This is the story of the rhinoceros that arrived in Lisbon in May 1515 and that shocked Europe.

This is the story of his Indian handler and of Hope, of Modafar, the sultan of Cambaia, of the Moravian printer, of the king of Portugal and the German painter who was amazed by the animal and made it famous.

This is the story of Captain Rusticão, of a pious friar and his dog, of

homicidal dukes, of cannibalistic Indians, of merchants and slaves, of

emperors and popes, of envious, powerful and depressed kings and of

Italian doctors who wrote bad poetry.

This is the story of the Brazilians of the 1500s, from the rich to the poor, the hallucinated widows and of sailors, from officers to architects.

 

"A five-star book, a fantastic book. It's a phenomenal book."

 

Maria João Covas, on the blog Livros Gosto, August 2019