The Crime of Father Amaro

The Crime of Father Amaro
- Used Book in Good Condition
An unflinching portrait of a priest who seduces his landlady's daughter, made into an acclaimed and controversial motion picture.
EÃ§a de QueirÃ³s''s novel The Crime of Father Amaro is a lurid satire of clerical corruption in a town in Portugal (Leira) during the period before and after the 1871 Paris Commune. At the start, a priest physically explodes after a fish supper while guests at a birthday celebration are "wildly dancing a polka." Young Father Amaro (whose name means "bitter" in Portuguese) arrives in Leira and soon lusts afterâ€•and is lusted after byâ€•budding Amelia, dewy-lipped, devout daughter of Sao Joaneira who has taken in Father Amaro as a lodger. What ensues is a secret love affair amidst a host of compelling minor characters: Canon Dias, glutton and Sao Joaneira's lover; Dona Maria da Assuncao, a wealthy widow with a roomful of religious images, agog at any hint of sex; Joao Eduardo, repressed atheist, free-thinker and suitor to Amelia; Father Brito, "the strongest and most stupid priest in the diocese;" the administrator of the municipal council who spies at a neighbor's wife through binoculars for hours every day. EÃ§a's incisive critique flies like a shattering mirror, jabbing everything from the hypocrisy of a rich and powerful Church, to the provincialism of men and women in Portuguese society of the time, to the ineptness of politics or science as antidotes to the town's ills. What lurks within EÃ§a's narrative is a religion of tolerance, wisdom, and equality nearly forgotten. Margaret Jull Costa has rendered an exquisite translation and provides an informative introduction to a story that truly spans all ages.
Country USA
Brand New Directions
Manufacturer New Directions
Binding Paperback
ItemPartNumber 9780811215329
ReleaseDate 2003-05-17
UnitCount 1
EANs 9780811215329

Country	USA
Brand	New Directions
Manufacturer	New Directions
Binding	Paperback
ItemPartNumber	9780811215329
ReleaseDate	2003-05-17
UnitCount	1
EANs	9780811215329

The Crime of Father Amaro

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