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Content snapshot
Flag an inaccuracy →What's in this book, at a glance — five things readers want to know before they start.
Violence
None
No violence
Language
Barely any
Mild language
Sexual Content
Some
An affair portrayed romantically; the physical relationship is referenced rather than explicit
Substance Use
Barely any
Some wine with dinner
Emotional Intensity
A lot
The weight of choosing duty over desire; the roads not taken; adultery treated as transcendent rather than harmful
What this book is about
Francesca Johnson, a farm wife in Iowa, meets National Geographic photographer Robert Kincaid during her family's absence. Their four-day affair is one of literature's most famous, and the novel is structured as her children discovering her journals after her death. Brief, lyrical, and intensely felt — and controversial for romanticizing adultery.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Affair romanticized without depicting consequences for family
Psychological longing and regret
Reader Verification
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