The bells of agony

Passion and treachery set in eighteenth century Brazil - a powerful reworking of the story of Phaedra and Hippolytus, and an allegory of the situation in modern Brazil under an authoritarian military government. Tells the story of Malvina, the beautiful, conniving wife of an elderly Brazilian, and Januario, a hot-blooded half-breed. As part of a ruse to win the love of her husband's son, who has whetted her sexual appetite, Malvina encourages the advances of Januario, hoping to persuade him to kill her husband. The author skillfully evokes the murky blend of Inquisitorial Catholicism and the superstitions of a volatile society of whites, Indians and blacks masters and slaves. -- from (Sep. 28, 2011).