AN ACADEMIC AFFAIR

Australian academic rivals use a loophole to land the same job.

Sadie Shaw and Jonah Fisher have been clashing since they were freshmen in college. Both are part of Sydney’s academic precariat, adjuncts who cobble together jobs teaching English until they can land full-time positions. Now in their early 30s, they have been housemates for the past eight years, living with others in a large six-bedroom share house. When the perfect position for both of them is listed in Hobart, each has personal reasons for wanting the job. Sadie wants financial independence and distance from her supportive but smothering older sister, Chess. Jonah wants to be closer to his sister, Fiona, who’s going through a brutal divorce. Sadie lands the job, but the contract outlines a benefit called “partner hire,” which compels the university to find work for a qualified spouse. Feeling guilty, Sadie convinces Jonah they should get married. After all, they have the same address, and plenty of people have observed their lustful dynamic. After a lengthy exposition of the scheme’s logistics, Sadie and Jonah finally arrive in Hobart. The plot is driven by describing their workload and clashes with the administration’s restructuring team, while the emotional heart of the book is in their relationships with their siblings. Sadie has a huge fight with Chess before the wedding, and her grief, guilt, and attempts to fix the rift are the basis of her character arc. Jonah and his sister learn to love and care for each other away from the quelling influence of their father. The romance plot is lackluster, a footnote to the lovingly detailed minutiae of the workings of the Australian university system.

Poor pacing and a jam-packed plot leave little time for romance.