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I love almost everything related to the European Middle Ages and this novel was one of the best I've ever encountered on the topic. It helped me explore more about Portuguese culture, as well, and intrigued to go even deeper into it.

I loved the story of Father Lourenço Bartolomeu, the real historical figure who invented a flying machine in the early 1700s, and the way it blends into the lives of the other main characters. I loved the mysticism blended with the vulgar and the realism of Portuguese social life of the late medieval period.

I also loved the fact that the cornerstone of the novel is a love story between two very working class characters. Their worldview is touching and extremely interesting, insofar as it reveals what the Portuguese peasant thought of the world.

The brief glimpses of aristocratic life are meaningfully similar, but less humanized. Blimunda's touches of the supernatural bring emotion, and the fact that they don't necessarily turn her into a pillar of wisdom is endearing. It's also interesting that the book offers insight into a passionate romance between two people in their late 40s and 50s. Baltasar and Blimunda is overall out of the ordinary and a beautiful, beautiful book. I will probably reread it in 10 years or so.