Set in the backdrop of Lisbon during the 18th century Portuguese inquisition is a love story between two peasants: Baltasar, a war veteran with a hook for a hand and Blimunda, with her ability to literally see inside of people. Throw in a Brazilian priest (based on the historical figure of Bartolomeu de Gusmão) with a flying machine and you have some of the most delicious magical realism out there that's tempered with historical splashes that ground this book. These include bed bug infestations, a plague, auto da fés, and banishment to Algeria for witchcraft. Saramago's writing is Shakespearean in depth, irony, and beauty. Both philosophical and passionate, dark and beautiful a very "good read".