Yamashita “blends the . . . surrealism of Garcia Marquez, bizarre science fiction . . . à la Stanislaw Lem, and a gift for satirizing . . . that recalls Heller of Catch-22” (Publishers Weekly). This freewheeling black comedy features a bizarre cast of characters, including a Japanese man with a ball floating six inches in front of his head, an American CEO with three arms, and a Brazilian peasant who discovers the art of healing by tickling one’s earlobe with a feather. By the end of this hilarious tale, they each have risen to the heights of wealth and fame, before arriving at disasters—both personal and ecological— that destroy the rain forest and all birds of Brazil. “Fluid and poetic as well as terrifying.” —New York Times Book Review “Dazzling . . . A seamless mixture of magic realism, satire and futuristic fiction.” —San Francisco Chronicle “Impressive . . . A flight of fancy through a dreamlike Brazil.” —Village Voice “Surreal and misty, sweeping from one high-voltage scene to another.” —LA Weekly “Amuses and frightens at the same time.” —Newsday “Incisive and funny, this book yanks our chains and makes us see the absurdity that rules our world.” —Booklist (starred review) “Expansive and ambitious . . . Incredible and complicated.” —Library Journal
