The Idea of Love
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More About the Author
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Review
Praise for Becoming Strangers:
'Dean has [Alan Bennett's] almost supernatural talent for observing and measuring the comedy and tragedy of ordinary, heartfelt lives' Guardian
'I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. In the end, I was so uplifted, I did both' Julie Myerson
'Dean has a deliciously lucid and seemingly effortless style ... An exceptionally enjoyable book' Daily Mail
Product Description
When foreign families converge on Provence for a better life, it seems as if sunshine, drinking and partying will create an idyllic little community of like-minded sorts. But compelled to venture far from this Eden to Africa, two of the couples lives are changed irrevocably when each begins to doubt themselves, who they are and why they're there.
For Richard, life unravels alarmingly quickly when he loses his marriage, his home, and his job in pharmaceutical sales and finally maybe even his mind; for his wife Valerie and for their friends Jeff and Rachel it's the pursuit of the idea of love that salvages what they hold dear and only love itself that grants any enlightenment.
But for the children in the story, the awkward unsettling Maxence and angelic little Maud, The Idea of Love is much simpler...
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another gripping read from Louise Dean,
By
This review is from: The Idea of Love (Hardcover)
I have read all three of Louise Dean's novels and found The Idea of Love as Insightful, hard hitting and enthralling as both Becoming Strangers and The Human Season. As with her previous two books, Lousie holds no prisoners with regards to some of life's sad truths but somehow manages, despite taking the reader on a pretty depressing journey at times, to provide humour and hope. The characters are incredibly well drawn and painfully real as are their dilemmas and the writing is beautifully understated. From the very first page I found myself hooked and read it in a record three days. I would urge anyone who has got as far as reading this review to buy the novel and, if you haven't already, go back and read Dean's other two novels immediately afterwards.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
'...he sees my mouth as something to kiss the children...',
By
This review is from: The Idea of Love (Paperback)
Richard, who works for an international pharmacy company, moves with his French wife Valerie and son Max to live in an idyllic French setting just outside a small village. The English and Dutch ex-patriot crowd have a heavy presence in the Var and they soon make friends, though they are closest to an American, Jeff and his English wife Rachel who has just had a baby daughter, Maude. Jeff is the protégé of his eccentric boss, who runs a New York Advertising Agency, and is supervising the building and fitting out of a grand and beautiful house which the wealthy boss may, or may not, use for holidays.
Richard's pharmaceutical job takes him all over Europe and then into Africa, and it is here that he comes up against the dangers inherent in treating all cultures alike in the market-driven imperatives of drug proliferation. A side-plot also involves Rachel's desire to adopt an African child - and again, wealthy westerners are brought up against some uncomfortable truths about the continent which does not fit in with their naïve, if generous assumptions. This adoption side-plot though, feels rather pitch-forked in as an `issue' and is a less convincing element as a result. The novel then moves back to life in the Var where Richard has a sudden epiphany, partly caused by his African experiences, but also by the realisation that his son has been growing up a stranger to him and he must face profound doubts about his marriage. The consequences play out with deeply affecting realism, not least for adolescent Max. The novel tackles modern evils that masquerade as cure-alls, but weaved skilfully and inexorably with questions about the terrors that assault the lover no less than those betrayed by love. This is a beautifully constructed and artfully written book. Dean's internal narratives are often pithy and full of insight. It is a beautifully sanguine read, as she moves closer to the idea of what love can do powerfully well - and what it can't. When Richard goes to see his local doctor for, ironically enough, some of the drugs he has been selling, he bares his soul: "`I'll tell you what the problem is, it's the absence of understanding of what love really is', he said... `Love is the last delusion of the rational age, the final faith. In a world in which everything is junk, everything is disposable, the idea of love as a fearsome promise is something worth dying for. Worth living for even. Don't you think?'"
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"The Idea of Love",
By
This review is from: The Idea of Love (Paperback)
"The Idea of Love" is a fabulously written perfect Summer read. Set predominantly in the South of France it charters the trials and tribulations of various families. Starting off seemingly idyllic, their lives start to change as marriage problems and self doubt creep in.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book as I was never quite sure where it was going to take me. If you have enjoyed Louise Dean's other books, you'll be sure to love this one. Highly recommended.
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