Misericórdia

Despite its name, the Hotel Paraíso, in the fictional town of Valmares, is a home for the elderly. Maria Alberta, called Dona Alberti by residents and staff, cannot walk and has trouble with her hands, but her mind is as quick as ever, and into a tape recorder she speaks the chronicle of her last year there: arrivals and departures, carers from many countries, whatever upsets the peace of the house. On sleepless nights she must face the Night, who sets her riddles of geography and philosophy. Her sketches of fellow residents and staff, tender, ironic and sometimes harsh, add up to a testimony of life at its close.

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About the book

Form

Novel

Length

457 pages in the original

Set in

Portugal

First published

2022 by Dom Quixote

Author's age

76 when first published

ISBN

9789722075718 (original)