Henry Avila's Reviews > The City and the Mountains

Spoiled Jacinto, grandson of an expatriate, his Portuguese grandfather with the same name, but nicknamed Sir Galleon, he was rather obese, left Portugal dispirited, when his King Dom Miguel the usurper, lost the civil war during the 1800's for the throne. So Jacinto was born in Paris in a palace, on the Champs-Elysees, no. 202, that his wealthy grandfather had bought, his own sickly father "The Shadow", died (I don't have to say what his name was, begins with the letter J ) three months before his birth, but the rich boy was born lucky, thanks to grandmother, Senhora Dona Angelina, who spread fennel and amber, over his crib and so growing up, believing in it ... The young man loved gadgets, buying the latest ones whether they worked or not, fascinated by machines, that Jacinto, with his vast riches had no trouble acquiring, telephones, telegraph machines, the phonograph and finally, electricity, which functioned occasionally, technology was his king ... Jacinto's motto , "Absolute Knowledge X Absolute Power X Absolute Happiness". He even built a telescope on the roof of his mansion, viewing the alluring stars and planets many a night, also books, 30,000 Jacinto had, he liked them, piled up to the ceiling, growing like a gigantic fungus, threatening to take over the entire, enormous house, unstoppable however did this make him happy? Strangely not at all, telling his best friend Ze Fernandes, everything was boring in town, constantly wherever they went between yawns, Paris society with all the phony people ... decadent, useless, the pretensions of the idle rich . Ze Fernandes, feared that his sad aimless friend, will do away with himself, still the somber man,
receives a message from the caretaker of his estates, in Portugal. A devastating rainstorm has destroyed the chapel, where his ancestors bones were buried, uncovering them, scattered the skeletons around the surface, mud everywhere when a nearby hill collapsed, what should be done ? The affluent estates, in the mountains of Portugal, ( not very tall admittedly) Jacinto had never seen, after a long pause he decides to go there, have the bones re -interred, the family honor demands it, build a new chapel for those purposes, stay just a month and then back to civilization, a great hardship for him yet, somethings need to be done . Going by train with loyal Ze ... disaster in Spain, all his 23 crates are lost , even faithful servant Cricket can't be found. Arriving in Portugal with only his shirt on his back, worst even his home there is a dump, holes in the roof, filthy walls and floors, debris everywhere, no glass in the windows ... Not fixed, as Jacinto had ordered, Ze and the landowner sleep on the gross floor, nobody thought they would come so soon, no new chapel either. Ze leaves for his small estate a league away, Jacinto , is alone to clean up all the mess, notwithstanding that, soon a miracle happens, he begins to feel useful helping the poor people on his land, erecting them homes suitable for humans, they begin calling him a saint ... The beauty of the mountains, the clean river flowing by, the fresh air he breathes, the blue skies above, such a peaceful place, Ze's charming, pretty young cousin Joaninha, she's not like the women of Paris, maybe Jacinto can achieve happiness ... and become a real "Prince", as Ze Fernandes repeatedly calls him. A wonderful, charming story, maybe a fairy tale...nevertheless they are needed desperately in a world dominated by cynicism.