We Do What We Do in the Dark

Michelle Hart’s first novel is a haunting study of solitude and connection, moving and memorable – Meg Wolitzer, author of THE FEMALE PERSUASIONA 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 MARRIAGEA beautiful book so filled with sharp longing and perfectly phrased vulnerability that I read it in a reverent hush – Torrey Peters, author of DETRANSITION, BABYIn 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 PATSYAt 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 *Transfixing … Mallory’s intense interiority and self-consciousness will remind readers of Sally Rooney’s work, and Hart’s prose is delicate and piercing. This is auspicious and breathtaking * Publishers Weekly *Does something exceptional … Has flashes of Sally Rooney’s CONVERSATIONS WITH FRIENDS, or Halle Butler’s THE NEW ME. Sometimes it’s erotic, sometimes it’s devastating… But the writing always crackles, written by someone who clearly knows what it’s like to desire another woman in ways you just barely understand * New York Times *Michelle Hart’s coming-of-age novel skillfully depicts forbidden romance and the shame it can foster * Time Magazine *An electric debut * Marie Claire *

Michelle Hart’s fiction has appeared in Joyland and Electric Literature, and she has written nonfiction for Catapult, NYLON, The Rumpus, and The New Yorker online. Previously, she was the Assistant Books Editor at O, the Oprah Magazine and Oprah Daily. She received her MFA from Rutgers-Newark and lives in New Jersey.