Tag Archives: Mary Alice Monroe

Friday Book Whimsy: The Butterfly’s Daughter

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searchAuthor Mary Alice Monroe is quite prolific, and I haven’t ever read a single book she’s written. That always surprises me, because I read a lot. From what I can tell, many – if not most – of her novels take place in the south, primarily the low country of South Carolina. I think most also contain some sort of environmental element, though I can’t say that for sure because, well, see above. First one I’ve ever read.

I’m saying this so that you will understand that I can’t compare this book to any of her other novels, as many reviewers have done. Having said this, I will tell you that I found it to be a pleasant, if not compelling, story.

Luz Avila lives with her grandmother in Minnesota, having been deserted by her mother when she was a small child. Luz believes that her mother is dead. Her abuela (grandmother) announces one day that she wants to travel with Luz back to the small town in Mexico where she was born and reared, stopping in San Antonio on the way to introduce her to other family. Luz declines, and the inevitable happens. Grandma dies. Luz decides to make the trip of which her abuela had dreamed, taking the ashes back to her home town in Mexico.

Driving a beat-up Volkswagen bug, and armed with her grandmother’s ashes, she sets off on a journey that her grandmother would have loved. Along the way, Luz meets a variety of people who have a surprisingly profound impact on her life given that she only knows them a brief time.

While not great literature, The Butterfly’s Daughter was a lovely book that contained some of the elements I like most when reading – interesting information (in this case, the flight that monarch butterflies make yearly from the northern United States to Mexico), delicious sounding food (in this case, Mexican food that made my mouth water), and a bit of romance (just a bit, not too much).

If you are looking for a light read with characters who are, while not unforgettable, at least likeable and interesting, The Butterfly’s Daughter will offer you enjoyable experience.

And if nothing else, read it for the food and the butterflies.

Here is a link to the book.

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Friday Book Whimsy: The Beach House

Posted in Book Reviews, Whimsies by

searchI’ve read a series of rather dark and violently graphic mystery novels lately, so Mary Alice Monroe’s wonderful low country novel The Beach House was a welcome relief.

The author was recommended to me by someone who knew I enjoyed novels that take place in the south, and especially in the low country of South Carolina. I have enjoyed authors such as Dorothea Benton Frank and Karen White, and it pleases me to no end to become acquainted with another.

Cara Rutledge left home at age 18, eager to be away from her abusive father and the mother who seemed unwilling to provide any help or support. She makes a good life for herself in Chicago. But suddenly her life is in turmoil when she loses her job and her boyfriend in one fell swoop. A letter from her mother asking her to come home and repair their relationship is welcomed.

The story line itself is somewhat predictable, but in a laid-back low country way. The reader is swept up into the soft, slow, wonderful life in a beach house on an island off the coast of Charleston — Isle of Palms. You feel yourself relax and you taste the fresh crabs and the sweetness of shrimp caught just before eaten.

I’m not giving anything away when I tell you that Cara’s mom is dying of cancer. The reader learns of her imminent demise early on. Normally I feel betrayed by books in which a beloved character dies. In The Beach House, however, Cara’s mother Lovey is at peace with her diagnosis, making it less devastating and a part of whole story.

The side story is about the birth cycle of the loggerhead sea turtles, which Lovey and her island friends have watched and help manage for many years. I learned a lot about the sea turtles and found that side story interesting rather than distracting.

There is the inevitable love story, but I found it enchanting rather than sugary sweet. And of course you can’t have a novel about the barrier islands without a hurricane. Monroe does a nice telling of the details around the hurricane. Her characters were memorable and I wanted to spend time with them all. And I definitely want to own a beach house on Isle of Palms.

I will be eager to read more stories by this author.

Here is a link to the book.

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