"Il y a de bons mariages, mais il n'y en a point de délicieux."

The Duke of La Rochefoucauld said there are happy marriages but no delightful ones. I can think of just one exception in books and films: Nick and Nora Charles in The Thin Man. The director of the film series, W. S. Van Dyke II, was happily married and wanted to portray a happy marriage. Perhaps this is what fiction means.

Because the novel came out at exactly the moment prohibition ended it is also a celebration of what looks to us very like alcoholism but also looks like fun.