As you read this novel by Jorge Amado, you should do the following:
 

• on note cards, keep track of the various characters which Amado introduces.  It quickly becomes apparent which are important and which figure into the novel only in marginal ways.  Typically new characters are introduced in sketchy fashion with fuller information coming later as part of flashbacks and through asides/note benes/postscripts to the reader.

Be aware that Amado weaves in many real personages, living and dead, into his narrative, e.g. Aleijadinho, Caetano Veloso., Vinicius de Moraes, Glauber Rocha etc.  If you have access to the InterNet check out these names.

• the primary action occurs during a two day period, but Amado provides many flashbacks to provide background for the events he is exploring.  Keep the flashbacks separate from the narrative flow – if necessary develop a time-line.

• be aware of the various levels of the novel.  The narrator often speaks directly to the reader and very frequently he explains his literary scaffolding so that we can see what he is doing.  The reason for this becomes clear at the end of the novel when the narrator answers his critics.

• as you read the novel, be sure to focus on the following issues
• the competing ideologies of religion, including the divisions within the Catholic Church and candomblé
• the fusion of values from Catholicism and candomblé
• the definition and nature of race as described for Bahia
• the conflict over sexual attitudes and their resolution
• the role of gender definitions and stereotypes
• the political ambience of Brazil in the 1970s (DOPS, SNI, etc.)
• the treatment which Amado accords to class
• the role of magical realism in the novel
• the role of the city of Salvador