The Idea of Love [Hardcover]

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

A wonderfully complex and original novel...the writing is so inventive and has such an alluring energetic zeal...utterly fresh and convincing...an enormous delight Independent Engaging...it is hard to stop turning the pages...arresting...fizzes with talent Sunday Times A fascinating story that examines the different ways in which people face the harsh realities of love gone wrong Tatler An unforgettable study of the dark side of the mind The Times Written with bite and edge Eve --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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...

Louise Dean is the author of two previous novels: Becoming Strangers, which was awarded the Betty Trask Prize in 2004, and was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and the Guardian First Book Award, and This Human Season. She lives in Kent and has three children.