With her agile, inspired, critical, and humorous writing, Angela Dutra de Menezes is one of the most important authors in contemporary Brazilian literature. A bestseller and critical success not only in Brazil but also in Portugal and Spain, she returns with another entertaining satire on the current obsession with appearances and popularity. Written in a playful way, "I chose lightness," she says. "Even when the subject is dramatic, I choose to approach it with good humor." The dictatorship of appearance—today, anyone who isn't thin and elegant is viewed with strangeness—and the capacity some people have to see no limits—that is, fat, which makes people ugly, and dullness, which makes them difficult to live with—are the themes of *The Incredible Chinese Geneticist*. With Angela's characteristic sharp prose, she brings to life the incredible story of Dr. Yaun Wang, an unorthodox scientist who will subvert the world order with his chromosomal research on these two universal evils. Wang's adventures are told by Zhang Cheng, a Chinese man born in the United States, a resentful, self-conscious, unhappy, gossipy, racist, nosy, know-it-all, and politically incorrect narrator. In other words... the perfect guinea pig for the cure proposed by the scientist. But the problem is that the scientist refuses to participate in the movement that aims to cure the boring people without their consent. "Pointing out that the limit of any science, any human activity, is respect for human dignity and freedom is one of the guiding principles of my book," she says. Based on a report the author read about the role of biological sciences in rebuilding the future, it points to the possibility of a dystopian society. But she really relies on good humor. Angela believes that advances in the field will be, essentially, beneficial. "I think biogenetics will change humanity for the better, much better. Everything that science will offer us, or already offers, will only bring benefits to humanity," the author concludes.
