O Bem e o Mal: Romance

The narrative begins in a modest hospital room near Lisbon’s Prazeres Cemetery, where an aging writer pens a dedication to his longtime mentor, Padre Antonio de Azevedo. He recalls youthful escapades in the Serra do Mesio and the lessons learned under the priest’s guidance, setting a reflective tone. Through these memories we are introduced to Ladislau Tiberio Militão de Villa Cova, a widowed farmer who has taken holy orders and whose family line stretches back five centuries.

Villa Cova’s humble convent becomes a stage for the novel’s central inquiry—how a life pledged to virtue confronts desire, ambition and doubt. As Ladislau wrestles with his past, the story weaves sermons, folk tales, and the gritty reality of 19th‑century Portugal, inviting listeners to question whether righteousness is a shield or a burden. The prose balances solemn introspection with sharp humor, enriched by literary allusions that paint a vivid portrait of a country in transition.