It is a book that covers three generations of women from the same family, the Teixeiras. It is a literary novel that speaks of a life and death struggle. It is one of the greatest classics of Portuguese literature, written by Agustina Bessa Luís

Speaking of the Sibyl is talking about Quinas, the owner and mistress of the house of Vessadas. It is one of the female characters more remarkable in Portuguese literature. Agustina Bessa Luis likes to write about women, about their internal universe, the mystical forces that nurture them and the doubts that haunt them. The Sibyl is intensely feminine if we can say that. There are various characters who populate this publication, but the most remarkable are women. That's why I liked it so much this book.
Mary of the Incarnation is the beginning of this journey to a world where women are filleted to the closed world of their own home, but will eventually leave her mark. We followed her route that show us the love she feels for the roots and her unfaithful husband, a compulsive spender. Then we have Joaquina Augusta, the Sibyl, who manages the family legacy with an iron fist, and in particular one place, the House of Vessadas which she consideres herself as the guardian. It is a fascinating personality because despite her physical weakness is she that controls the fate of this family with the help of her supernatural powers. Finally Germana, who is single intellectual who is the designated heir of the feudal territory and our narrator. All of them assume their responsibility to the adversity in a motherly way, protect their own and those who depend on them. Even the ones that do not produce offspring. Everything is channeled towards the house they love and the earth that they defend. It's also the story of a certain lifestyle linked to rurality and a profoundly nationalist past.
I once read and I can not remember who wrote it, but a believe that it was a literary critic who said that in the great classics of literature confirmed that the best female characters were written by men, giving as examples, Madame Bovary, Anna Karenina and Lady Macbeth . The female side, he justifies his thesis with Wuthering Heights, with Heathcliff , Pride and Prejudice with Mr. Darcy and Poirot of Agatha Christie. And all this to say what? That unlike the critic, and I think he's British by the literature choise, it seems reductive to speak of a kind of exquisite description based on the sex of the writer. And despite the fact that the argument makes sense, I believe he never read Agustina Bessa Luís, and he should start with this book. She writes about strong women, with weaknesses as any human being, sensitive to many things, but talks about them so unforgettable and in an extraordinary manner. And if we continue to read other works, we'll check it yourself, the writing of Agustina displays female characters simply unparalleled. Good reading.