Alentejo Blue is set in the fictional Portugese village of Mamarrosa, populated with natives, expatriates, and tourists. There's the old farmer, Joao, who finds his elderly friend hanged from a tree, Vasco, the fat owner of the local bar, Teresa who wants to leave for London, the drunken English writer, Stanton, and English tourists Eileen and her husband trying to put unsettling news behind them. These and other characters move in and out through the village and the story, their interactions and acceptance or rejection of the changes in their lives forming the structure of this novel by Monica Ali (
Brick Lane).
Alentejo Blue has received mixed reviews with The Telegraph calling it, "a perfectly pleasant read."
