Book Of The Month April, 2007
Alentejo BlueMonica Ali
Alentejo Blue is the story of the Portuguese village of Mamarrosa told through the lives of those who live there and those who are passing through men and women, children and old people, locals, tourists and expatriates. For some, such as Teresa, a beautiful, dreamy village girl, it is a place from which to escape; for others the dysfunctional Potts family it is a way of running from trouble (but not eluding it). Vasco, a café owner who has never recovered from the death of his American wife, clings to a notion that his years in America make him superior to the other villagers. One English tourist makes Mamarrosa the subject of her fantasy of a new life, while for her compatriots, a young engaged couple, Mamarrosa is where their dreams finally fall apart. At the book s opening an old man reflects on his long and troubled life in this beautiful and seemingly tranquil setting, and anticipates the return of Marco Afonso Rodrigues, the prodigal son of the village and a symbol of this now fast-changing world. The homecoming is the subject of continuing speculation, and when Marco Afonso Rodrigues does finally appear, villagers, tourists and expatriates are brought together and jealousies, passions and disappointments must inevitably collide.
What We Think
Christine Dwyer Hickey, author of Tatty recommends:
‘Monica Ali’s Alentejo Blue is first on my summer list, simply because I’ve been given it to review for the Irish Times and have already started it. So far I love it.
One of my favourite writers is Peter Carey and his new novel Theft is definitely coming with me to Italy. It’s very difficult to keep your nose stuck in a book in Italy, with all the little dramas and street theatre going on there, so it has to be something really absorbing. Carey is never afraid to take risks and each of his books is different. I can’t wait to get stuck in. I’m at the no turning back stage of a novel at the moment, part of which is set in Italy during World War 2, so on a darker note, I’ll be taking research books, Susan Zucotti’s The Italians and the Holocaust to name just one. Then, because all novelists should read poetry to keep the ear tuned and the thoughts under control, I’ll be reading Seamus Heaney’s new collection District and Circle.’
Christine Dwyer Hickey is an award-winning novelist and short-story writer. Twice winner of the Listowel Writers’ Week Short Story Competition, she was also a prize winner in the prestigious Observer/Penguin Short-Story Competition.