A quirky book that is ostensibly a love story but, for a large part, centers on the protagonist trying to not become a priest, with many little asides and reflections in the mode of Montaigne. There are sparks of Sterne and Diderot evident, too, in the unconventional style, as the narrator nonchalantly skips over enormous chunks of time with brief commentary to suit his whims.

While a dry humour pervades the novel, it can also be melancholic and tragic. Machado de Assiss flips the switch from amusingly observed nostalgia to brutal coldness suddenly but without jarring the reader into apathy.