by Monica Ali
First published 2007
In the Portuguese village of Mamarossa, cafe owner Vasco wipes tables with dirty rags while thinking about his dead American wife. Writer Stanton sits in the cafe, observing the locals and becoming entangled with the chaotic Potts family: alcoholic father, absent mother, promiscuous daughter, and lonely son. Young Teresa faces a choice between staying in her village or taking an au pair job in London. An engaged English couple visits to escape wedding planning, but deeper tensions surface between them. Everyone waits for Marco Alfonso Rodrigues, the local man who left years ago and supposedly made his fortune. Each villager imagines how his return will transform their lives. When Marco finally arrives, nothing happens as expected. The village remains caught between dreams of change and the weight of history that shaped them all.
Genres: romance, literary-fiction, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, small-town
Setting: Mamarossa, London, Portugal
Period: 21st-century
312 pages · Hardcover · ISIS Publishing
Content warnings: alcohol-abuse