Overall, a rather disappointing book, though the writing is quite good and there are particularly good passages/sections throughout. The trouble is that 'Alentejo Blue' is a fragmented novel with no real central narrative drive or plot to pull together the disparate strands. It reads like a collection of linked short stories set in the same Portuguese area.

Each chapter focusses on a different character living or staying in Alentejo. Inevitably with any book of this kind, some characters are more interesting and easier to identify with than others. I found the first two sections particularly hard going and almost stopped reading, although some of the subsequent sections were better.

I've never been to the area so can't comment on accuracy, but I wouldn't say that it was particularly strongly invoked. With a book of this kind, where location is the unifying theme, you would hope to finish reading and feel like you've visited yourself. But I can't say that I really know much more about Alentejo than before, except that it is hot and rural, which I could probably have guessed.

Every time I felt like I was getting to know a character and becoming interested in their story, their section finished and another character was introduced. I felt I had little 'investment' in the book and this meant I wasn't excited about getting home to read it. The one very tenuous linking storyline was the anticipated return of a wealthy local man, but this wasn't much exploited and the ultimate conclusion was flat, dull and disappointing. I found the returnee character extremely unbelivable as well.

I would say that Ali is a good writer in terms of style, and I would try another of her books. But this novel (if you can call it that) lacks the coherency to make it anything more than an OK read.

Left in the Restaurant. Hope you enjoy the book!