Senhor Soares is the writer and narrator of the book. He is employed as the assistant bookkeeper in a fabric warehouse. He lives in the city of Lisbon in Portugal. After seeing himself in a group photo of his work colleagues, he describes himself as looking like a nodescript Jesuit. Soares lives in a rented room on the fourth floor of a building near his workplace. He likes to be settled and to be familiar with the places that he visits each day. Soares dislikes new ways of life and unfamiliar places. He enjoys his job because he has the freedom to dream while he works. Even though he does like his job, he shows no interest in being promoted.