Ouro Preto, the former capital of the mineral-rich state of Minas Gerais, is perhaps the most beautiful old town in Brazil. It contains several Baroque churches with works by the great Brazilian sculptor Aleijadinho, a man whose father was of Portuguese extraction and whose mother was an African slave. Apart from this, however, if you visit Ouro Preto, your eyes will be drawn, as mine were when I revisited the city recently, to the statues in the windows of the tourist shops around the centre. These show a pretty young woman, usually black, leaning on the window, head cupped in her hand, gazing out on the world around. The figure is called a namoradeira, which suggests the lover talking to her beloved through the window.

This image may serve as a good introduction to what this book is about. There are three important features to note: the namoradeira herself; the other with whom she is talking and at whom she is looking; and, third, the window. The window allows both parties a view of the other side, but always a partial view, with things hidden round the corner and in the shadows, above and below.

I first went to Brazil in 1991 to study theology. At the time, I knew one Brazilian, a few more words of Portuguese, and that the city where I was going to live, Belo Horizonte, was the scene of England's defeat by the USA in the 1950 World Cup. Over the four years I spent in Brazil I came to know a lot more.