A sophisticated ivory tower drama holds a magnifying glass up to the emotional cracks in a marriage between two academics in Seduction Theory by Emily Adrian. Adrian's marvelous third novel for adults takes the intriguing form of a Masters of Fine Arts thesis crafted by a student infatuated with her adviser and considers what, in essence, constitutes infidelity in a long-established relationship.
The graduating student is Robbie and her thesis advisor is Simone, the charismatic star of the creative writing department at Edwards University in upstate New York. Simone is happily married to Ethan. They are colleagues in the same department, sexual soulmates, and each other's adoring best friend. Ethan, tall, handsome, and a bit of a loner, is comfortable with the way Simone is a "real" professor and he is not, with her PhD from Yale, her scholarly book, and the impressive number of publications she has authored. Not to mention the popular memoir she wrote about her late mother. Back in his 20s, Ethan wrote Muse, his breakout novel and his only published work thus far, and he is now in his 40s.
With Robbie as narrator, Seduction Theory follows the course of an intense summer friendship with Simone that leaves Robbie wanting much more. She enjoys being Simone's running partner and confidante, eager to absorb the details of her professor's life. Robbie doesn't know if she wants to sleep with her thesis advisor "or be her." Meanwhile, Ethan's blossoming friendship with the department secretary, Abigail, takes off when they both find themselves visiting family in Oregon that same fateful summer.
Adrian (Everything Here Is Under Control; The Second Season) has equipped Robbie with a persuasive, entertaining voice tinged with scorn and wicked humor, such as when she describes Ethan's awkward interactions with young Byron, Abigail's precocious son. Therein lies the captivating pull of the novel, with its close observation of the boundary-crossing professor-student friendship, scandalously intimate details of Ethan and Simone's marriage, and the devastating repercussions of Ethan's fall from grace. Robbie learns a good deal about Ethan from her adviser, probably more than Simone intended to reveal.
As with most relationships, Simone and Ethan have their separate inner lives--the last frontier of privacy in a marriage as blissfully entangled as theirs. It is here that Robbie unleashes her imagination, merging fact and fiction to craft a story that is, at its core, a breathtaking act of betrayal. --Shahina Piyarali
Shelf Talker: A sophisticated ivory tower drama takes the intriguing form of a Masters of Fine Arts thesis crafted by a student who is infatuated with her charismatic advisor.