Nearly 400 years of Brazilian history is crammed into the nearly 400 pages of this book. The book begins with Marilia, an activist trying to protect a village from being razed by her ex-husband's company. She gets sick and goes to stay with her mother. While she is recovering, her mother tells her of their ancestresses, hoping to impart the strength of these women. Unfortunately, horrifically terrible things happened to all of them. For starters, all of them were raped at some point. All of them lost a beloved friend or family member in an appalling manner. The land of Brazil is soaked with the blood of native "indians", imported black slaves, Portuguese and Dutch. Many wanted (and still do, apparently) to exploit the richness of the land. A very few would just like to survive. Despite the mortifying nature of the events in this book, it was quite well written. It is a testament to the writer that the characters are so sympathetic and relatable that when the abhorrent things happen to them, the reader feels wrenched as well. You will learn a lot from this book and your heart will go out to the people of Brazil. One hopes that the situation will be improved, and might be moved to try to help. ( )