Ponciá Vicencio, the debut novel by Afro-Brazilian author Conceição Evaristo, is the story of a young Afro-Brazilian woman's journey from the land of her enslaved ancestors to the emptiness of urban life. However, the generations of creativity, violence and family cannot be so easily left behind as Ponciá is heir to a mysterious psychic gift from her grandfather.Does this gift have the power to bring Ponciá back from the emotional vacuum and absolute solitude that has overtaken her in the city? Do the elemental forces of earth, air, fire and water mean anything in the barren urban landscape? This mystical story of family, dreams and hope by the incomparable Evaristo, illuminates aspects of urban and rural Afro-Brazilian conditions with poetic eloquence and raw urgency.