Translated from the Portguese by Daniel Hahn The extraordinary story of two generations in a Lisbon family of carpenters and of a father's attempt to outrun his fate in the marathon at the Stockholm Olympics in 1908.

Translated from the Portguese by Daniel Hahn The extraordinary story of two generations in a Lisbon family of carpenters and of a father's attempt to outrun his fate in the marathon at the Stockholm Olympics in 1908. 'A superb family saga' The Times 'Almost unbearably moving' Financial Times The Lázaro family are carpenters who would rather be piano-makers. In the dusty back room of their carpentry shop in Lisbon is the 'piano cemetery', filled with broken-down pianos that provide the spare parts needed for repairing and rebuilding instruments all over the city. It is a mysterious and magical place, a place of solace, a dreaming place and, above all, a trysting place for lovers. Peixoto weaves the tragic true story of the marathon-runner, Francisco Lázaro, into a rich narrative of love, betrayal, domestic happiness and dashed hopes.

'A story of sex and treachery, of ambition and frustration, of a mostly thwarted desire to please ... Peixoto has an acute ear for cadence, a sharp eye for the luminous image and a good nose for the pungent'