Dodsworth

A successful Midwestern automobile manufacturer retires at the height of his career and sets off for Europe with his restless wife, only to find that wealth and travel cannot secure happiness or shared purpose. As their marriage strains under differing ambitions and cultural fascinations, he is forced into a late-blooming reckoning with love, identity, and what it means to live authentically. Both a sharp social satire and a moving study of middle-aged self-discovery, this novel contrasts American pragmatism with European sophistication while probing the illusions of status and romance. Written by a Nobel Prize–winning author known for his incisive critiques of American life, it remains a perceptive and engaging portrait of marriage and personal awakening.