The Land Of Mango Sunsets (2007) - Plot & Excerpts
Read this on the plane to California for my mother's Memorial. She died a month ago frommetastatic breast and colon cancer.I'd heard this book was a bi different from Dotty Frank's usual books. Yes and no. A woman of a certain age still runs home to mama and finds her own brand of truth and honesty. A little bit of frivolity, too. I liked how Miriam turned into Mellie. Miriam was a bain in the arse; Mellie is a work in progress. But some one should have warned me how close certain aspects of this book would tally with my own life and I might have not read it right now. The foreshadowing was pretty blatent, but I still read on.(Spoiler alert)When it was clear that MEllie's mom was "losing weight and getting tired" I literally threw the book at the passenger in the next seat (who luckily was my husband) and said, "I'm tired of reading about dying mothers. The blurb on the back said nothing about dying mothers. We all have them, but why does everyone have to stick them in their book?" I charged on and kept finding the parallels, except they maybe used a different Hospice than we did in the Charleston area. HAd Ii known, I would have recommended Hospice of Charleston.Anyhow, it was a quick, mostly light, read and I plan to totally confuse someone here in California, because the cover has a "local author" sticker on it as well as a BookCrossing one. Local for the point of origin.Dottie (who went to my high school, Ashley Hall, but a few years ahead of me) gets points in my book for her descriptions of the lowcountry and for pointing out some of the great stuff going on in hte area to help preserve and conserve this beautiful earth of ours.
This is the 4th book I’ve read by Dorothea Benton Frank, and I’m still a fan, but as a note to myself, I should not purchase audiobooks when only the abridged version is available, because shortened versions don’t do any book justice. Like here with The Land of Mango Sunsets, I am missing a little depth that I’m sure is in the full version. Also, I’m detecting a recurrent theme that must be a favorite to this author: a woman, who is also a daughter of around 40 or 50, living in New York returns to her home somewhere in the South Carolina. I like the theme, certainly when it emphasizes that happiness represents reuniting with your family, being less cynical, and be more in tune with nature. I can certainly understand the appeal of the South Carolina islands. It’s a magical place and that’s where I would love to spend the rest of my days.In short, this is the story of Miriam Elizabeth Swanson , a forty-ish woman. Her story is quite generic in that her husband left her for a younger model. Miriam’s relationship with her grown sons has become somewhat distant since the divorce. Luckily, her best gay friend, Kevin, who is also her tenant in her New York town house, has filled a void created after her divorce. He's a sweet man and shares the best friendship & companionship with Miriam. Then there’s also her newest tenant, Liz, arriving from Birmingham with plenty of troubles of her own. Together with her friends, Miriam will go through a transformative period, re-connecting with her sons and her mother and lastly with Sullivans Island, and with a good man.
What do You think about The Land Of Mango Sunsets (2007)?
The adventures of a bitter, 40 somethingish divorcee with a bird named Harry who learns some life lessons about the importance of family, forgiveness, and love. Somewhat predictable, pretty funny, and would be a feel-good story but for the sad ending. You can see it coming, but I would have preferred that the book continue in the same happy vein all the way to the end. It seems to wobble between trying to be a light read and a more serious piece of fiction. It was a bit like a salad that didn't get tossed. This was my second Dorothea Benton Frank book. I read another one years ago and don't remember anything about it. While I didn't really dislike this book, I don't know that I'm inspired to read anything else by the author.
—Helen Gaye Brewster
I devour most any book about lowcountry. This one started out rather slowly, but the story became engaging once Miriam/Mellie realized what she really needed in her life and gave up her snooty socialite ways. There were a lot of characters in this book, but Dorothea Benton Frank did a very good job of introducing them one at a time so that one could get to know them before another one appeared. And, once they met their purpose, she dropped them out of the story and moved on. I loved Kevin, and wish I had a best friend just like him!Things I didn't like: Miriam/Mellie got involved way too quickly with Manny for my taste. She didn't particularly seem to like him, so what was the point? Also, there was an overabundance of question marks -- I guess it was supposed to indicate a Southern dialect, but I found it distracting and, after awhile, annoying.------------------------------------------------------------------------Read this for the second time 2/10-11/14. Frank's novels are always deep and engrossing. This one is no exception. Well developed characters. Great story.
—Suka
I was a little concerned at first, because Miriam seemed uncharacteristically wimpy and shallow for DBF, but it got better and better. There are characters with real trauma in their past, and there are characters who are evil, or shallow, or clueless (as in life), but while other authors wrap their characters in the misery of their past, spiraling downward into a bleak future, These characters mostly discover the strength to get over the past and make life better. Throughout, of course, the calming influence of the water.
—Dawn
