As the only daughter of a worldly woman who married beneath her and regretted it, Mona is launched upon New York society to redeem her mother’s mistake. But the sudden popularity and freedom are intoxicating, and Mona’s self-confidence burgeons. She decides to cap the success of her summer by falling in love. Ignorant and eager, she does not understand the implications of her desire. Mona slips into an affair with an expatriate American in Paris, who seems to represent all the shadowy delights of the sophisticated world. Yet her first venture into sex is agonizingly unlike her rose-colored imaginings. . .
As is usual, you were able to put into words what was a vague feeling of discomfiture when I heard of Phillip Roth’s death. thank you