TITLE: Nectar: A Novel of TemptationAUTHOR: Lily Prior
STARTED: August 3, 2009
FINISHED: August 5, 2009
PAGES: 250
GENRE: Fiction
FIRST SENTENCE: At dawn, before the town of Aversa awoke from its slumbers, a sugar-pink woman with white hair was observed by the gargoyles sneaking toward the portal of the convent of Santa Maria della Pieta.
SUMMARY: [From barnesandnoble.com] Ramona Drottoveo, an albino, is a chambermaid at a lush Italian estate. Distinguished by the intoxicating scent she exudes, Ramona is despised by all women and adored by all men, whose inexhaustible lust she eagerly satisfies. Life changes when her husband dies after discovering his bride with another man on their wedding night. Blamed for his death, Ramona and her lover are exiled to the neighboring city of Naples. There, Ramona's life is transformed once again by the birth of a daughter, Blandina, who "steals" her mother's scent. No longer able to seduce men into blind submission, Ramona humbly returns to the estate to an unexpected welcome — and revenge.
A hilarious and naughty celebration of the senses and the strange places they can lead us, Nectar explores the mystery of sexual attraction and the frivolous nature of divine justice.
THOUGHTS: As if you needed a reason to wear deodorant on the metro...Lily Prior is slowly becoming one of my favorite authors. I say slowly because this is only the second book of hers that I have read. But it doesn't take a plethora of novels for me to see that I am going to enjoy anything she pens. Nectar was a fast read for me simply because I didn't want to put it down.
While La Cucina was a more well rounded book, I have to give Prior a hand for creating a main character who has no redeeming qualities whatsoever... but is still enjoyable to read. Ramona is selfish, proud, arrogant, and a complete dolt and I still liked her. She spends the entire book wanting her personal needs and desires met. When they are not, she whines, complains, and simply leaves those who do not do her bidding behind. Upon the birth of her daughter, her scent disappears and men no longer come to her beck and call. Instead of changing her personality, she remains arrogant. Ramona's actions and attitude are both shockingly rude and repulsive, but I still liked her. I almost admire her for having such gall.
Once again, Prior's writing isenchanting. She brings Italy in all its flavors, aromas, and sights to life. I swear, if she ever wrote about food and nothing else, I would read it... and then gorge myself at a local restaurant. Prior's vocabulary is vivid, her sentences lyrical. In Nectar, Prior also employs black comedy with skill. It's hard not to laugh at the cast of characters that traipse after Ramona. Speaking of that cast of characters, there are many of them. Many, many. Although most characters only warrant a sentence or paragraph each, they feel like real people as opposed to set pieces. While the amount of characters makes the story confusing at times, I was never lost along the way.
This book is humorous, witty, and utterly engrossing.
RATING: 8/10 [Terrific]
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