The Story

Flirts is a collection of short sketches set in the drawing rooms and social gatherings of early 20th-century Portugal. We follow various men and women as they navigate the intricate dance of courtship and status. A young woman might weigh a suitor's charm against his family's name. A married couple might exchange barbed comments that sound like jokes to everyone else. The plot isn't one grand adventure, but a series of moments where desire bumps up against duty, and ambition hides behind a fan or a polite smile.

Why You Should Read It

What grabbed me was how familiar these characters felt, even though they wear different clothes. Vasconcellos had a sharp eye for the small, telling details—the slight hesitation before answering, the calculated choice of a dance partner. He shows us how much is really said in the spaces between words. Reading it, you realize how little the core game of social interaction has changed. We still signal, we still guess, and we still sometimes choose safety over passion.

Final Verdict

This book is perfect for anyone who enjoys character-driven stories and a peek into a bygone era. If you like authors like Edith Wharton or Jane Austen, but want something shorter and set in a different corner of Europe, you'll find a friend here. It's a quiet, thoughtful read best enjoyed with a cup of tea, for when you're in the mood to observe the delicate, often funny, and sometimes sad mechanics of the human heart.