The Idea of Love: Book summary and reviews of The Idea of Love by Louise Dean

The Idea of Love Summary

When a cluster of expatriate families converges on Provence, it seems as if sunshine, good wine, and an endless round of parties will make for a better life. Then Richard, a pharmaceutical salesman married to sexy Valérie, lands a plum assignment: introducing antidepressants into Africa, virgin territory for the drug industry and for the womanizing he has honed to a science. And idealistic Rachel finds herself Africa-bound too, in search of a little brother or sister for her daughter, Maud, and following some deeper longing she can't seem to quell.

For both Richard and Rachel, the excursions will lead them into their own private heart of darkness, and will bring shock waves home to their little Eden, unsettling the very idea of love.

The Idea of Love Reviews

"Dean's gift for descriptive prose is evident, and her edgy story will shake up traditional ideas about what exactly love is. It may also send depressed readers straight for a mood stabilizer." - Publishers Weekly

"This is a lacerating account of middle-aged people looking for love in the worst possible ways." - Library Journal

"Although neither the plot nor the characters quite jell, Dean...has a darkly optimistic, intellectually humanistic sensibility that recalls Iris Murdoch." - Kirkus Reviews

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Louise Dean Author Biography

Louise Dean is the author of novels and short stories published in the UK and internationally, including Becoming Strangers, This Human Season, The Idea of Love, and The Old Romantic. Her first book, the award-winning Becoming Strangers was voted one of the top 5 fiction books of 2004 by The Observer.

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