I really enjoyed Monica Ali’s first book Brick Lane, so I had high expectations which this book unfortunately did not meet.

The problem was the plot, or lack of it. There were threads and fragments of stories, and some of the characters’ lives do intertwine a little bit, so I kept expecting that at some point everything would connect and cohere, but this never happened. The party at the end seemed a lame attempt to tie all the threads together, but it didn’t do so effectively. The story is also told through the viewpoints of various characters, which adds to the disjointed effect.

There is still a lot to like about Alentejo Blue. There are some very well-drawn characters, who are well-described not just through their words and thoughts, but also through various incidents they are involved in and other characters’ reaction to them. Those who stood out the most for me were Vasco, Stanton and the Potts family. Ali’s descriptions of the Portuguese countryside are beautiful, and she captures the mood of small-town life very well.

What I liked most was the theme of people being dissatisfied with their lives and dreaming of other places. The English look for happiness in Portugal, the Portuguese look for happiness elsewhere, be it England, America, France or Venezuela. Generally their dreams are not realised, but the reader can really sense the yearning through Ali’s words.

Overall, the book was OK, but not wonderful.