While Lily Prior’s first novel (“La Cucina”) was mostly based in reality, her second novel “Nectar” is almost pure fantasy. So while the story and people and events in “La Cucina” could actually have existed (despite some of the unusual bits), unless there’s some amazing documentation we may have missed, it is doubtful that some of the characters and proceedings here could actually happen in real life. However, this isn’t some type of Tolkien or Pratchett-like fantasy, nor something from outer space. No, this is more like a fairytale, complete with a moral!
Set again in Italy (as is Prior’s preference) this is the story of the unjustly snobbish, unattractive, albino servant, Ramona Drottoveo, whom all men adore, and all women hate. Why do all women hate her and all men adore her? Remember, she is practically ugly, very unkind and she has no money whatsoever. There’s as little for men to see in her as there is for women to be jealous of. The reason for these contradicting feelings of the sexes is because she gives off an intoxicating scent that drives men wild with desire. Husbands, boyfriends, fathers and sons alike, not one of them are immune to her, and that’s what makes the women hate her so much. Ramona adores the attention – both emotionally, and physically. Still, she tries to find real love, and thinks she’s found it, until her husband – the village beekeeper – finds her with another man on their wedding night and promptly dies. When his body disappears, she becomes an outcast (beekeepers are apparently lucky, and this is seen as a bad omen), and she leaves for Naples. The rest of the book follows her adventures, including how her life changes with the birth of her daughter, Blandina.
Prior has given us again, a very short novel with yet another large cast of characters. Prior knows how to bring them alive, keeping them vivid and unconfused in our minds. What Prior uses to do this is a keen eye for the unusual and distinctly different. What’s more, you may find yourself cheering one character on, while hoping another falls into some pit of the plot. If you do, you’ll agree that despite the brevity of this work, Prior really knows how to get her readers to feel for her characters – for the good and for the bad. It doesn’t matter if you grow to love Ramona or hate her, if you want her to have a happy ending or a bad one. What’s important is that as you read this, you’ll certainly take one side or another.
Aside from the characters, Prior’s general story writing style uses language that is simple, and yet has a touch of the feel of poetry to it. As an example, chapter one starts out as follows:
“Ramona Drotteveo was one of the chambermaids up at La Casa, the white marble palace in the valley of the Volturno, on the vast estate that had been in the Signora’s family since the time of the Etruscans.”
This tells you much more than you might imagine at first glance. A ‘white marble palace’ suggests wealth and opulence. While ‘one of the chambermaids’ indicates a large staff, and that the focus of the book is on one poor girl among them. If we look for Volturno, we find it in the chief river of southern Italy, which must be a very beautiful, lush and prosperous – nay, fertile – place. Finally ‘since the time of the Etruscans’ can tell us that the owners are not only rich, but come from old money and are probably very well respected. All of that in less than 40 words! But don’t feel the need to dissect every line of this book. This is just an example of how Prior gives you the gist, without having it laid out in long descriptions, which embodies the first rule of writing “show, don’t tell”.
Using her special style, removing this from reality comes quite easily, since Prior was just on the edge of this with her first novel. With Nectar, she let herself free and allowed her imagination run just that much wilder. So, while we realize that many of the things that happen in the book are highly unlikely, they don’t actually make the book seem totally unbelievable. In fact, within the context of the characters and the incidents they find themselves in, even the strangest of events seems almost ordinary. In this, we have a tale that borders on the fantastical while still having components of reality – or perhaps it is a realistic tale which is also magical and whimsical. Take your pick.
As this is a type of fairytale, there must be a moral to it. In this story, we have a choice of morals here. One could be that sex for sex’s sake is not going to reap you anything truly permanent. Another could be that true love is something that can only be found when we are able to ignore or get beyond the physical, the obvious and the aesthetic, and look for that which is beneath and real. Then there is the moral is that no bad turn goes unpunished, and yet all are worthy of redemption. Another possible moral is that no one is perfect, and it matters less what your imperfections are than what you do to overcome them. Whatever moral you choose, it will make no difference to your reading of the book.
But this book has more than just fantasy and morals. There’s intrigue, mystery, suspense and even comedy mixed into the story. And of course, lots and lots of lust! Quite a good deal packed into such a short book! In short, this is a bizarre story that straddles reality and fantasy. It’s a fast and short read that you’ll find yourself flowing with as the story unveils itself before you (and no small amount of sex to keep your interest). The writing style is clear as well as evocative, and it will make you laugh as well as think about human misfortunes, and how we fight or adapt to them. The characters are drawn boldly and with unique qualities and you’ll find yourself empathizing with them and/or their situations. All in all, the only thing one can fault this book with is that it could be a bit too fast of a read, and could leave you wanting more.
“Nectar” by Lily Prior is highly recommended, and worthy of five stars out of five.
You can also read this author’s review of Lily Prior’s first novel, “La Cucina”