''Nosso Lar: Life in the Spirit World'' ( Portuguese: ''Nosso Lar''), also known as ''Astral City'', is a novel by the Brazilian spiritist

medium Medium may refer to: Aircraft *Medium bomber, a class of warplane * Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''The Medium'' (1921 film), a German silent film * ''The Medium'' (1951 film), a film vers ...

Francisco Cândido Xavier. First published in 1944,http://www.febeditora.com.br/departamentos/nosso-lar/. Retrieved at 2017-06-05 it tells the story of André Luiz, a prominent doctor who lived in the city of

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

. After dying, André Luiz finds himself neither in

Heaven Heaven, or the Heavens, is a common Religious cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...

nor

Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location or state in the afterlife in which souls are subjected to punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history sometimes depict hells as eternal destinations, such as Christianity and I ...

, depicted in the teachings he had received during his

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

upbringing, but rather in the so-called '' umbral'', a region where less-than-perfect souls face the consequences of their infelicitous actions while alive. After a while, he is able to perceive the presence of Clarêncio, a friendly spirit who had been trying to help him all along during his time in ''umbral''. Clarêncio then takes him to Nosso Lar, a spirit colony, or astral city, where André becomes acquainted with the intricacies of

afterlife The afterlife or life after death is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's Stream of consciousness (psychology), stream of consciousness or Personal identity, identity continues to exist after the death of their ...

and

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the Philosophy, philosophical or Religion, religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new lifespan (disambiguation), lifespan in a different physical ...

. The novel was adapted into the 2010 film '' Astral City: A Spiritual Journey''

References

External links

* The book can be read for free in its entirety here: *
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Books about spirituality Spiritism Portuguese literature 1943 novels {{1940s-novel-stub