2/5 stars
How’d I find it? My quest for contemporary Portuguese literature continues! When I learned this was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize, I put a hold on a copy from Multnomah County Library.
Why not 3 or more stars? In an isolated penal colony, the rules change when a warden loses his humanity. A book of few surprises in language or plot until the final pages, when a supernatural flourish vanishes as suddenly as it appears.