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Your Cheating Heart Bores Me
Adultery? Again??
At 65, I’ve read thousands of books, from trashy beach fiction to great works of literature. And here’s my conclusion:
I am tired of reading about adultery.
True, a lot of great writers have tackled this topic. And some terrific books have resulted. Madame Bovary. Anna Karenina. The Scarlet Letter. I’ve read and enjoyed many of them.
Not only that, but John Cheever is one of my favorite authors, and it’s certainly true that if you remove all the extra-marital shenanigans from his ouevre, you wouldn’t be left with much more than a symbolic swimming pool and a magic radio.
Yup, there’s plenty of great literature about infidelity. But there’s a whole lot of not-so-great literature as well. It’s a basic fallback plot device for just about everyone who wants to write a novel.
And I say enough.
This isn’t a moral position on my part. While I don’t engage in adultery myself these days, my (now defunct ) marriage began as an adulterous relationship, so I’m in no position to claim the moral high ground.
It’s just that I’m so damn tired of reading about cheating hearts.
I’ll begin a new book. I’m enjoying the writing, relishing the voice, and starting to care about the…
