The Land of Mango Sunsets: A Book Review

In The Land of Mango Sunsets, Dorothea Benton Frank continues to do what she does best: prove that even grown ups can "come of age."

Miriam Elizabeth Swanson is determined to cling to the remnants of her socialite life in New York, even though she's been reeling ever since her husband deserted her for a younger woman. She's estranged from her sons and far from her native home on Sullivan's Island in South Carolina. Her only lifelines are her gay best friend, Kevin, her mother, and her African Gray parrot, Harry. When even the shell of her shallow social life falls apart, Miriam is forced to realize that sometimes pride is not the most important thing in life. The arrival of a new cast of characters in her life, beginning with a new tenant, Liz, and a couple of new and very different men, hasten the newly nicknamed Mellie's discovery of a happier, more real self, with plenty of laughter, tears, and pivotal moments along the way.

The Land of Mango Sunsets does not hold a lot of surprises. In places, the plot seems a bit thin. But Ms. Frank's talent for creating characters who feel like friends you've just met and her love for South Carolina's coastal islands carries the book admirably.

While not quite as stellar, in my opinion , as the other island books, Shem Creek, Pawleys Island, and Isle of Palms, The Land of Mango Sunsets is nevertheless a pleasant and worthwhile reading experience.  You won't regret picking it up and getting lost in Miriam/Mellie's life for a while.