Mardoqueu Stern, the son of Lithuanian Jews from a modest family, met Carlos at the Padre Juvêncio School, attended by the children of landowners and businessmen. Carlos was black. Like Mardoqueu, Carlos had been accepted thanks to Father Otero.
His father, a legal advisor for a large state company, had been transferred from Salvador to São Paulo. He was a well-paid man who wanted to enroll his son in a good school, but found it difficult, for obvious reasons. The two struck up a great friendship. But together they faced discrimination, injustice, and misunderstanding.
The author, Moacyr Scliar, a descendant of Russian Jewish immigrants, comments on this moving story: “My childhood and youth were marked by the shadow of prejudice. (…) I’m not just referring to skin color. I’m talking about ideas, feelings, and emotions.” He wants to share with young readers a story of hope, friendship, and love.
