The Idea of Love - Softcover

Dean, Louise

Softcover

ISBN 10: 199985652X ISBN 13: 9781999856526

Publisher: Kritikme, 2017

Synopsis

 

In her dark and witty third novel, award-winning Man Booker longlisted author Louise Dean evokes the perplexing marriages of two couples living in Provence.

 

Richard is the head of sales in Africa for a pharmaceutical company. He spends most of his time away on business, sleeping with other women and pushing psychiatric drugs on a developing market. Back in Provence, he and his wife, Valérie, no longer share a bed, and his teenage son, Maxence, is hearing voices. When Richard begins an affair with a neighbour, Rachel, he discovers that Valérie, too, is having an affair - with Rachel's husband, Jeff. Suddenly, a routine trip to Africa to sell pharmaceuticals is more than he can handle and his life starts to implode as he realizes that the idea of a life full of that love he has cherished is a mere illusion.

'With wry humour, Dean captures the gloom of existences imploding in incongruous surroundings.' The Observer

 

'Engaging...it is hard to stop turning the pages...arresting...fizzes with talent.' Sunday Times

'Wonderfully complex and original novel about desire, disappointment and mental illness, largely set in ex-pat Provence...Louise Dean's lovely rendering of her awful people makes The Idea of Love an enormous delight.’ The Independent

'An acute, cynical wit... An unforgettable study of the dark side of the mind.' The Times

'This dark novel is interesting and original, a study of love but not a romance and a story with many morals.’ The Telegraph

‘In her third novel, Louise Dean regards with a sardonic eye a group of scalded lovers ricocheting between desire, despair and dipsomania.....Dean's portrayal of Maxence's madness and his mission to save souls is tender and funny, and lifts the novel far above the torrid soul-searching of its narcissistic lovers.’ The Guardian

'Louise Dean's third novel is a careful dissection of our search for love in its many forms – sexual, religious, parental, and brotherly....Dean has a deliciously wry eye for the convincing detail.’ Literary Review

'An unusual but fascinating story that examines the different ways in which people face the harsh realities of love gone wrong.’ Tatler

Learn to write a novel with Louise Dean at TheNovelry.com

 

About this title

Review:

'Engaging...it is hard to stop turning the pages...arresting...fizzes with talent.' Sunday Times

In her dark and witty third novel, Louise Dean evokes the loveless marriages of two couples living in Provence. Richard is the head of sales in Africa for a pharmaceutical company. He spends most of his time away on business, sleeping with strange women and pushing psychiatric drugs on a developing market where hearing voices is considered "a manifestation of witchcraft". Back in Provence, he and his wife, Valérie, no longer share a bed, and his teenage son, Maxence, is hearing voices of his own. When Richard begins an affair with a neighbour, Rachel, he discovers that Valérie, too, is having an affair - with Rachel's husband, Jeff. With wry humour, Dean captures the gloom of existences imploding in incongruous surroundings.' The Observer

'Wonderfully complex and original novel about desire, disappointment and mental illness, largely set in ex-pat Provence...Louise Dean's lovely rendering of her awful people makes The Idea of Love an enormous delight.’ The Independent

'This dark novel is interesting and original, a study of love but not romance and a story with many morals.’ The Telegraph

‘An acute, cynical wit... An unforgettable study of the dark side of the mind.’ The Times.

‘In her third novel, Louise Dean regards with a sardonic eye a group of scalded lovers ricocheting between desire, despair and dipsomania.....Dean's portrayal of Maxence's madness and his mission to save souls is tender and funny, and lifts the novel far above the torrid soul-searching of its narcissistic lovers.’ The Guardian

'Louise Dean's third novel is a careful dissection of our search for love in its many forms – sexual, religious, parental, and brotherly....Dean has a deliciously wry eye for the convincing detail.’ Literary Review

'An unusual but fascinating story that examines the different ways in which people face the harsh realities of love gone wrong.’ Tatler

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.

About this edition

• Publisher: Kritikme
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 199985652X
• ISBN 13: 9781999856526
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 340