San Antonio College Library

A novel looks at the life of one family, and of life in Portugal, during the rule of dictator Antonio de Oliveira Salazar from 1932 to the 1974 revolution.

On election day in the capital, it is raining so hard that no one has come out to vote. The politicians are growing jittery. Should they reschedule for another day? Around three o'clock, the rain finally stops. At four, voters rush to the polling stations, as if ordered to appear. But when the ballots are counted, more than 70% are blank. The citizens are rebellious. A state of emergency is declared. The president proposes that a wall be built around...

An epidemic of blindness strikes a city and the result is chaos, the government issuing shoot-to-kill orders. Much of the action is seen through the eyes of a woman who claims to be blind so she won't be separated from her husband. A look at how people behave under stress. By the author of The History of the Siege of Lisbon.