For fans of Mario Vargas Llosa and Machado de Assis By the bestselling author of Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands This was also made into a film called Gabriela starring Sonia Braga and Marcello Mastroianni

When Gabriela came to the Brazilian town of Ilheus, things would never be the same again In 1925, the town's cacao plantations are flourishing and progress reigns, but Nacib the Arab's most desperate worry is that his cook has walked out of his bar. He ventures over to the market to hire a migrant worker to help him and comes across a young mulatto girl named Gabriela who is wild and has hair filthy with dust. But something in her voice makes him take a chance, and it seems he's not the only man who's noticed her. Suddenly there is more to think about than everyday concerns: love affairs, murder, banquets, funerals, desire, hatred, vengeance and miracles.