Lily Prior

This is a book of at least two halves! Concerning the trials and tribulations of a sex crazed woman this book starts out well enough but as she loses her sexuality the book loses its oomph!

The basic story is that Ramona is an albino: white skin, white hair and beautiful pink eyes; and she exudes a fragrance that turns men wild. Wherever Ramona goes, men queue up to do favours for her. In the early part of the book, she seems to allow every man she meets to do her such a favour.

Ramona is a servant girl and of course she has ambitions: she wants to move upstairs and who can blame her. Instead of moving upstairs, and in spite of letting her Signor do her favours, she marries the local beekeeper.

The beekeeper is an odd bod: he doesn't appear to be turned on by the mystery odour ... well, see for yourself as you read about him!

She marries the beekeeper but nought good comes of it after a lengthy marriage ... so she marries the assistant beekeeper as well. I told you she was ambitious!

Anyway, it's around this point that the story loses its way. As Ramona is having her way, the story moves along nicely. As soon as the sex stops, so does the appeal of this book.

There are deaths and misfortunes. There's a hunchback who dotes on the woman. There are operatic aspirations brought to an overheated close. There's the Signor who's lost his sense of smell.

This book is set in Italy for some reason, as if Halifax or Abingdon aren't good enough: this aspect of the story simply allows the author to indulge her liking for Italy ... there's a dramatis personnae at the start of the book that I started to read when I first opened the book. Then like the book itself, I lost interest in the list of spookily named characters.

Ramona has a daughter who is born and then within no time has become the size of a one year old, then a two year old ... then this part of the plot dies. The daughter is everything that Ramona isn't but Prior fails to carry this one off: the daughter is an albino, she does exude the odour and maybe there's a sequel in the offing. Here was an opportunity to revive the book; but it was lost.

I have to say that even as a story, the post rampant Ramona story isn't that interesting. Lots of twists and turns. Lots of vignettes and cameos and even the final offer of marriage to close the book don't serve to rescue the story I'm afraid.

If you really must read this, wait until you're asked. Don't spend your hard earned cash on it.

 

Duncan Williamson
18 December 2002