We Do What We Do in the Dark

This book is not purchasable in your country. Please select another book.

Listen to a sample

What to expect

'A beautiful book so filled with sharp longing and perfectly phrased vulnerability that I read it in a reverent hush' Torrey Peters, author of Detransition, Baby

Mallory sees the woman for the first time at her college gym and is immediately transfixed. As a naturally reserved person who is now reeling from the loss of her mother, Mallory finds herself compelled by the woman's assurance, and longs to know her better. Despite the discovery that she is a professor at the college, Mallory finds herself falling into a complicated love affair with the woman, the stakes of which she never quite understands.

In the years that follow, Mallory must come to terms with how the relationship shaped her, for better or worse, and learn to become a part of the world that she sacrificed for the sake of a woman she never truly knew.

In this enthralling debut novel, the complexities of influence, obsession, and admiration reveal how desire and its consequences can alter the trajectory of a life.

(P) 2022 Penguin Audio

Critics Review

  • Michelle Hart’s first novel is a haunting study of solitude and connection, moving and memorable

    Meg Wolitzer, author of THE FEMALE PERSUASION
  • A gorgeous storyteller, Hart is gifted with a poet’s precision, blending image and idea. Sensual and wise, this novel channels the melancholic exhilaration of dangerous love

    Tayari Jones, author of AN AMERICAN MARRIAGE
  • A beautiful book so filled with sharp longing and perfectly phrased vulnerability that I read it in a reverent hush

    Torrey Peters, author of DETRANSITION, BABY
  • In Michelle Hart’s debut novel, she tackles vulnerability, attachment, and the purpose relationships serve in our increasingly isolated lives

    Buzzfeed
  • Seductive and lyrical with poetic detail, this is an unforgettable account of a forbidden romance made extraordinary by Hart’s precision and lyrical touch. A compulsive read that satisfies and haunts

    Nicole Dennis-Benn, author of PATSY
  • At the heart of this sensual debut novel is the story of yearning between young Mallory and a married college professor. Theirs is a transactional desire on the surface, but Hart delves into the motivations of both Mallory and the professor, referred to in the text only as The Woman, to reveal important truths about what our closest relationships say about us, and what they help us conceal

    Oprah Daily

Subscribe to our newsletter

Sign up to get tailored content recommendations, product updates and info on new releases. Your data is your own: we commit to protect your data and respect your privacy.