A Multitude of Sins - Hardcover

In "Reunion", a man accidentally encounters the husband of a woman with whom he had an affair and he is forced to re-live an episode of his life he would rather have forgotten. In another story, a young, successful couple are driving to a dinner party when the wife discloses an affair that she's been having with their host. In these and other stories, our protagonists' adultery is not Ford's main concern. Instead, he seems to be more interested in examining the aftermath of their infidelities and, in particular, what happens when intimacy fails to provide the anticipated satisfaction. The stories are all the stronger for this strategy--there are no easy, moral solutions provided at the end of each tale, no sense of peace or wisdom that the characters can attain. Instead, the individuals are left to contemplate the repercussions of their actions and to try and salvage some greater self-understanding from the morass.

Although charting a similar course through middle class sexual mores to John Updike or Philip Roth, Ford's style is quieter, less explosive and arguably less prescriptive. While drawing his characters from a relatively narrow swathe of wealthy American suburbia, Ford places his collection of lawyers, estate agents and accountants in such familiar moral dilemmas that we recognise ourselves all too well in their behaviour. By holding up this mirror to our own lives, Ford renders A Multitude of Sins an unsettling but rewarding read. --Jane Morris