The Last Address of
Eça de Queiroz

THE LAST ADDRESS OF EÇA DE QUEIROZ is a tragicomic story with surreal undertones about the search for artistic identity, recognition, and authenticity at the intersection of reality and fiction.

At its center is Rodrigo, a man in his mid-twenties from Curitiba who dreams of becoming a writer but suffers from undiagnosed ADHD. His life is marked by inner chaos, impulsivity, and a paralyzing writer’s block. While his down-to-earth father Zé has little understanding for his ambitions, his mother Maria supports him both financially and emotionally—unintentionally reinforcing his lack of responsibility. Rodrigo’s only stable relationship is with Fátima, a sex worker who, unlike him, pursues her future with determination and clarity.

When an Indigenous medicine woman prophesies that an eagle will show Rodrigo the way, a chain of absurd events is set in motion. After an accident, Rodrigo meets the eccentric literature professor Adriano, who preaches three cynical rules for literary success and urges him to travel to Portugal—to follow in the footsteps of great authors such as Eça de Queiroz. Rodrigo interprets this as a justification for his own failure and, by means of a fabricated scholarship, deceives his parents and Fátima into giving him money to travel to Lisbon.

Already on the flight, Rodrigo begins to blur reality and fiction by telling his seatmate a gruesome, invented story about the death of his parents. In Lisbon, he moves into a former apartment of José Saramago and meets the young blogger Meritxel, whom he quickly elevates to the role of his muse. When she suddenly disappears, Rodrigo plunges into a feverish search through the city, repeatedly encountering bird apparitions as ominous harbingers of disaster.

He becomes entangled in the world of the bookbinder Napoleão, whose family constellation further destabilizes him. Napoleão’s daughter Alice, who bears a striking resemblance to Meritxel, introduces Rodrigo to an evangelical congregation, where his earlier lies escalate publicly. When the truth finally comes to light, Rodrigo’s house of cards collapses, and he flees hastily to Porto.

There, Rodrigo completely loses control: robbed, pursued, and increasingly hallucinating, he finally follows the prophesied eagle to a remote villa, where his family and the long-deceased Eça de Queiroz appear to him—only for him to become the victim of a grotesque, surreal vision.

In the end, this episode reveals itself to be Rodrigo’s own literary work. Back in Curitiba, Fátima reads his manuscript: a failed yet honest attempt to shape meaning out of chaos. Whether it will become a book remains open—but for the first time, Rodrigo has truly written.