Key Words with Peter and Jane Level 7c – A Trip to the City
  • Published: 1 September 2010
  • ISBN: 9781407040882
  • Imprint: Transworld Digital
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 304

Key Words with Peter and Jane Level 7c – A Trip to the City

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An evocative tale of belonging and exile by one of Britain's best young novelists.

Alentejo Blue is the story of the Portuguese village of Mamarrosa told through the lives of those who live there and those who are passing through - men and women, children and old people, locals, tourists and expatriates.

For some, such as Teresa, a beautiful, dreamy village girl, it is a place from which to escape; for others - the dysfunctional Potts family - it is a way of running from trouble (but not eluding it). Vasco, a café owner who has never recovered from the death of his American wife, clings to a notion that his years in America make him superior to the other villagers. One English tourist makes Mamarrosa the subject of her fantasy of a new life, while for her compatriots, a young engaged couple, Mamarrosa is where their dreams finally fall apart.

At the book's opening an old man reflects on his long and troubled life in this beautiful and seemingly tranquil setting, and anticipates the return of Marco Afonso Rodrigues, the prodigal son of the village and a symbol of this now fast-changing world. The homecoming is the subject of continuing speculation, and when Marco Afonso Rodrigues does finally appear, villagers, tourists and expatriates are brought together and jealousies, passions and disappointments must inevitably collide.
  • Published: 1 September 2010
  • ISBN: 9781407040882
  • Imprint: Transworld Digital
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 304
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About the author

Monica Ali

Monica Ali was born in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and grew up in England. She is the author of Untold Story, In The Kitchen, Alentejo Blue and her first novel, Brick Lane was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, the George Orwell Prize for political writing and the prestigious Commonwealth Writers' Prize.

She lives in London with her husband and two children.

portrait photo of Monica Ali

Also by Monica Ali

Brick Lane
Penguin Readers Level 6: Brick Lane (ELT Graded Reader)
In The Kitchen
See all

Praise for Key Words with Peter and Jane Level 7c – A Trip to the City

(Ali is) 'a writer with a keen eye for physical and emotional detail, and a style, mixing the tart with the lyrical which pulls you fast into her chosen world'

The Times

(Ali's) 'assured writing and gentle humour are a constant delight'

Daily Mail

Compelling, atmospheric and elegantly written

Tatler

Ali gives us a glimpse into a world that's truly exotic ... brilliantly evocative

Daily Express

Well written and often entertaining .... a perfectly pleasant read

Daily Telegraph

If you're looking for an intelligent holiday read, this has it all

Marie Claire

The grace of Ali's words is dazzling

Time Out, New York

Using luminous, heartfelt language, the award-winning Ali weaves a tapestry of human frailty.

Library Journal

With it's supple prose and acute insights into a wildly mixed bag of characters, Alentejo Blue establishes definitively that Monica Ali is a major literary talent.

Entertainment Weekly

Ali writes like a dream. Every so often you stop mid-sentence to admire the prose.

Now Magazine (Canada)

Her craftsmanship is superb and her descriptions rich with quirky, sad, funny and lovely details.

USA Today

Ali's writing is winning: hypnotic, substantial, warm.

Observer