[.ca] The Land of Mango Sunsets (ISBN 006125648X)

DELIGHTFUL VOICE PERFORMANCE:
Meet Miriam Elizabeth Swanson who describes herself thusly in New York Times bestselling author Dorothea Benton Frank's tale "The Land of Mango Sunsets": "I am older now and it doesn't matter anymore if someone thinks I am a fool. It makes me laugh because I have been a fool so often that if you could stack the occasions one upon another, they would reach the top of the sky and then spiral away into their own orbit.." That's a pretty accurate self-evaluation as Miriam has made mistakes, some inconsequential, others harmful and, sadly, a few damaging. She's describing herself as she sits on the porch of her family home on Sullivan's Island in the Low country of South Carolina. Miriam has retreated here in the hope of finding perspective and healing. Her husband of two decades has dropped her for a much younger and prettier woman, her two sons offer no consolation - one avoids her and the other has all he can do to care for himself. Once part of a social set she has been dropped by all of her friends as soundly as her husband dropped her. Enough woe? Not at all. Miriam's museum boss is a former friend who treats her with barely concealed disdain, and she has had to turn her Manhattan townhouse into apartments because she needs the money (what happened to a good lawyer?) And, she finds that one of her tenants has become a victim. However, when Miriam returns to Sullivan's Island she finds new opportunities in the very attractive form of retired banker, Harrison Ford (no relation to the actor). Now, if you're wondering about the title, it refers to the big red orange ball the sun became at sunset on Sullivan's Island, as well as the sliced mangoes Miriam's parents enjoyed at breakfast. Nanette Savard gives a delightful performance as narrator Miriam. She is well remembered for her readings of Cover-Up and Reading Like A Writer. Savard's voice for this edition has the slight hint of a Southern accent and a distinct narration which conveys the shifting emotion of the protagonist - from self-pitying to resigned to confident. - Gail Cooke