First published 2002
Anthony Patch and Gloria Gilbert are the golden couple of 1920s Manhattan—beautiful, reckless, and convinced of their inevitable greatness. Heir to a massive fortune and married in a whirlwind of passion, they descend into a spiral of alcohol, parties, and mounting debt. As Anthony awaits his grandfather's inheritance, their marriage becomes a battlefield of diminishing dreams and increasing desperation. Their once-brilliant potential crumbles under the weight of their own excess and entitlement. What begins as a glittering romance becomes a brutal portrait of a generation consuming itself.
Genres: literary-fiction, american-fiction, 20th-century, contemporary
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: downfall, excess-and-entitlement, golden-couple
Setting: New York
Period: 20th-century
422 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Simon & Schuster
Content warnings: alcohol-abuse, substance-abuse