by Louis Begley
First published 2001
Albert Schmidt built his career as a traditional Manhattan lawyer through meticulous control and proper behavior. He organized every detail of his existence with the precision that made him successful. Now his carefully constructed world crumbles around him. His wife has died, leaving him alone in their Hamptons home. His law firm pushes him toward early retirement despite his protests. His daughter announces her engagement to a man Schmidt finds unacceptable, though he struggles to articulate his objections even to himself. Schmidt cannot understand why this marriage disturbs him so deeply. The reasons remain buried beneath layers of his own respectability. As he fumbles for ways to restore order to his disrupted life, an unexpected romantic encounter offers him a path forward. This new relationship ignites feelings Schmidt thought were lost forever. The intensity surprises him and challenges everything he believed about himself and his future.
Genres: drama, literary-fiction, family-life, contemporary
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: character-study, midlife-crisis, second-chance
Setting: Hamptons, Manhattan
Period: 20th-century
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