Austin Chronicle, Barbara Strickland, 6 June 2003
Among the darkest and most biting of religious satires.

Historical Novels Review, Adelaida Lower, August 2003
Mordantly funny, tragic, and, above all, humane....Costa's brilliant translation preserves Eca's sharp, ironic prose....not to be missed.

Translation Review, 1 June 2003
In this blackest of comedies, de Quieros depicts the destructive effects of celibacy on a priest lacking any true vocation.

Trenton Times, Nagle Jackson, 31 August 2003
The zeal...of Zola, the narrative command of Balzac, and the elegance of Flaubert...[a] slyly witty and engrossing novel.

Washington Post Book World, Michael Dirda, 1 June 2003
A terrific novel....a work of mesmerizing literary power....We should be grateful for such blessings.

Book Description
An unflinching portrait of a priest who seduces his landlady's daughter, now an acclaimed and controversial motion picture Eça de Queirós'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 after—and is lusted after by—budding Amélia, dewy-lipped, devout daughter of São 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 São Joaneira's lover; Dona Maria da Assunção, a wealthy widow with a roomful of religious images, agog at any hint of sex; João Eduardo, repressed atheist, free-thinker and suitor to Amélia; 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. Eça'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 Eça'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.

Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Portugese

About the Author
José Maria Eça de Queirós (1845-1900) was born in the small town of Povoa de Varzim in the north of Portugal and for six months worked in Leira as a municipal administrator. The Crime of Father Amaro was made into a controversial film by Mexican director Carlos Carrera and opened to heated protests from Catholic groups in Mexico City in 2002.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"Young, virile Father Amaro (whose name means "bitter" in Portuguese) arrives in Leira and is taken in as a lodger by Sao Joaneira. Her budding, devout, dewy-lipped daughter Amelia is soon lusted after by the young priest. What ensues is a secret love affair amidst a host of compelling minor characters: Canon Dias, a priest, glutton, and Sao Joaneira's lover; Dona Maria da Assuncao, a wealthy widow with a roomful of religious relics, agog at any hint of sex; Joao Eduardo, repressed atheist, free-thinker, and suitor to Amelia. Eca's incisive critique flies like a shattering mirror, jabbing everything from the hypocrisy of a rich and powerful Church, to the provincialism of Portuguese society of the time. Haunting, The Crime of Father Amaro is the ghost of a forgotten religion of tolerance, wisdom, and equality. Margaret Jull Costa has rendered an exquisite translation and provides an informative introduction to a story that truly spans all ages." The Crime of Father Amaro inspired a series of magnificent paintings by the Portuguese artist Paula Rego, one of which graces the cover of this edition. The novel was also made into a controversial film, El Crimen del Padre Amaro by Mexican director Carlos Carrera in 2002.

FROM THE CRITICS

The Washington Post