Not since Precious Ramotswe made her first appearance in The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency has a novel's heroine so immediately and completely won readers' hearts. Materena Mahi, "the best listener in Tahiti," is warm and generous, a natural problem solver, versed in the folk wisdom of her native island home.
When a drunken Pito proposes to Materena, she initially thinks it's just the booze talking. But Materena can't help starting to plan for a fabulous wedding. Right away she's off making inquiries on behalf of "a friend of her boss." From Cousin Moeata, Materena learns that the cake is the most important part of the wedding. From Mama Teta, she's given to understand it's the ride to the church that really counts. Cousin Georgette insists that the real key to a wedding is the dancing. As Materena juggles all this helpful advice, she forges on with everyday life--her relatives, her new baby boy, church on Sunday, cleaning her boss's house...it never ends! Soon, though, Pito seems to have forgotten his proposal. Should Materena be fiu of this heartbreaker?
Célestine Vaite's latest tale of big dreams on a small island will leave readers cheering.
My Comments
I have spotted this book at BookXcess a few times but kept forgetting to get it. Then the other day I went to the Big Bookshop Clearance Sale and saw it again. I bought it.
My sister-in-law read a few chapters of this book and said it does not suit her. For a moment there, I thought 'oh no...'
I finally pick up this book to read yesterday. Finished this in a few hours. It's not a Must Read but it's not bad either.
I like the way it's written. It gives me a glimpse of the local life there. Things described was vivid for me.
The way the author give life to Materena is also very amusing. Materena is matured about some stuffs while seems to be very innocent on other stuffs. It was fun to read the chapter titled "mussels", whereby she got in trouble with the law.
Each chapter is written as a story by itself and yet it's also connected to the next chapter.
I rate this book 3 stars out of 5 stars
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