REVIEW: The Head of the Saint by Socorro Acioli

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I was intrigued the minute I read the premise of The Head of the Saint. It was rather vague, but in a good way because it meant that I wanted to read more and more to really consolidate my understanding of what was going on.

The women in Samuel’s family can tell when they’re going to die. Given three tasks to complete after his mother’s death, Samuel sets out on a journey to find his father and grandmother, leaving him starved and desperate. He then discovers that he can hear voices, voices of the women who are praying to a doomed saint in the hope of marriage.

Translated from Brazilian by Daniel Hahn, I found learning about the Brazilian culture through the eyes of a Brazilian person fascinating – it’s so much better than reading it from a foreign perspective. I felt like I was really witnessing the events, and it showed a side of Brazil I haven’t heard of before and isn’t depicted hugely in the media.

I have always found that translated fiction reads beautifully, with graceful prose and a fluidity that I can’t find in my native language. I could read The Head of the Saint purely for the lovely words, and Acioli has created vivid imagery that most writers would be envious of.

However, I did find that I couldn’t connect to the characters very well and they all blurred into one: they didn’t have any stand out characteristics or traits to differentiate them. This did detract from the overall story, although not by much. I still really enjoyed the plot.

I would recommend The Head of the Saint for a book that will resonate with you if you’re looking for something to read in an afternoon.