Brief Space Between Color and Shade

Winner of the 1998 Machado de Assis Award for Best Novel from the Brazil National Library.

In a period of just three days, everything changes for young painter Eduardo "Tato" Simmone, who has never sold a painting. During the funeral of Tato's renowned and beloved mentor, Aníbal Marsotti, Tato meets two people who will determine his fate: a beautiful young woman who may be a vampire and a major dealer of art forgeries. Tato gets caught up investigating the theft of famed Italian figurative painter Amadeo Modigliani's tombstone, and all signs point to Curitiba, Brazil--Tato's hometown. A letter from an expert art historian in Italy brings Tato further clues, but shadows lurk in all directions and there is no one to trust. Tato discovers the similarities between viewing a painting and solving a crime: closer examination shows us there is more to people than meets the eye.