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The Idea of Love (Hardcover)

by Louise Dean (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
RRP: £16.99
Price: £14.44 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Customers buy this book with The Ten-year Nap by Meg Wolitzer

The Idea of Love + The Ten-year Nap
Price For Both: £21.63

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  • This item: The Idea of Love by Louise Dean

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

  • The Ten-year Nap by Meg Wolitzer

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 273 pages
  • Publisher: Fig Tree; First Edition edition (7 Aug 2008)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 190549016X
  • ISBN-13: 978-1905490165
  • Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15 x 3.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 439,191 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

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...


About the Author

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.
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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Idea of Love
87% buy the item featured on this page:
The Idea of Love 5.0 out of 5 stars (3)
£14.44
Becoming Strangers
8% buy
Becoming Strangers 3.7 out of 5 stars (10)
£4.63
This Human Season
3% buy
This Human Season 4.3 out of 5 stars (6)
£5.98
The Ten-year Nap
1% buy
The Ten-year Nap 3.3 out of 5 stars (3)
£7.19
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Customer Reviews

3 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
5.0 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Another gripping read from Louise Dean, 1 Sep 2008
By R. Head - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
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.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars "The Idea of Love", 31 Jul 2009
By Mrs. A. H. Barrett - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
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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3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars amazing... create your own movie, 19 Nov 2008
By Dr. T. B. Ustun "Tower of Babel" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Louise Dean is naturally gifted, witty and a good architect who designs the novel for readers so that life in it is a pleasure! She ( I assume knowingly ) tells the story so that as you read the words on the page, they create your own movie in your brain. Not only the immediate sensation of the book is good, but also is the after taste. Her novels should bear an "addictive" warning!
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