It is a novel that describes the 1930 in the island of Madeira.
When one reads Ferreira de Castro we noticed immediately the writer's prose. He has a language of great beauty of style and that immediately attracts the reader. Writing in a large sense. The second striking feature of this novel, if we can say that, is it history, which brings us back to the island of Madeira, which he describes masterfully in the '30s. The very first chapter begins with a wonderful description of the arrival at the port of the city. Ferreira de Castro is truly an analytical narrator, is not limited to describing the beauties that surround the island, he almost feels in the skin the difficulties that the islanders face every day, the oblivion that they are voted on from the mainlanders and the widespread misunderstanding that face silently by their condition of islanders. The most curious is that this narrative is still very current and more because the writer is not even from Madera, but was sensitive enough to perceive the difficulties and anxieties of a people that is not his, inspired only by respect and compassion. Another of the strengths of this book that I found interesting was the description of daily life in the city, the embroiderers in their daily toil, in comparison to rural areas, the miseries of agricultural life, although the land is fertile, the mountain is not easily tame and all do everyone can take their share it does come at the cost of great sacrifice. Ferreira de Castro is aware of all these details and leaves nothing unsaid, he managed to capture the heart of what is to be from Madera. I really enjoyed this book because it describes a time I was unaware off and in the end he stills have time to describe the fireworks at the end of the year, which I did not even know even existed then and bids farewell to the island the same way he started, by the sea. The title could not have been more appropriate, the essence of a people is always eternal. Happy reading!
