'A major source of pleasure and one of its many strengths is its wide-ranging panoply of perspectives, its generosity in assigning chapters to be fleshed out by the lesser characters and its depiction of their idiosyncracies:the pious and easily offended pharmacist Carlos;the gluttonous Libaninho with his penchant for rice puddings and port;and the lazy,sleezy Canon Dias, Amaro's superior, who becomes a gloating accessory to his crimes.The use of suspense and ellipsis ensures the narrative is compelling;its plot at times almost takes a turn into Gothic territory. Margaret Jull Costa provides a solid, clear and flowing translation, which ensures that Eca's drily understated satire, his harsh but lucid critique of human selfishness and inadequacy are telling;it also reflects his engaging sense of bathos and all that is amusingly grotesque.' Daniel Lukes in The Times Literary Supplement