Alentejo Blue - Monica Ali, Black Swan

For some, Mamarrosa is a place you merely pass through. For others it is somewhere from which you want to escape. Some people come here to disappear. A small town in rural Portugal, it is on the way to other places, but you rarely stop there.And those who do usually have a reason.Men and women, children and old people all tell their stories, piece by piece, locals, expatriates, tourists alike, and in so doing assemble the story of the town itself, a tale of exile and belonging, rich with resonance and regret.