How long does it take to read The Sin of Father Amaro?
The Sin of Father Amaro by Eça de Queiroz takes about 9 hours 12 minutes to read at 250 words a minute.
About 9 hours 12 minutes
A week or two of reading
First published 1875. 502 pages, about 138,050 words.
19 days at 30 minutes a day
Estimate based on 275 words per page.
At other speeds
| Slow, 150 words a minute | 15 hours 20 minutes |
| Average, 250 words a minute | 9 hours 12 minutes |
| Fast, 400 words a minute | 5 hours 45 minutes |
The page count is the median across 69 editions, so your copy may differ. How we calculate.
About the book
"Young, virile Father Amaro (whose name means "bitter" in Portuguese) arrives in Leira and is taken in as a lodger by Sao Joaneira. Her budding, devout, dewy-lipped daughter Amelia is soon lusted after by the young priest. What ensues is a secret love affair amidst a host of compelling minor characters: Canon Dias, a priest, glutton, and Sao Joaneira's lover; Dona Maria da Assuncao, a wealthy widow with a roomful of religious relics, agog at any hint of sex; Joao Eduardo, repressed atheist, free-thinker, and suitor to Amelia. Eca's incisive critique flies like a shattering mirror, jabbing everything from the hypocrisy of a rich and powerful Church, to the provincialism of Portuguese society of the time. Haunting, The Crime of Father Amaro is the ghost of a forgotten religion of tolerance, wisdom, and equality. Margaret Jull Costa has rendered an exquisite translation and provides an informative introduction to a story that truly spans all ages." "The Crime of Father Amaro inspired a series of magnificent paintings by the Portuguese artist Paula Rego, one of which graces the cover of this edition. The novel was also made into a controversial film, El Crimen del Padre Amaro by Mexican director Carlos Carrera in 2002"--Jacket.
Subjects: Drama, Sunday school teachers, Man-woman relationships, Temptation, Priests, Fiction