saves all her very best adjectives to describe the various bottles of wine that are consumed by the protagonists, people about whom I couldn’t really bring myself to care. The writing, whilst good, is all just a bit too calculated. When I read the end fly-leaf and saw that the author used to write strategy for advertising agencies, I somehow wasn’t a bit surprised.
Nancy, wife and mother of three children (maybe four, I lost track) is a psychotherapist, her husband Stefan a designer of some sort (I lost interest). They live in a beautifully restyled old terraced house in, erm, somewhere or other. When Nancy bumps into old uni friend, Adam, at a work conference, their mutual attraction is rekindled…Ho hum, we know where this is going. And it does.
The difference between this and any other ‘eternal triangle’ story is that Nancy considers her affair with Adam is the glue that’s keeping her family together. Dotted throughout are the counselling sessions between Nancy and her withholding client, Marie. These fail to convince on any level, ditto the dialogue throughout, and the whole thing is a little too humourless for my taste. The author has a tendency to build up to things – dilemmas, revelations, confrontations – that never amount to anything.
Alex Hourston saves all her very best adjectives to describe the various bottles of wine that are consumed by the protagonists, people about whom I couldn’t really bring myself to care. The writing, whilst good, is all just a bit too calculated. When I read the end fly-leaf and saw that the author used to write strategy for advertising agencies, I somehow wasn’t a bit surprised.
October 18, 2019
Tense and chilling
April 21, 2018
Is it meant to be a narcissistic handbook?
Firstly, it is well written, but I’m not sure if I was meant to culture such an active dislike of the protagonist! I couldn’t find any redeeming characteristics in her at all. Also, I’m assuming I was meant to find it laudable that when her affair was finally exposed, she left her husband and that she didn’t just move in with her married lover, but there was no mention at all of the pain he caused his wife! Apparently it was ok because he wasn’t happy!! I just found the whole ethos unsatisfactory...it certainly seems that you are entitled to be happy regardless of the cost! Narcissism at its finest.
Firstly, it is well written, but I’m not sure if I was meant to culture such an active dislike of the protagonist! I couldn’t find any redeeming characteristics in her at all. Also, I’m assuming I was meant to find it laudable that when her affair was finally exposed, she left her husband and that she didn’t just move in with her married lover, but there was no mention at all of the pain he caused his wife! Apparently it was ok because he wasn’t happy!! I just found the whole ethos unsatisfactory...it certainly seems that you are entitled to be happy regardless of the cost! Narcissism at its finest.
March 9, 2021
Love after Love is a well-written novel about one woman’s affair, her relationship with family and her husband, and the impact each has on the other.
The main character, Nancy, is a complicated and actually quite unlikeable character (for me, anyway) – I found her hard to identify with or feel empathy towards, and I didn’t agree with her choices or behaviour, but this didn’t affect my enjoyment of the novel. I often like reading about ‘unlikable’ characters. I think some of the novel’s plot just didn’t engage me hugely – Nancy’s affair makes up the bulk of the storyline but it didn’t really grip my attention. We hear Nancy’s thoughts through the first-person narrative, and Alex Hourston writes in a way that flows so well. At less than 350 pages it’s didn’t take me long to get through.
I did however find that there were some aspects of the novel where I started to lose interest. I personally found the drama with her brother David a little annoying; I wasn’t really interested in his character or why he acted the way he did. The story is also quite slow moving in that not a huge amount ‘happens’, and that is never necessarily a negative thing in a book for me, but I did find myself feeling less engaged in the middle section of the book. However, as the book reaches its conclusion and wraps up, I found myself engrossed again and race through the ending.
Overall, I enjoyed this read and thought the writing was great but I wasn’t blown away by the story itself.
More book reviews on www.snazzybooks.com
The main character, Nancy, is a complicated and actually quite unlikeable character (for me, anyway) – I found her hard to identify with or feel empathy towards, and I didn’t agree with her choices or behaviour, but this didn’t affect my enjoyment of the novel. I often like reading about ‘unlikable’ characters. I think some of the novel’s plot just didn’t engage me hugely – Nancy’s affair makes up the bulk of the storyline but it didn’t really grip my attention. We hear Nancy’s thoughts through the first-person narrative, and Alex Hourston writes in a way that flows so well. At less than 350 pages it’s didn’t take me long to get through.
I did however find that there were some aspects of the novel where I started to lose interest. I personally found the drama with her brother David a little annoying; I wasn’t really interested in his character or why he acted the way he did. The story is also quite slow moving in that not a huge amount ‘happens’, and that is never necessarily a negative thing in a book for me, but I did find myself feeling less engaged in the middle section of the book. However, as the book reaches its conclusion and wraps up, I found myself engrossed again and race through the ending.
Overall, I enjoyed this read and thought the writing was great but I wasn’t blown away by the story itself.
More book reviews on www.snazzybooks.com
March 23, 2018
I would like to thank James at Faber & Faber for offering me a copy of Love After Love, and with it, my first true reading time in days.
Cover love. Title love. And it turns out, story-love.
Slow-paced but grippingly realistic, Love After Love tells the tale of Nancy, a therapist, wife, and mother of three. Hands full, you would think. Well, add to this a lover, and you get 321 pages of life burning by both ends.
I love therapists. I am not saying this because I am seeing one! But they are trained to see the world, their peers, and each differently from us. The problem is the line is thin between their professional and personal lives and we all know it is never good to bring work home! But how can they not, when they spend their days interpreting signs, ticks, words, behavior, anything to help them understand who is in front of them and how to better react. We do say hairdressers have the worst hair and shoemakers get the most terrible pairs of shoes. Well, therapists can have books about human emotions heavy enough to kill someone if they were to fall on their head, but they are no stranger to the issues of looking for things where they are not, being totally useless in seeing what is happening to themselves, or to use their own advice! I think this is what I find most appealing in stories involving specialists. We rely on them, and personally, I consider they have the keys to make some things better, but they are also human. Just like us, and I took a guilty pleasure in watching Nancy’s life unravel in front of my shamelessly spying eyes.
There are many parallels in this story, layers allowing the reader to recognize situations, to connect with characters, or to learn, and enjoy what looks like a perfect and balanced life with its ups and downs.
The past and present introduce us to Nancy, her family, her lover, his wife… Memories help us shape Nancy’s form in a concrete way. I cannot say I agreed with her ways or her decisions, but the image I created of her was altered, enhanced, and completed by every page. Her work is also very important to truly get to the core of this woman. A special patient made me smile as I imagined the scenes, it sure will strike a chord with a few people, and in the end, roles are reversed so the reader can fully take the responsibility and the reality of being the face of help.
Nancy tackles many subjects throughout the story. Infidelity, of course, but also motherhood, and all that comes with it. I was moved by her love for her children. She is not portrayed as the know-it-all mom. She’s actually struggling with them. It was a strong reminder there is no right way, and you just have to swim, keep your head above water, and do what is right.
But what is the right thing? This question is at the core of Love After Love. Nancy’s sessions and her life pointed out the expectations others have of us, vice versa, and the image we have of ourselves versus the image we reflect with our words and behavior. Love After Love made me think I was looking through a mirror. What was, what could be. Why we lock ourselves into the role we are given, what it takes to find happiness. The story doesn’t give any answers, it offers raw thoughts about life and its domino effect. Despite her flaws, I wanted Nancy to be happy. I wondered why some people had it easier. If things were actually easier or if it was just an illusion. I gulped down every thought from Nancy, I analyzed them, I drank them up and fed from them to create my own opinion.
Love After Love is a quiet read toying with life in its routine clothes. A beautiful tale of love, whether for someone, or better, for yourself.
November 15, 2020
What a stupid book.
Nancy is everything to everyone and ends up having an affair but this book isn’t written in a love story kind of way; it’s more a therapist analysing everything kind of book. Which I guess is the point seeing as though she’s a therapist.
Sometimes I do think Nancy has no remorse. She once says at the start that she did cry after the affair first started but that’s about it. She’s cheated on her lovely husband and is ruining her children’s lives but it’s okay because she’s “in love”. She’s overreacting at the slightest thing and her children can sense her unhappiness.
If she wasn’t happy with her husband she should’ve left. Not cheated.
There are no shocking twists and turns in this book, although I feel the author did try to make one with her brothers plot line but overall I fail to grasp the point of the book?
Nancy is everything to everyone and ends up having an affair but this book isn’t written in a love story kind of way; it’s more a therapist analysing everything kind of book. Which I guess is the point seeing as though she’s a therapist.
Sometimes I do think Nancy has no remorse. She once says at the start that she did cry after the affair first started but that’s about it. She’s cheated on her lovely husband and is ruining her children’s lives but it’s okay because she’s “in love”. She’s overreacting at the slightest thing and her children can sense her unhappiness.
If she wasn’t happy with her husband she should’ve left. Not cheated.
There are no shocking twists and turns in this book, although I feel the author did try to make one with her brothers plot line but overall I fail to grasp the point of the book?
June 13, 2021
An interesting writing style, but for me, I found that there was too my information regarding the characters without enough substance to feel any kind of emotional connection to them. I simply didn't care what happened. I kept reading hoping that my perspective was going to be changed, but the further I got the more I realised that wasn't going to happen.
I kept reading purely to finish the book, without any real interest in the arc of the storyline or what happened to the characters. If you like a family drama, then maybe you'd enjoy this. But it missed the mark for me I'm afraid!
I kept reading purely to finish the book, without any real interest in the arc of the storyline or what happened to the characters. If you like a family drama, then maybe you'd enjoy this. But it missed the mark for me I'm afraid!
February 22, 2018
Love After Love is not a long book, it's under 350 pages, and each one is made up of the most beautifully created prose; sharp and to the point. Screaming with sophistication, this is a book that gripped me from page one and whose characters linger in my head, long after I closed the book for the last time.
Nancy Jansen is an intriguing, complicated character. At times she is difficult to like, she's often difficult to understand, but she's the pivot of this story. Nancy's family revolve around her, her colleagues revolve around her, as do her clients. She has an incredible draw, she's able to understand and to try to heal, yet it is her own life that gradually begins to uncurl - slowly, but surely, Nancy's grip on life gets looser and looser.
Alex Hourston uses words so sparingly, there is no padding, no flowery description. Each startling sentence is immaculately placed. Her observations on life, and people are skilfully drawn, unpredictable, unsettling and so very powerful.
Love After Love is a story of just that; the love that can be found despite the love that one already has. Nancy's choices have far reaching consequences, not least for herself. Whilst the reader may find Nancy difficult to empathise with, her final decisions show that she knows that security does not always mean happiness. I was surprised by the conclusion of Love After Love, but the more I think about it, the more satisfying I find it.
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December 31, 2020
This caught me by surprise. So much that I could relate to. Very enjoyable and beautifully written.
December 21, 2020
This book reads like a thriller but never really gets there. The characters are somewhat interesting but I didn’t get attached and therefore didn’t really care about how Nancy’s story unfolded. The ending seemed quite predictable and left me underwhelmed. An easy read but nothing more.
March 10, 2020
2.5 stars. The main character, Nancy, was still opaque to me after finishing this, and I am not sure I understood anything about why she did what she did, or got the dynamics of her marriage or her love affair. I don't need to like characters to enjoy a book (some of my favourite books have "unlikeable" main characters), but I do like to get inside their skin and it just didn't happen here. We got lots of references to stylish interiors instead of real insight into the characters' lives. I found myself wondering if that was the point the writer wanted to make - that we can't ever really understand another person. For me, it was unsatisfying in the end.
May 9, 2021
This book sucked me in at the start past the 100 page point that I set as a marker that if a book doesn’t grab me by then it goes on my DNF list, however NOTHING really happens. We don’t find out when or how the affair begins, how long it goes on for or why she does it. By the end I was skip reading just so I could move on to another book. It is well written but good writing is only worth reading if it has something to say and this book didn’t.
April 11, 2018
Thank you to Faber for sending over a copy of Love After Love, Alex Hourston’s second novel.
‘You will love again the stranger who was your self. Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart to itself, to the stranger who has loved you.’
Nancy Jansen seems to have it all: a beautiful home in London that she shares with her kind, creative husband and three healthy children; a wealth of extended family for whom she hosts parties and dinners; a successful career as a therapist. But Nancy also has a secret – she’s having an affair.
Adam is older, an acquaintance from university who now works in the office next door. He’s not stunningly attractive or particularly sexy (in fact, it’s her husband Stefan who is noted as being good-looking), and there aren’t sweeping romantic gestures that whisk her away from a monotonous home life. Adam is just there, as much a part of the furniture of Nancy’s life as her family. Clandestine kisses behind office doors are as expected as school runs or lunches with her mother, work trips and conferences provide time alone with Adam before she heads back to her family. Both Stefan and Adam are part of the tapestry of her life, their threads weaving around each other and – briefly, occasionally – touching, but there’s no extreme drama about it all.
The novel’s title is borrowed from a poem by Derek Walcott, who implores us to learn to love ourselves before we lose ourselves completely to somebody else. If we can’t read it as a direct call to Nancy (who, in my opinion, is frustrating enough in her narcissism) then we can at least find a parallel in the theme of identity – Walcott encourages self-love, with the idea that we have a self who gives to others, and a separate self that only we can nurture. Hourston examines this throughout, with the threads of Nancy’s multiple selves threatening to unravel as the novel progresses. As a mother, she fights against the unwelcome realisation that her children are growing up and pulling away from her. Where once they needed her for everything, she is now finding that she needs them much more. She struggles with a difficult client at work, who is frustrating in her self-suppression and dishonesty – frustrating not only for Nancy, but for us readers can see the lines blurring between Marie’s case and Nancy’s own. Nancy’s relationship with her parents is fractious, and she struggles to play both disapproving older sister and childhood best friend to her brother. She gives love to her husband, but, by being with Adam, also to herself.
Vignettes of Nancy’s life are told in flashbacks: more emphasis is placed on her past with Adam, understandably, but we are also privy to her curious relationship with her brother David. Passion and infatuation, lacking from her marriage and oddly absent from the scenes with Adam, are reserved for the memories of her childhood. Though two years her junior, the beautiful, charismatic and reckless David seems her true soulmate. A wild and irresponsible child, David is no different at forty, and it’s telling that neither he nor Nancy recognise the damage of their self-absorption.
Love After Love is not a tale of an explosive, torrid affair, of high-stakes drama and heart-breaking decisions. For all intents and purposes Nancy is an ordinary woman, who just so happens to be sleeping with two different men. She’s not especially likeable, and it’s difficult to root for someone who on the surface seems to have everything and more. Still, Hourston’s prose is excellent, with fascinating character analysis and elegant descriptions that make up for the slow-burning plot. There’s no condescension from Hourston, no attempt to weigh in on whether what Nancy’s doing is right or wrong, which I liked. The ending is a little unsatisfying (no spoilers!) yet this makes it all the more realistic. It’s not a long novel – easily read in a few days – and I’m now intrigued to check out her previous work.
‘You will love again the stranger who was your self. Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart to itself, to the stranger who has loved you.’
Nancy Jansen seems to have it all: a beautiful home in London that she shares with her kind, creative husband and three healthy children; a wealth of extended family for whom she hosts parties and dinners; a successful career as a therapist. But Nancy also has a secret – she’s having an affair.
Adam is older, an acquaintance from university who now works in the office next door. He’s not stunningly attractive or particularly sexy (in fact, it’s her husband Stefan who is noted as being good-looking), and there aren’t sweeping romantic gestures that whisk her away from a monotonous home life. Adam is just there, as much a part of the furniture of Nancy’s life as her family. Clandestine kisses behind office doors are as expected as school runs or lunches with her mother, work trips and conferences provide time alone with Adam before she heads back to her family. Both Stefan and Adam are part of the tapestry of her life, their threads weaving around each other and – briefly, occasionally – touching, but there’s no extreme drama about it all.
The novel’s title is borrowed from a poem by Derek Walcott, who implores us to learn to love ourselves before we lose ourselves completely to somebody else. If we can’t read it as a direct call to Nancy (who, in my opinion, is frustrating enough in her narcissism) then we can at least find a parallel in the theme of identity – Walcott encourages self-love, with the idea that we have a self who gives to others, and a separate self that only we can nurture. Hourston examines this throughout, with the threads of Nancy’s multiple selves threatening to unravel as the novel progresses. As a mother, she fights against the unwelcome realisation that her children are growing up and pulling away from her. Where once they needed her for everything, she is now finding that she needs them much more. She struggles with a difficult client at work, who is frustrating in her self-suppression and dishonesty – frustrating not only for Nancy, but for us readers can see the lines blurring between Marie’s case and Nancy’s own. Nancy’s relationship with her parents is fractious, and she struggles to play both disapproving older sister and childhood best friend to her brother. She gives love to her husband, but, by being with Adam, also to herself.
Vignettes of Nancy’s life are told in flashbacks: more emphasis is placed on her past with Adam, understandably, but we are also privy to her curious relationship with her brother David. Passion and infatuation, lacking from her marriage and oddly absent from the scenes with Adam, are reserved for the memories of her childhood. Though two years her junior, the beautiful, charismatic and reckless David seems her true soulmate. A wild and irresponsible child, David is no different at forty, and it’s telling that neither he nor Nancy recognise the damage of their self-absorption.
Love After Love is not a tale of an explosive, torrid affair, of high-stakes drama and heart-breaking decisions. For all intents and purposes Nancy is an ordinary woman, who just so happens to be sleeping with two different men. She’s not especially likeable, and it’s difficult to root for someone who on the surface seems to have everything and more. Still, Hourston’s prose is excellent, with fascinating character analysis and elegant descriptions that make up for the slow-burning plot. There’s no condescension from Hourston, no attempt to weigh in on whether what Nancy’s doing is right or wrong, which I liked. The ending is a little unsatisfying (no spoilers!) yet this makes it all the more realistic. It’s not a long novel – easily read in a few days – and I’m now intrigued to check out her previous work.
October 16, 2021
Nancy is a therapist with a lovely home, patient and loving husband and 3 growing children. She also has a younger brother who is self-centred and indifferent to the feelings of others but Nancy is devoted to him.
Nancy is also having an affair, a colleague she first met in her student days, a contrast in both looks and attitude to her husband. Only her children are keeping her in her marriage. But the strains and deceit are becoming unbearable.
Told in a first person narrative yet without any clear insights into the attraction nor any self-analysis. As the relationship develops and unfurls, it appears that Nancy may not be so different to her brother after all.
Beautifully written and thought provoking and very easy to read.
Nancy is also having an affair, a colleague she first met in her student days, a contrast in both looks and attitude to her husband. Only her children are keeping her in her marriage. But the strains and deceit are becoming unbearable.
Told in a first person narrative yet without any clear insights into the attraction nor any self-analysis. As the relationship develops and unfurls, it appears that Nancy may not be so different to her brother after all.
Beautifully written and thought provoking and very easy to read.
August 19, 2018
8/10 : This is only the second book I’ve read this month, which for me, is very slow going! I’ve started a number of books that just did not engage me, & eventually I gave up on them all, returned them to the library & got myself a different stack. The cover of this caught my eye, & I have devoured it, word by precise word. The writing is beautiful, simple & clean, flows effortlessly, making it a dream to read. I felt invested in the characters, despite the subject of adultery, & the book depicted the many facets & forms of love with ease. I really loved this, it felt realistic & hope it’s got me back into the swing of things after some disappointing non-starters!
July 17, 2018
Alex Hourston writes really well. Nancy's descent into misery is told with pace and economy. Even so, something is missing. It might simply be that the story itself didn't appeal to me - work-place love affairs that destroy a family are not a very entertaining or original subject. I felt that the main characters lacked depth and there were a number of odd, irrelevant descriptive details.
On a more positive note, this book has left me wanting to read more from Alex Hourston.
Thanks to Faber Books for the review copy.
On a more positive note, this book has left me wanting to read more from Alex Hourston.
Thanks to Faber Books for the review copy.
August 21, 2019
Disappointing. Didn’t actually finish, though I’d ordered it from library because I loved her other book so much. Critical flaw here is the entirely unlikeable central character. I’m not saying someone who has an affair is automatically unlikeable, but this woman’s voice totally failed to connect with me in any way. There was no sense of narrative drive either. Very disappointing. I’ve given more than one star cos the author is talented and her prose is well put together and engaging. But not so much the plot and characters in this novel.
March 31, 2018
Beautifully written literary fiction.
Skilfully drawn characters, all of them far too absorbed with their own, first world problems. And too slight a story . . . I really didn't care what would happen to any of the people on the pages.
But the writing kept me going to the end. It really is a cut above.
Skilfully drawn characters, all of them far too absorbed with their own, first world problems. And too slight a story . . . I really didn't care what would happen to any of the people on the pages.
But the writing kept me going to the end. It really is a cut above.
January 9, 2021
This book is written from the perspective of the main protagonist, Nancy, who is a psychotherapist that has an exquisite sense of smell but also poor decision making and communication skills. The book is well written but I struggled to connect with the characters making it difficult to invest in their stories.
April 9, 2022
I wonder, how could a book about love transpire so little of it? So little passion, so little emotions, so little desire? I couldn't imagine any of the characters simply because the physical descriptions were missing. The writing is stiff, measured, almost too correct to be beautiful.
If it wasn't for some sleepless nights in the past week, I would have shelved it without finishing it.
If it wasn't for some sleepless nights in the past week, I would have shelved it without finishing it.
April 3, 2018
I was quite intrigued by why Nancy was so drawn to Adam nd why she was quite so fascinated by her brother.Ultimately, I found them all self-absorbed particularly Adam and essentially unlikable. However, I was curious to k is how things would turn out.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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January 12, 2021Took a while to get into and felt like I as waiting and waiting for a big event but all very subdued. Characters hard to relate too, would recommend to some one for an easy read but not for exciting plot line.
January 28, 2021
I enjoyed this book. I found it to be well-written and inciteful. The characters were believable and well drawn. It is a rare talent to SHOW the reader a main character’s flaws without actually describing them.
March 6, 2021
I enjoyed the book in the main, had to get used to her style of writing but it kept me interested. I wanted to pick it up to read on which is the most important thing I think. Not my favourite author but I'd read her again.
April 21, 2021
OK, so I'm a bloke in his 50's with a penchant for SciFi so this offering via the ABOS box scheme isn't exactly in my home territory. It's a well enough written but I struggled to identify with the main protagonists or really care about the outcome from their affair.
July 12, 2021
Nancy in her therapists world. Her perfect family life but none of it is quite right. The book didn't set my world on fire. It was ok. I don't think I would read it again but I am exploring different genres, different authors and different writing styles. I am glad I had the opportunity to read it.
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