In Darran Smith’s novel, The Alphabet Lovers, photographer Marcos Ferreira moves through two decades and a revolving cast of partners (one for every letter of the alphabet) in search of a love that lasts.
The story opens with Marcos on his wedding day, then loops backward through the relationships that shaped him, including: Adam, his first love and first heartbreak; Malcolm, a former friend who harshly shut him down then reappeared years later; and Niccolo, a bisexual playboy in Italy. It also visits a string of noncommittal flings in various cities. Readers piece together, alongside Marcos, how he eventually arrives at the marriage promised in the opening pages.
What distinguishes this novel from typical queer romance is its groundedness. It has a memoir-like candor, reading less like a parade of romantic conquests and more like a slow, deliberate education in self-knowledge. Each relationship, however brief, teaches Marcos about how to move forward. For example, one partner is overprotective, a quality Marcos realizes he’s not comfortable with. Other partners are too secretive, too affectionate, and so on. Each relationship helps Marcos identify what does and doesn’t work for him.
Despite going through a succession of romantic encounters, which could easily become redundant and trite, the author makes each encounter feel natural and reasonably distinct from the others, without reaching for wild, unusual scenarios. Thus, the story manages to avoid seeming repetitive or random. The prose style also remains down-to-earth and relatable, never overplaying the emotion or hinting towards dramatics.
Readers drawn to steamy romance should adjust expectations; intimacy here is candid but brief and is never the novel’s focus. Instead, Smith is most interested in the quieter mechanics of growth: how love, friendship, and self-acceptance accumulate over years rather than arriving in a single transformative moment.
The Alphabet Lovers offers a thoughtful, unhurried portrait of a man learning about love, relationship by relationship. It will particularly resonate with fans of Bryan Washington and Alexander Chee.
Also available as an ebook.