New lessons of abyss

This novel, which marks Dagoberto Aranha Pacheco?s debut, is a naturalistic work. The author is an engineer, and for this reason he portrays life as if on his drafting board. He brings together couples that share hors d'oeuvres and restlessness. The maladjustments of urban living serve to define the character and psychological strength of the characters. Attentive to the aromas of wine and variations in the stock market, viewing the night through a polished windowpane, they are elegant, cultured, proprietary and God-fearing. They congregate around a guru, Augusto, who theorizes about the fatality of human interaction and proposes a philosophy of solidarity that exalts rather than deprecates the human being as an individual. A character of great presence, Augusto is lucid, Socratic, intelligent and ironic, and the dialogues he masterfully conducts, always provocative, keep us continually interested in the story.