Having books is a crime. Report it.
Alice is a child who loves stories, her grandmother and uncle always told her some and she loved them. But things changed, his grandmother died and his uncle was no longer around, he still kept (it was well hidden) a book that belonged to his grandmother, but that was wrong, having books was a crime. Until the day when her mother found out where she was hiding it, took the book and destroyed it, Alice didn't know how she found it and was very sad.
One day Alice noticed that there was someone near her house, so she went there and met Santiago, and they had a brief conversation. Arriving home Alice was already talking about the new neighbor and Santiago was soon invited to a dinner. Arriving there, he met the girl's parents, and also her sister Beatriz (who was a very rebellious teenager), they talked for a while and then the girl asked Santiago to tell her a story.
Her parents had told her not to disturb the guest, but he soon started the story. Alice was delighted and whenever she could, she asked her neighbor to tell her a story. Santiago always traveled, he had things to solve, but his life wasn't always that (in the second part of the book we meet Santiago, who didn't always have that name and who went through a lot of things until he arrived in Portugal).
(This part takes place a few years before the first part of the book)
We met Hilário, he lives in Brazil, with a lot of effort he got a good job. he considered some people who worked with him as friends and one day they arranged to meet at a bar. But things got out of hand and Hilário committed a crime. At that time they were allowed to do some tests to see if the person who committed the crime had the criminality gene and Hilário's test was negative.
Even though he was arrested and isolated from everyone, he believed that he had committed no crime, that he had done everything to protect his friends. He talked to his lawyer, he denied in any way having done what everyone said that happened that night at the bar. He went to trial, everything was against him, he went back to prison and there he would do some tests from time to time to see if he would be acquitted or not.
Isolated from everything and everyone, he almost went crazy, he went through a lot until he realized that he would finally have someone in the next cell. He made friends, learned a lot from his new friend, things that would change his life forever. But I knew he wouldn't stay there forever. And after some time Antonio would be released. Hilário continued with the project they had started, but was forced to stop. Until one day after taking the test, his life changed once again.
We return to Portugal, Alice continues to love Santiago's stories, but after a while things start to change, Santiago's relationship with the girl's family changes (not because of Santiago, but Alice's family is kind of complicated) , the girl doesn't understand why people lie. And these lies will lead people to totally transform their lives…
One of the things I loved most about the book was that it made me think of a world where having books would be a crime and if you were caught with one you would be arrested. We are reminded about this all the time in the book, several signs around town show the same thing: Having books is a crime. Report it. Honestly, I don't know what it would be like if this were also in real life. After reading, it is worth reflecting on the topics covered. I loved getting to know and follow this incredible story.
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