For Mariana, Frederico, S?nia, Célia,
Toninho, Celestina, Amélia (in memory),
Ant?nio (in memory) and Paulina (in memory).
A special thank you to Maria de Lourdes da Silva (Lurdinha),
without whose valuable help this novel would not
have been written. I dedicate the poetry of this book to her.
I thank Alba Zaluar for her constant encouragement
over a period of nine years. The idea for this book
arose from our conversations, and her support
made it possible for me to write it.
Paulo Lins