Whenever I notice a book that has been either short or longlisted for the Booker Prize, I will always give it a go as it is often a way into the type of books that I wouldn't normally pick up. This falls very neatly into that category and without the mention of the Booker Prize along the top I would probably given it a miss. It's set in the ever expanding metropolis of São Paulo, and the story takes place in the glass tower blocks populated by the wealthy business classes and also the shanty towns that crop up all around the edges of the city. The lead character, Ludo, has connections with both sides of the city as he was born into poverty but, not long after he was born, his mother was offered a job as a cook on a farm that belonged to a very wealthy man and that bought a better quality of living for both of them. The wealthy man is Ze Fischer Carnicelli, who avoids getting down to street level by using a helicopter to navigate around the city. The only time he ...