: Witches, outlaws ( valentões ), and ghosts.
: Flying horses and rivers of milk and honey.
The novel tells the fantastical and humorous story of , a man living a miserable life under the thumb of his wife and father-in-law in the small town of Jardim dos Caiacós. One day, Zé Araújo transforms into Ojuara —his name spelled backward—and sets off on a legendary journey through the desert. Ojuara becomes a mythic hero, encountering a world of: