A God Strolling in the Cool of the Evening

Quite frankly, I was drawn to Carvalho's excellent novel by a combination of three factors: (1) The title was fascinating; (2) I am a sucker for fiction set in Roman times; and (3) the translator was Gregory Rabassa. Picture to yourself a basically good men who was the magistrate of a small city in Roman Portugal (then called Lusitania) during the reign of Marcus Aurelius. Lucius Valerius Quintius is basically a good man who is left to his own devices because his social peers could not care to help shoulder the burden of governing. But suddenly, news is heard of a large group of Moors that have crossed the Mediterranean and are pillaging Lusitanian towns. In addition, a small group of Christians is playing havoc with the local citizenry, who suspect them of cannibalism or worse. Quintius fortifies the town and helps to foil a Moorish attack, but he finds the Christians to be a stickier problem.To begin with, he is fascinated by Iunia Cantaber, a well-born widow who, as leader of the Christian community, has a lemming drive toward martyrdom. The crises lead to an energizing of the citizenry, who begin to push Quintius farther than he wants and leads to a trial, which has a surprising outcome -- that I will not divulge -- and the outcome is that Quintius is forced to take on the Christians. After the trial, he takes the hint and surrenders his office to retire to his villa.Christianity has suffered a setback in Tarcisis, but the God who strolls in the cool of an evening bides His time. A good men has been befuddled -- but isn't that always what happens in the political arena?Carvalho's novel falls under the heading of light fiction. It partakes of a gentle irony that wears well through its length. The translation is by the great Gregory Rabassa, whose renderings of Latin-American fiction by Jorge Amado and Gabriel Garcia Marquez have made his name a standard of quality.

For a long time I have searched for historical fiction in an antique setting that is of the caliber of Bryher, Yourcenar, Graves, Duggan. So many current examples are modern projections, anachronistic, unlettered, or just the wrong voice. In this novel, I can happily say I have found a great work to accompany my favorites. Carvalho's narrator speaks authentically with that unique voice of his era, at once worldly-wise, oppressed by fate, caught in the inevitability of not being able to reconcile his world with his convictions.

You will! Count on that! But just start reading it again and you'll be alright. This great lisbon writter invites us to visit the ancient time when the Roman Empire was still expanding. The action occurs in Tarcisis, a city in the Iberian Peninsula with roman jurisdiction and Lucius is its governer... A story of love, betrayal and the constant relationship between Man and God is what Mário de Carvalho offers us in this novel that invites our imagination to stroll in the cool of the evening...

As I was saying to my beautiful wife, Deborah, this book has earned my highest praise. It is more than "excellent;" the minute I finished it, I began reading it again. The book is not just a commentary about the Iberian Pennisula so many years ago; rather, it is a mirror in which we see through an ancient glass how corrupt and devoid of values our own society has become.

In my opinion, this the best novel of Carvalho.It's choice of vocabulary and fraseology puts you right in the middle of the Forum. Besides historic facts (like the advent of christianity and the formation of a country), it is a fabulous exercice on the solitute of power and the learning of politics.