By Louise Dean
Penguin/
Paperback/292 pages/
$35.31 with GST/***

Do not be fooled by the title or the Cupid on the book cover. This is not a feel-good book about people in the throes of love but a cynical portrayal of failed family relationships, sexual affairs and messed-up children.

The plot revolves around two expatriate couples who are neighbours in 'one of the small market towns that are on the crossroads of rip-you-off Riviera and rob-you-blind Provence'.

The days are filled with sunshine while the nights are spent partying with other neighbours. Despite the seemingly romantic environment, the couples are unhappy.

Richard, a high-flying, philandering executive in a pharmaceutical firm, and his discontented wife Valerie have drifted apart for too long for the damage to be reversed. Making things worse, Valerie hates their son, Maxence, who is turning out to be mentally ill.

For their American neighbour Jeff, his wife Rachel's obsession with religion and African orphans is driving him nuts. Frustrated by her idiosyncrasies, he finds himself coveting Valerie.

Their lives are inevitably drawn to Africa. Richard is trying to sell antidepressant pills in the continent while Rachel is hoping to adopt an orphan from Sierra Leone.

Things go downhill when upon returning from a work trip to Africa, Richard discovers his wife has eloped with Jeff. Overnight, his peachy life transforms into a nightmare.

This book is often depressing but painfully real about how love and marriage often do not correspond with one's hopes and expectations. It is a great moral tale but may be a tad grounded for a piece of fiction.

If you like this, read: The Private Lives Of Pippa Lee by Rebecca Miller (2008, $15.64, Amazon.com). When her much older husband decides that they should move into a retirement complex, housewife Pippa Lee, 50, starts to reflect on her life.

This article was first published in The Straits Times on Nov 2, 2008.