First published 2001
Dick and Nicole Diver seem like the golden couple of 1920s European high society—he a brilliant young psychiatrist, she a wealthy heiress with a complicated past. But beneath their glamorous exterior, deep psychological fractures threaten to destroy their marriage. As Dick's professional ambitions clash with Nicole's mental health struggles, their relationship becomes a delicate emotional battlefield. Surrounded by the decadent playground of the French Riviera, they spiral through passion, infidelity, and personal disintegration. Their world of privilege cannot protect them from the fundamental human vulnerabilities that will ultimately tear them apart.
Genres: fiction, drama, romance, literary-fiction, american-fiction, 20th-century, contemporary, adult-fiction
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: character-study, decadence, psychological-drama
Setting: America, French Riviera
Period: 20th-century
400 pages · Paperback · Penguin Classics
Content warnings: mental-illness