In the Cities and Jungles of Brazil

by Paul Rambali

The author of French Blues provides a surrealistic study of the richly complex country of Brazil, capturing its teeming cities, poverty-stricken homeless and luxury highrises, endangered natural resources, death squads, and ethnic diversity. 10,000 first printing.

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel, History, Brazil

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read this in 2005, before I had ever travelled to Brazil, and it shocked me in its descriptions of the poverty and the violence of the country. When a friend organised a book club meeting on the theme of 'Travel', this was the book I thought of. What stuck with me was Rambali's prose: astute, erudite and often poetic, describing issues that are as current today as they were when the book was published in 1993, that of the destruction of the Amazon forest, for instance.

Chapter 14 detailing a visit to the Valley of Death, a meta industrial complex was particularly evocative.

"It was almost night by the time we reach the ark, churning heart of the Valley of Death half an hour after we first saw it. There was no sign to indicate that it was known as such, just the last gleaming of twilight that seemed to mark the end of an idyllic day and the beginning of a dark industrial night, bringing with it pollution, mutation, overheating, the cancer of uncontrolled growth, the migraine of television, shanties multiplying like abscesses, infrastructural infarctus, the burning jungle, the shoals of dead fish floating in mutant algae, sensations of blotched and prickly skin, melanomas, lymphomas and leukemias. "

Scary, powerful writing. Some of Rambali's interviews are equally as thought provoking, such as his afternoon in the company of the prophetic Ailton Krenak, the leader of the Union of Indian Nations, who recognises the amoeli felt by city dwellers, disconnected from their ancestors, from their history, stuck on a hedonistic treadmill.

This book remains for me a classic of Brazil travel literature and an insightful introduction to Brazilian culture and history.

[Darla Ebert · Rating 2 out of 5]

An over-sharing of the sordid side of life in Brazil very nearly made this book unreadable. I had hoped for more about the culture of the people in both venues

[Casey Bee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, while outdated, does a wonderful job of describing Brazil's attitude and feeling. Things have changed, but they also have stayed the same, which I think, is one of the main points of the author as he does a history/travelogue of Brazil in the early 90s/late 80s. He explores Brazil's culture, media, history, music, literature, and sense of identity wonderfully. This would be a great book to read on the beach. In Brazil, or anywhere.

[Che' Gilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is phenominal overview of Brazil focuing on people, instances, politics, and a kalaidoscope of impressions. It is short, sweet, and I would guess, more to the point than a lot of other books about this amazing and heartbreaking country.

[Doug · Rating 5 out of 5]

Go beyond Rio & Sao Paulo. A fantastic book that does a decent job of capturing different parts such a large and diverse country. More of a narrative than a travel book.