Acts of Service
Eve has a devoted girlfriend and a nagging fear that she is wasting her youth on a single relationship. On impulse she posts some nude photographs online, which is how she meets Olivia and, through her, the magnetic and unsettling Nathan. The three begin an affair that pushes Eve to examine her desires, her politics, and the gap between what she believes about power and what she craves. Lillian Fishman's debut is a sharp, explicit novel of ideas, set in a post-MeToo world, about sex, ambition, and self-deception. It was a Library Science pick by Kaia Gerber.
Themes & atmosphere
What you might want to know about Acts of Service
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
A young woman in a steady relationship posts nude photos online on a whim, setting off an affair with a couple that forces her to confront what she actually wants.
Yes. It is a sexually explicit literary novel that uses an affair to examine desire, power, and politics in a post-MeToo world.
Yes. Kaia Gerber selected Acts of Service for her book club Library Science.
Acts of Service was written by Lillian Fishman, published in 2022 by Hogarth.
Acts of Service is 240 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Acts of Service takes most readers 4 to 5 hours to finish.
Acts of Service is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.