Trimalquião, os coronéis e a piscina: retrato impiedoso de um país em crise

In this article we attempt to read Mario de Carvalho's novel Fantasia para dois coroneis e uma piscina, focussing on the ideological analysis of repre-sentative passages with special emphasis on two recurrent processes used by the author: irony and parody. Taking into account all explicit references to Classical authors, works or themes, ranging from Horace to Petronius, and from the invokation of the muses to that of the deus ex machina, we seek to draw a parallel between the Classical past and the present, thus providing an accurate picture of the Portuguese society, with its vices and defects, on the verge of the 21st century. Keywords: irony; parody; bucolism; Trimalchio; invokation of muses; deus ex machina.