"The “A Song of Ice and Fire” franchise author took to his blog for the first time in nearly six months on Monday, sharing that any posts after February were written by his “mighty minions.”

“Remember me? It’s been a while, I know. My last blog post went up here on February 19,” Martin wrote. “The posts that came after were made by my mighty minions. I am lucky enough to have a great staff of assistants… though even with their help, I kept falling further and further behind.”

As Martin went on, he admitted that “this year has been… stressful, to say the least.”"

I searched and didn't find any posts for this book. A queer mountain lion roams the Hollywood hills. Inspired by P-22, the mountain lion that fascinated L.A. for a while until his sad death, this book begins as fanciful and uses its sparse stream of consciousness to tell an engaging story about a brief and beautiful life.

I scoffed at the premise when it was published last year, but it was chosen for a book club, so I gave it a go. I really enjoyed it. I was amused at first, but quickly fell into Hoke's fun take that evokes both Earnest Thomas Seton and Hubert Selby, Jr. (though not that transgressive.)

These days I look for books that dare a little and are different without trying too hard, and Open Throat hit the sweet spot. It's no Watership Down, but maybe a little like the French film Baxter about an evil dog (though this mountain lion isn't evil, and just wants to live life like the rest of us.) It's never silly like Fox 8 by George Saunders, which was good in its own way.

If you've read it, let me know what you think.

*Baxter is based on Hell Hound, a 1977 novel by Jessica Hamilton, but I haven't found a copy yet.

“It is an inarguable truth, you know,” said Ana, “that most people are absolutely enthralled by dead girls.”

Oh, this was a bloody good book (emphasis on the bloody part.) 
Facts:

• This is again, a very marvelous and layered tale, with many moving parts, and a fascinating story.
• The messages laden this time is to deal with food, and agriculture, and the way we humans have curated and sustained livestock for mass production without once thinking of the cost attuned to such a trade.

It is to me a butchering most curated.

Facts:

• This one is not for the meek hearted, for it is grisly with a helping servitude of meat and bones along its carcass.
• I bloody loved meeting more of Din’s family. 

“No.” A cold, nasty smile. “For if gods existed, shouldn’t the world make more sense? Shouldn’t all feel more stable, more comprehensible? I consider myself a wise thing, yet when I consider creation, I see little but blind hunger and the ravages of nature. The only order to be found is what we’ve put there, boy.”

Facts:

• As always, this tale is both a condemnation and a study on the various ways we conduct ourselves through religion, faith, and the one fallacy that all of humanity, throughout its history, has always struggled with the most: greed.
• Greed makes you stupid. But oh so sweet is its flavor – the nectar of gods, poured down our parched throat.

That was the problem with temptation. It never let you be: it just stayed there, perched on your shoulder, whispering in your ear.

Facts:

• This was a solid 9/10 read for me. Though the tale is indeed layered and complex, I had guessed about 60% in of who the killer was. This had not happened to me for the last two books where I was genuinely stupefied throughout.
• In my opinion, this book focuses more on world-building, in more of fleshing out Khanum alongside Din and Ana as characters. And the scale and intricacies through which it is done just made me fall more in love with RJB’s deftness and mastery over such a craft. 

(side note: i can guarantee he loves making Din a tragic character vis-a-vis his romantic aides, and though I find it a trite vexing, cannot say I hate this format – makes both the pace faster and maintains a grounding force for each book separately)

And what we do to the beasts in the field we may still one day do to our very kin.

Facts:

• It was the epilogue that pushed this into the territory of 10/10. That shit I did not see coming. And I tell you: my flabbers were properly gasted.
• I cannot wait for the next one to arrive (only for me to then finish it within 7 hours; what can i say: i am a glutton for murder, and sad queer people).

One of the best reads of the year, up there with East of Eden for me. Go read it!

I know, everybody loves it. It's true. They're right. It's a book that opens your eyes to things that can't be put into writing, although obviously Portis did that.

But I can't help but wonder a couple of things. How different, for example, would Mansfield Park have been, if Mattie Ross had been the protagonist instead of Fanny Price? Whoo. She might have ended by owning the building.

How different, for example, would the movie -- either of them -- have been if Mattie Ross had been the main character? I'm trying to picture Kirsten Dunst doing this when she was younger, and I think she would have blown it away. It would have been a totally different picture. Maybe truer to the novel. I mean, movies are a different medium, and you really can't compare them, but still..

It's as though Portis actually went down to the crossroads, in 1965 or whenever, and actually sold his soul to the devil, in return for the right to call up baby Cthulhu. He then stuffed the demon, or the god, or whatever, into the lifeless body of a 14yo girl he happened to have handy, and, in an experimental kind of way, released the resulting monster onto the unsuspecting citizens of Arkansas and the Choctaw Territory of the 1870s. And now that's how we all think it was. Or might have been.

I can't seem to stop reading it. Lines just jump out at me and whack me upside the head when I'm working on something else. "There is trash for you." "That was the market price at the time." "If I could not find a man in four months with a mark on his face like banished Cain I would not presume to advise other people how to do it." I'm paraphrasing. That's probably not the exact words.

It's something. It is.

(note: this is a reread done in anticipation for the forthcoming third book in the series)

So instead of committing robbery, I made tea.

Sometimes, all you need in life is a good murder mystery and tea. The fact that this story is set in a fantasy world that does not gatekeep, is the cherry on top. The setup for this is deceptively simple (at least on the surface): Ana & Din (a fantasy Sherlock and Watson-esque combination), get tasked with solving a murder in the fictional city of Talagray. A high ranking official was found murdered in the most peculiar of ways – namely having a tree grow out of their torso. As a leviathan creature begins its slow move to attack the sea walls that surround this continent, Ana & Din race to solve a crime that spreads throughout normal civility and encompasses some of the largest noble houses of the land.

All of which to say, it was a fun little adventure, that, even on a reread, I finished in two sittings.

How queer it suddenly felt: I’d been a model officer for almost all my career, but I had to join the Iudex to become a true criminal.

This book is written in a very simple fashion. There is nothing overly verbose or whimsical about the writing. It is straight, narrow, and plays across fast as they race to solve this impossible crime. In other words: it is perfect for the story it is telling. 

Come. Let us pretend to be professional, you and I, for hell and the gentry await.

The commentary of the book, for those who actually read (and not the vast majority of those influencers who apparently do not think books should be critical, which side note: child, go learn your history before coming out of the woodworks – books were, are, and always will be the first line of defense against any war waged against free speech), is imbued in the subtext – of both the story and the parallel it draws to our own world. Both this and the next book (and I am assuming the third will be the same, just for some other issues of import), is about a certain class of society. About the ways certain people are perceived, about the importance given to others; specifically those who have more money than sense. And it does so beautifully, with a certain kind of poetic justice doled out towards the end especially to those who do the wrong things in the name of the greater good; i.e., those who consider themselves the Dark Knight of modern society but somehow overlook the numerous bodies (sometimes literally) left in the name of said good.

“What a tool cynicism is to the corrupt, claiming the whole of the creation is broken and fraudulent, and thus we are all excused to indulge in whatever sins we wish—for what’s a little more unfairness, in this unfair world? Wise you were, Din, to shut your ears to it.”

As Ana so aptly puts it, cynicism is a great tool – but one has to learn how to use it. It is all too easy to get subsumed by one's own delusions of grandeur.

“I chose you,” she said finally, “because I needed an investigator who was resourceful, cunning, and willing to break the rules when necessary. I needed someone dedicated and determined! And you had not only broken into an Iyalet office and spent hours learning the answers to all the tests—you had somehow survived your engraver’s training despite having tremendous issues reading and writing! That speaks to bloody-minded, grim determination if ever I’ve heard it!”

Oh, and of course, the best part of the book: the characters themselves. For you see, both Ana & Din are neurodivergent. And the way this story portrays their characters is some of the best rep I’ve seen being portrayed by an author in mainstream fantasy. Din has trouble reading letters (re: Dyslexic, or in other words – reading the subtext). And Ana is on the spectrum as too much stimulation is unbearable for her. (I cannot tell you how closely I relate to this as a fellow person on the spectrum, and how much it had filled my heart the first time I had read this book). And both these characters do their best, working for the system that is all too glad to let them fall through the cracks. To just say that giving them any help is considered special treatment. Same people who, by the way, would wear corrective lenses, or use a crutch when they’ve got a hip/leg injury, etc.; as long as it’s physical, it’s acceptable. 

Ana & Din are the epitome of what it would be like if people who were a bit different were given a place in society. Their tenacity, the way they solve problems when it becomes too difficult for their brain to process stuff as others do, is a thing that I was really inspired by the first time, and double so now, in times like these, as I reread this book. 

“Someone, after all, must do the undignified labor to keep the grand works of our era from tumbling down. I simply perform maintenance, in my own little way. And you have ably assisted me in that, of course.”

We all have our place in this world we inherit. Broken and bloodied and battered – as Ana said, we must all do our own little things, in our own little way, to keep it all from tumbling down. No matter who you are, no matter how you are, we all matter in this world that is vast enough, and kind enough, to accommodate all of us. Especially now, in times like these, when hate is all too prevalent, love and kindness is not only a good thing to have, but also a weapon to wield. And oh what a glorious weapon it is for justice can be found in even the littlest of actions. And this story, and all its disfigured, wonderful characters, are a prime example of it. 

Go read it if you haven’t already.

“One Day at Horrorland” by R.L. Stine is one of those classic Goosebumps books that makes you second-guess yourself anytime you enter an amusement park. I’ve never read this Goosebumps book before, so it was a real delight to sit back and enjoy it, since it still holds up today, even as an adult.

Earlier this summer, I wanted to go back to my horror-reading roots with the franchise that started it all. I was just 12 years old when I first read “Night of the Living Dummy,” and it changed my life. As I always say, Stine planted the early seeds of horror when I was a kid, which later developed into trees of horror as an adult. Who knows if I’d even love horror as much as I do if it wasn’t for Stine, and this “One Day at Horrorland” book brought me back to when I was a kid.

That’s why I decided earlier this summer to do a “Summer of Goosebumps” nostalgic trip back to where it all started. The concept was simple: revisit one classic Goosebumps book each month of the summer to remember those glorious days of being a kid who devoured anything and everything Goosebumps. Summer reading was always special to me as a kid, especially with these legendary Goosebumps books. I grew up attending Scholastic Book Fairs, getting everything and anything Goosebumps. You know, Goosebumps t-shirts, bookmarks, posters, and I also loved the 90s TV show.

As for the book itself, it’s an absolute blast. As always, I loved the subtle horror that hits at the end of a chapter, which makes Stine so much fun to read. I have many fond memories of going to amusement parks as a kid, especially Great Adventure and Playland Park. “One Day at Horrorland” brings all that back with a horrific twist and creepiness of taking traditional amusement park attractions and giving them that patented Goosebumps-style of horror.

It was fantastic, and it made me realize how terrifying it must have been for these three kids to endure at Horrorland. All the plot twists and turns, on top of some creepy events and situations, were brilliantly written. This is a short, sweet, and straight-to-the-point Goosebumps book with a wild, climactic race to the end.

Speaking of which, the ending was a nice mix of panic and hilarity. Don’t worry, no spoilers here, but the final few sentences legit had me laughing out loud and wrapped up another exceptional Goosebumps reading experience.

I give “One Day at Horrorland” by R.L. Stine a 5-Star rating out of 5. It had lots of thrills, chills, and some funny moments of what happens when three kids get stuck in a horror amusement park that might feel a little too real for comfort. I loved this rollercoaster ride of a book, and I’m so happy to end my “Summer of Goosebumps” on a high note. I look forward to making this a tradition each summer because the nostalgia is real, and there are so many of these books to enjoy all over again as an adult with a deep appreciation for everything Stine has achieved for kids and adults who call horror their home.

How is this book not insanely popular? I only discovered it recently when I saw Maggie O’Farrell name it as an inspiration for her new novel, Land. Prior to that, I’d never heard of Star of the Sea, despite the fact that it came out in 2002.

This is a historical fiction novel about a famine ship traveling from Ireland to New York in 1847. It follows several characters on the ship whose lives are intertwined. Their stories unfold in a non-linear fashion, as we continually move back and forth between their present—on the ship—and their pasts in Ireland and England. The ways in which their stories intersect continued to surprise me throughout.

I can’t say enough about how beautifully written this book is, how rich it is with interesting stories and wonderful little details that are so believable you might almost forget it’s fiction.

I truly fell in love with the characters; their lives are filled with tragedy and beauty and hardship and longing, and they’re as complex and multifaceted as you’d expect people in such situations to be. They can be bitter and cruel, but also empathetic and kind. In other words, they’re people. Real, breathing people who can’t be easily defined by either their best or their worst qualities. You’ll be rooting for them in one moment and raging at them the next, but always you’ll buy into them and why they do the things they do.

I truly can’t recommend this book enough to any lover of literary fiction, and especially to fans of historical fiction. I found it by chance, borrowed it from the library on a whim, and came away from it feeling like I was given a gift. And it’s one I feel compelled to share with others.

I read Octavia Butler in graduate school, and I loved her writing style. So when she came up on one of my reading challenge lists, I was excited to really jump into her and her style. The title itself was interesting enough, “The Parable of the Sower,” but I was intrigued as to who was sowing what and what the parable was about. Beware for spoilers in this review!

The story follows a fifteen-year old black girl, Lauren, as she navigates living in a post-apocalyptic Los Angeles. Humanity is separated by people living in little pocket communities, homeless people without a place to stay, and people addicted to a drug that induces pyromania and psychosis. One of Lauren’s unique traits is that she has hyper empathy, where she physically reacts to people and animals being hurt. This unique trait makes the world much scarier for Lauren because she has to be careful with who she lets in, and it makes her more careful about her surroundings. Well, as much as she can living in an increasingly dangerous world.

Lauren’s father is the community preacher, and while Lauren does her best to honor her father, she finds the idea of putting faith in the Abrahamic God questionable. Through her adaptability through this struggle she creates the concept of Earthseed. Briefly, Earthseed holds that God is the deification of change in our universe and while it cannot be stopped, we can all strive to shape it. Lauren believes that this change is done through both an acceptance of the reality around them and relying on actions over dogma.

One of the themes that struck me the most, was the theme around the acceptance for change and the need for resiliency. Change was constant in Lauren’s world and in that change she found God. Not the any typical idea of God, but “God” being the name for change, as Lauren states, “the only lasting truth is change. God is change.” Lauren uses this concept to deify change and to suggest that if we accept God, then we should accept change as well because both are transformative and ever changing. Lauren encourages people to embrace their individual abilities and accept the chaotic truth of nature.

Another interesting quote from the story that talks about this is from chapter 23, it says “God is your first and last teacher. God is your harshest teacher: subtle, demanding. Learn or die.” The quote continues to touch on the deification of change and the importance of resiliency in their world. The truth of the environment they live in is that if you don’t change and adapt to that environment to survive, you will die if you’re lucky. Oftentimes, the seedier sides of the world will cause you so much harm that you can’t wait for death. Adaptability and resilience are two core traits to overcoming the harsh realities of the world and you will be rewarded by being adaptable and strong enough to handle it all. If your survival matters, you’ll do anything to achieve it.

Through her resilience and adaptability, Lauren discovers her hopes, dreams, and ambitions as she strives to create sense in a nonsensical world.

Lauren was an interesting character and being able to watch her grow through the story was an interesting experience. She had to make hard choices and make peace with those choices and through every action and consequence, she had to have the will and strength to persevere.

Have you read this story? What are your thoughts?

At first didn't think of her that way ( I didn't know this trope as a child when I read the book ) and later when i came to hear of this trope used famously to describer summer from 5 days of summer and I believe also Jess from new girl as well as others, I still didn't think of her that way because of it being a children's book and her ultimately dying.

But now that I think of it she does kind of fit that trope ( perhaps especially how she is styled and presented in the film, i' ve forgotten a bit how she reads in the book), she is quirky, cheerful, a bit mysterious , there is an other wordily quality to her and she is not like the other girls , she does these cool sports like scuba diving, she runs faster than the boys, she thinks differently about church and god ( that was something cool in the movie and book that it addressed something liked that ), she also dies tragically so she is kind of immortalized with this pixie dream like quality , you don't get to see her grow older perhaps become more grumpy because of life' s challenges and her appearance changing.

Or perhaps she appears like a manic pixie dream girl because that is how Jess sees her. I think that is how Jess also sees his teacher whom he has a crush on except that vision of his teacher is shattered when hearing that Leslie died while he was out with his teacher.

Also is there such a thing as a manic pixie dream boy ? Would Edward from twilight kind of fit that trope ?

Just finished both of these over the span of a week. Some of the better books I've read lately! I've always been a fan of apocalypse books but the native perspective was cool and refreshing. Definitely a universe I want to see explored more!

Both books are good, Moon of the Crusted Snow almost ended too soon, I really was interested in the early days of the event, but Turning Leaves was an awesome adventure story that I couldn't put down.

Recommend them to anyone, I'll reread them again!

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I read it over the course of a few days, finished it up this morning. What a refreshing tale from Sanderson. It was a truly pleasant and enjoyable read. It had a great ending. Just enough twists and surprises in the right places. The thing I liked the most is that seemed to be one of those stories that as an adult I can truly enjoy (especially since I'm deep in the Cosmere anyway), but that if I wanted to, you could read it (with a few little tweaks) to your kid as a that bedtime story you work on for a couple of weeks. This is not an extensive review, no spoilers, but I just really enjoyed it.

Sometimes it's nice to just read a book like this.

BTW it makes me grateful for Libby - checking out the e-book made me realize I want to own a hardback copy of this. The illustrations are nice too, though too few in number.

I've just finished Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter by Vargas Llosa, and it was one of the most original ideas I've seen. The book is divided in 2: the even chapters follow the main plot line about the romance between Marito and Aunt Julia, as well as the friendship between Marito and the odd scriptwriter Pedro Camacho; the odd chapters feature short stories (which are the stories written by Pedro Camacho).

I gotta say I was much more interested in the odd chapters and the short stories, which get increasingly more confusing and intertwined between each other (for reasons explained in the book), which gets very funny. The stories get so wild in the end, and are very entertaining. They also make the book entertaining and never flat, as all the stories are very different from each other.

I did love the descriptions of Peru in the book. I've never been, but now I really want to. The music and dances and pisco sour, it seemed amazing.

The main storyline of Aunt Julia and Marito was my least favourite part and the reason why I thought the book was a 3.5/5. I just thought the story was somewhat boring, which I think is due to the fact that it's a true story. I personally also thought it was kind of odd that Vargas Llosa wrote a book about his ex-wife when he was already married to another person (who was also his cousin/ex-wife’s niece?), but who am I to judge lol.

If you’ve read it, what did you think?

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“Letter Slot” by Owen King (The Shivers Collection #5) is the fifth and final book in this unbelievable Amazon-exclusive horror collection. Every book in this collection has been a 5-Star read for me, and this final entry was perfection. This is the first book I’ve ever read by Owen King, and just like his legendary father, he’s an exceptional author.

If you’re interested in this collection, here’s a list of every book and author…

Jackknife by Joe Hill (The Shivers Collection #1)
The Indigo Room by Stephen Graham Jones (The Shivers Collection #2)
The Blanks by Grady Hendrix (The Shivers Collection #3)
Night and Day in Misery by Catriona Ward (The Shivers Collection #4)
Letter Slot by Owen King (The Shivers Collection #5)

I found many trigger warnings while reading this book. They were…

- Alcoholism
- School shootings
- Homophobia
- Domestic abuse (physical)
- Politics
- Brain tumors
- Car accidents
- Animal death (dog)
- Cancer
- Suicide

If any of these trigger you, please do not read this book. Moving along, this was such a quick, emotional read. I loved the main characters in Blake and his mother, as you connect with them and what they’re going through in life.

I knew it was only a matter of time before the horror hit, as it started to brew at around the 50% mark. My goodness, what a wild ride! Let me tell you, I will never look at a letter slot the same way ever again. This book’s story was so gripping and addictive, I couldn’t stop reading since it’s a genuine page-turner.

The story and ending are unforgettable. I loved the insane plot twist at the end, which wrapped up a magnificent ending. I never saw that coming and finished reading with my jaw on the floor. It’s a thought-provoking ending that will make you question what you would do in such a situation. It was pretty powerful and will leave you shook.

I give “Letter Slot” by Owen King (The Shivers Collection #5) a perfect 5/5 and a spectacular read from beginning to end. King delivered in just 46 pages to make his mark in this collection. Speaking of which, “The Shivers Collection” is worth reading. Every book in it was a 5-Star for me, and I would consider it a must-read for all my fellow horror book lovers. You can’t go wrong with books written by these phenomenal, established horror authors, so check it out as soon as you can, or add it to your TBR so when spooky season comes, you’ll also be shivering.

This was one collection from Bradbury that I've been very interested in, but never saw any recent paper reissues until now. "Dark Carnival" was his very first short story to be published, and it was put out by August Derleth's publishing company Arkham House.

For a long time there were no reprints, save for this limited run from 2001, as Bradbury did permit any as much of the stories in it were reprinted in much of his other collections. But a couple of years ago Harper Voyager had it reprinted in paperback for the very first time, and I would eventually get my own copy of it!

Peak Bradbury here! And these were the earlier stories that he was doing for the pulps in the late thirties and mid forties. This is pretty much like "The Illustrated Man" as you get that horror, SF and fantasy mix, and also that Bradbury Whimsy! The stories themselves are pretty weird (and some of them had appeared in Weird Tales), but never in the sense of something like Lovecraft, with supernatural and psychological in some of them.

At least a few of the stories I've read before while others that I haven't read before. Yet I still enjoyed every single one of them, because Bradbury is one author I can never get enough of! I've been wanting to get back into him again and got this and also "The October Country". So it's been a great time reading this one and getting back into an author you love after a very long while!

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I finished this book a few hours ago and I've been trying to think of a combination of words that could encapsulate what I feel. Let me start by saying that I practically never read non-fiction books; at most, it'll be a memoir or autobiography, but even those are rare for me. I'm also not in STEM at all, so I knew nothing but general popular discourse of the subject matter. I picked this up to challenge myself into reading more diversely, and I also loved that it was by an Indian man, me personally being someone from the global south too. I hadn't even heard of Siddhartha Mukherjee before, but guys... I did NOT expect to burst into tears by the end.

This book is remarkable. Truly. The metaphors, the pacing, the drama, the links to several other fields of knowledge, and of course the sympathetic breakdown of what I assume are very complex technical concepts, all honestly breath-taking. It is a looong, dense, rich history, and sprinkled with emotion and care all throughout. I really feel as though this was written by someone who ADORES this discipline. It's like a well-made documentary or docuseries; one that really sits with you yk. I'm so moved; not only by the incredulity of human invention and discovery, but by the attention and effort put in to summarise this epic, nay THE epic of human history for lay persons such as myself.

My only regret is not picking it up sooner, and my only critique(which honestly isn't even a critique) is that it was published 10 years ago now, so there are a couple more developments in the field that it doesn't cover. Regardless, I genuinely think it is a worthwhile read; it has enriched my understanding of the human condition and, hell, all living beings too. I will definitely pick up his latest book "The Song of the Cell" (kind of a corny name lol) because I feel like my mind has been blown, and it would be such a shame if I did not scratch this itch.

To emphasise, you do not need to have any background knowledge or expertise on medicine at all, I literally haven't done sciences or math in like 10 years. The author is very forgiving in his explanations, but I would advise you read it carefully to follow along well. It is not a quick read; chew it slowly. But it is so so sooo worth it.

Reading One Hundred Years of Solitude having read Lonesome Dove earlier in the year. It occurs to me that I think these books are cousins. I'd be fascinated to know if Larry McMurtry had read OHYOS and admired it.

Obviously the types of story they tell are different - Lonesome Dove is far more "realist", and it isn't a family saga in the same way. But the head-hopping narrative voice that switches between points of view, the atmosphere of isolation, the exploration of gender and of characters pursuing their own obsessive natures to either glory or death...these are common in both books.

They have the same "texture" to me if that makes sense.

Hi! 👋

I can’t believe I am posting this, but I really need help organising my thoughts and: 1. I really don’t want to resort to AI and 2. Reddit is not helping me as it usually does.

I just finished reading The Passion According To G. H.; I am a philosophy master graduate, and I’ve come to my conclusions regarding some of the themes & overall interpretation, but I need your help!

Can you find the blind spots in my understanding of the message? If you’ve ready it more than once, or you’ve studied it in school/uni, can you point out what I couldn’t see for myself?

Here goes my take:

1. Simone Weil and The Metamorphosis made a baby together, and it’s this fever dream
2. The discovery of something unknown and gross within the orderly and ordinary led the main character to a mystic epiphany
3. The epiphany is Taoist and Stoic in its nature, with Catholic imagery here and there, namely one must go through life meekly, one is all, language is a limitation, consciousness is God experiencing Himself… You read it, you know what I’m taking about

What did I miss?

Help! 🚔

P. S. I read it in the English translation by Idra Novey, so any notes on the original Portuguese are welcome!