Rubem Fonseca is an important Brazilian writer. He was born in Juiz de Fora, state of Minas Gerais, on May 11, 1925, but he lived for most of his life in Rio de Janeiro. In 1952, he started his career as a low-level cop and, later, became a police commissioner, one of the highest ranks in the civil police of Brazil. Even though, he refuses to do interviews and is a very reclusive person, much like Thomas Pynchon, who is a personal friend of Fonseca.