Fiction. Brazilian/South American Studies. Translated by Clifford E. Landers. Pedra Canga, a small and isolated community in the Brazilian Pantanal, or wetlands, endures amid poverty, myth, and superstition. Dreaming and suffering, the simple townspeople exist in the mystical reality of their private universe. With insight and humor the novel tells of the ultimate vindication of these humble folk against a powerful and demonic family that has long oppressed them. Filled with magical events, diabolic storms, and visions both frightening and angelical, this is a wonderfully imaginative work, reminding one of the best of South American magic realism.