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Macunaima
Announcing a major literary event: here is the first translation into English of a landmark precursor of Latin American magical realism, which has informed the work of contemporary writers from Garcia Marquez to Salman Rushdie. Macunaima, first published in Portuguese in 1928, and one of the masterworks of Brazilian literature, is a comic folkloric rhapsody (call it a novel if you really want) about the adventures of a popular hero whose fate is intended to define the national character of Brazil.
"Inventive, blessedly unsentimental," as Kirkus Reviews has it, and incorporating and interpreting the rich exotic myths and legends of Brazil, Macunaima traces the hero's quest for a magic charm, a gift from the gods, that he lost by transgressing the mores of his culture. Born in the heart of the darkness of the jungle, Macunaima is a complex of contradictory traits (he is, of course, "a hero without a character"), and can at will magically change his age, his race, his geographic location, to suit his purposes and overcome obstacles. Dramatizing aspects of Brazil in transition (multiracial, Indian versus European, rural versus urban life), Macunaima undergoes sometimes hilarious, sometimes grotesque transformations until his final annihilation and apotheosis as the Great Bear constellation in the heavens.
"Inventive, blessedly unsentimental," as Kirkus Reviews has it, and incorporating and interpreting the rich exotic myths and legends of Brazil, Macunaima traces the hero's quest for a magic charm, a gift from the gods, that he lost by transgressing the mores of his culture. Born in the heart of the darkness of the jungle, Macunaima is a complex of contradictory traits (he is, of course, "a hero without a character"), and can at will magically change his age, his race, his geographic location, to suit his purposes and overcome obstacles. Dramatizing aspects of Brazil in transition (multiracial, Indian versus European, rural versus urban life), Macunaima undergoes sometimes hilarious, sometimes grotesque transformations until his final annihilation and apotheosis as the Great Bear constellation in the heavens.
168 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1928
363 people are currently reading
6287 people want to read
About the author
Mário de Andrade
206 books138 followersMário Raul de Morais Andrade was a Brazilian poet, novelist, musicologist, art historian and critic, and photographer. One of the founders of Brazilian modernism, he virtually created modern Brazilian poetry with the publication of his Paulicéia Desvairada (Hallucinated City) in 1922. He has had an enormous influence on Brazilian literature in the 20th and 21st centuries, and as a scholar and essayist—he was a pioneer of the field of ethnomusicology—his influence has reached far beyond Brazil.
Andrade was the central figure in the avant-garde movement of São Paulo for twenty years. Trained as a musician and best known as a poet and novelist, Andrade was personally involved in virtually every discipline that was connected with São Paulo modernism, and became Brazil's national polymath. He was the driving force behind the Week of Modern Art, the 1922 event that reshaped both literature and the visual arts in Brazil. After working as a music professor and newspaper columnist he published his great novel, Macunaíma, in 1928. At the end of his life, he became the founding director of São Paulo's Department of Culture, formalizing a role he had long held as the catalyst of the city's—and the nation's—entry into artistic modernity.
From Wikipedia
Andrade was the central figure in the avant-garde movement of São Paulo for twenty years. Trained as a musician and best known as a poet and novelist, Andrade was personally involved in virtually every discipline that was connected with São Paulo modernism, and became Brazil's national polymath. He was the driving force behind the Week of Modern Art, the 1922 event that reshaped both literature and the visual arts in Brazil. After working as a music professor and newspaper columnist he published his great novel, Macunaíma, in 1928. At the end of his life, he became the founding director of São Paulo's Department of Culture, formalizing a role he had long held as the catalyst of the city's—and the nation's—entry into artistic modernity.
From Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 413 reviews
April 27, 2023
Mário de Andrade’s 1928 novel’s considered a classic, its author often referred to as the “pope of Brazilian modernism” is also feted for his poetry and affiliations with Brazil’s literary and artistic avant-garde. Macunaíma’s a challenging, picaresque saga, an oddly mournful piece despite copious instances of ribald, scatological humour. It’s also laced with scenes that reek of misogyny, racism and/or xenophobia. It’s comparatively short but so dense that this new translation’s carefully framed by extensive background notes and discussion material; while its frenetic pace seems to mirror 1920s Brazil, an era marked by rapid change, social instability and economic turmoil. At its heart is anti-hero Macunaíma based on a folk hero from a series of stories circulated by the Pemon people of the Amazon rainforest. A collection Andrade discovered via the work of German explorer and ethnographer Koch-Grünberg. Macunaíma’s a trickster figure; a lazy, amoral, shape-shifter who uses his abilities to gratify his, predominantly sexual, desires. His first transformation takes place in childhood, allowing him to become full-grown so he can have sex with his older brother’s girlfriend.
Andrade’s plot’s relatively simple, it’s an Odyssey-like tale centred on Macunaíma and his brothers. After Macunaíma accidentally murders his mother, he leaves his home in the forest, together with his remaining family. His travels lead to an ill-fated relationship with Queen Ci, an Amazonian warrior with characteristics drawn from the pages of science fiction. A series of misadventures results in Ci’s death, Macunaíma only has her amulet as a reminder of their love, but even this is soon lost. So begins an epic quest for its recovery that brings Macunaíma to the rapidly-industrialising city of São Paulo. A quest that will confront the small band of travellers with a series of fantastical creatures from demons and evil spirits to giant worms and monstrous snakes and then to the cannibalistic ogre whose stash conceals Ci’s amulet – a giant whose name also connects him to São Paulo’s growing Italian immigrant community. As Andrade’s story unfolds, it increasingly forms a collage of material gleaned from a mish-mash of sources from popular culture to Christianity to fairy and folk tales - sometimes close to their original forms, sometimes deliberately skewed or altered. Nothing in Andrade’s novel is entirely reliable even the meticulously detailed flora and fauna are often located in all the wrong places.
Accounts of Andrade’s work link his approach to his perception of Brazil’s national culture as something inorganic and incoherent, cobbled together from a range of local and international influences particularly from Europe and the legacy of its Portuguese colonisers - some of whom have minor roles in his novel. Macunaíma himself, a hero without a character, can be seen as a reflection of this lack of a unified identity; and Andrade frequently uses his hero’s experiences to parody and satirise aspects of Brazilian society from rich, indulgent communities of women to burgeoning capitalism, and aspirational artistic communities with their sights set on painting in places like Paris. In an inversion of standard narratives of the time and a growing fascination with the so-called “primitive,” Macunaíma - whose origins mark him out as prime fodder for those seeking an “authentic” Brazil - becomes a kind of anthropologist intent on interpreting “Paulista civilisation.” And Macunaíma’s bizarre metamorphosis from Black to white seems to be indirectly critiquing Brazilian ideas about race – perhaps sparked by Andrade’s own mixed-race identity.
Andrade has a fairly unique style, aiming for the rhythmic and sonorous, he combines features of oral storytelling with slang, poetry and song; formal Portuguese is broken up with smatterings of indigenous languages as well as terms taken from Bantu and Yoruba which invoke the many Brazilian descendants of slavery. An approach to language that was seen as ground-breaking when this originally appeared, both novel and controversial. It’s a very difficult piece to assess. It’s audacious but problematic; absurd and boundary-pushing yet sometimes deeply, offensively conservative. I raced through some chapters and crawled through others. But as an insight into Brazilian literature and history I found it consistently compelling. I was also impressed by Katrina Dodson’s fluid translation and reliant on her comprehensive, thoughtful notes and commentary. Introduced by John Keene, this is the first entry in Fitzcarraldo’s new classics list.
Thanks to Netgalley and publisher Fitzcarraldo for an ARC
Rating: 3 to 3.5
Andrade’s plot’s relatively simple, it’s an Odyssey-like tale centred on Macunaíma and his brothers. After Macunaíma accidentally murders his mother, he leaves his home in the forest, together with his remaining family. His travels lead to an ill-fated relationship with Queen Ci, an Amazonian warrior with characteristics drawn from the pages of science fiction. A series of misadventures results in Ci’s death, Macunaíma only has her amulet as a reminder of their love, but even this is soon lost. So begins an epic quest for its recovery that brings Macunaíma to the rapidly-industrialising city of São Paulo. A quest that will confront the small band of travellers with a series of fantastical creatures from demons and evil spirits to giant worms and monstrous snakes and then to the cannibalistic ogre whose stash conceals Ci’s amulet – a giant whose name also connects him to São Paulo’s growing Italian immigrant community. As Andrade’s story unfolds, it increasingly forms a collage of material gleaned from a mish-mash of sources from popular culture to Christianity to fairy and folk tales - sometimes close to their original forms, sometimes deliberately skewed or altered. Nothing in Andrade’s novel is entirely reliable even the meticulously detailed flora and fauna are often located in all the wrong places.
Accounts of Andrade’s work link his approach to his perception of Brazil’s national culture as something inorganic and incoherent, cobbled together from a range of local and international influences particularly from Europe and the legacy of its Portuguese colonisers - some of whom have minor roles in his novel. Macunaíma himself, a hero without a character, can be seen as a reflection of this lack of a unified identity; and Andrade frequently uses his hero’s experiences to parody and satirise aspects of Brazilian society from rich, indulgent communities of women to burgeoning capitalism, and aspirational artistic communities with their sights set on painting in places like Paris. In an inversion of standard narratives of the time and a growing fascination with the so-called “primitive,” Macunaíma - whose origins mark him out as prime fodder for those seeking an “authentic” Brazil - becomes a kind of anthropologist intent on interpreting “Paulista civilisation.” And Macunaíma’s bizarre metamorphosis from Black to white seems to be indirectly critiquing Brazilian ideas about race – perhaps sparked by Andrade’s own mixed-race identity.
Andrade has a fairly unique style, aiming for the rhythmic and sonorous, he combines features of oral storytelling with slang, poetry and song; formal Portuguese is broken up with smatterings of indigenous languages as well as terms taken from Bantu and Yoruba which invoke the many Brazilian descendants of slavery. An approach to language that was seen as ground-breaking when this originally appeared, both novel and controversial. It’s a very difficult piece to assess. It’s audacious but problematic; absurd and boundary-pushing yet sometimes deeply, offensively conservative. I raced through some chapters and crawled through others. But as an insight into Brazilian literature and history I found it consistently compelling. I was also impressed by Katrina Dodson’s fluid translation and reliant on her comprehensive, thoughtful notes and commentary. Introduced by John Keene, this is the first entry in Fitzcarraldo’s new classics list.
Thanks to Netgalley and publisher Fitzcarraldo for an ARC
Rating: 3 to 3.5
August 12, 2020
Escrito em 1926 em apenas 6 dias , esse livro conta a história do índio Macunaíma . Preguiçoso, mentiroso, medroso e traquina, é abandonado pela mãe e começa a vagar com os irmãos pelas cidades e florestas do Brasil, em busca de prazeres sexuais e da sua muiraquitã, um talismã indígena que ganhou do seu amor Ci , a mãe do mato, que ele acabou perdendo,e que depois ficou sabendo foi parar nas mãos de Venceslau Pietro Pietra .Nesse percurso , o protagonista que nasce negro e vira branco, tem comportamentos desprezíveis, mostrando sua total falta de caráter.
Com uma vasta pesquisa de linguagem, o autor Mário de Andrade traz para o leitor Urbano , falas e características somente conhecidas nessas lendas e no folclore brasileiro. Termos como ”Deixa estar jacaré que a sua lagoa vai secar” entre outros , foram trazidos por Mário de Andrade através desse livro e usados a partir de então. Isso sem contar com a frase mais famosa do livro; “Pouca saúde e muita saúva os problemas do Brasil são” Um livro difícil de se entender, com várias linguagens típicas do folclore e lendas do Brasil, mas um livro muito engraçado também,onde dei deliciosas gargalhadas .
Aqui no Brasil, esse livro é um clássico, leitura obrigatória para se fazer vestibular, e é um livro que revolucionou a linguagem literária, com técnicas inovadoras influenciado pela semana da arte moderna de 1922, que foi um movimento ocorrido no Brasil, com o intuito de se parar de consumir idéias de fora e dar mais valor no que é produzido no Brasil.
Com uma vasta pesquisa de linguagem, o autor Mário de Andrade traz para o leitor Urbano , falas e características somente conhecidas nessas lendas e no folclore brasileiro. Termos como ”Deixa estar jacaré que a sua lagoa vai secar” entre outros , foram trazidos por Mário de Andrade através desse livro e usados a partir de então. Isso sem contar com a frase mais famosa do livro; “Pouca saúde e muita saúva os problemas do Brasil são” Um livro difícil de se entender, com várias linguagens típicas do folclore e lendas do Brasil, mas um livro muito engraçado também,onde dei deliciosas gargalhadas .
Aqui no Brasil, esse livro é um clássico, leitura obrigatória para se fazer vestibular, e é um livro que revolucionou a linguagem literária, com técnicas inovadoras influenciado pela semana da arte moderna de 1922, que foi um movimento ocorrido no Brasil, com o intuito de se parar de consumir idéias de fora e dar mais valor no que é produzido no Brasil.
February 22, 2013
Muita gente considera esse livro trabalho de um gênio; eu só considero qênio quem termina o romance sem querer socar o Mário de Andrade, quatro-olhos maldito que passou um mês deitado em uma rede para a gente depois ser obrigado a ler essa "obra de arte". Exceto como dicionário de Filologia para termos de cultura indígena, não vejo guandes méritos nessa alegoria óbvia do caraáter dos heróis de nossa gente, Macunaíma e seus irmãos Jiguê e Maanape.
September 27, 2011
ai... que preguiça!
August 4, 2013
I've found Woody Woodpecker in Brazilian literature!
May 7, 2020
I made the proofing of this book for Projecto Adasmator and it will be published soon.
December 23, 2023
It is quite difficult for me to rate this book (= the novel and the extra texts - introduction, notes, Afterwords) because there are so many things to think about, after finishing it. Well, it is not an easy novel and reading it from the perspective of a contemporary (modern) European person would not make it a facile reading experience in any way. First, going through the novel would not be so light (well, I would say that it is an easy-to-read-difficult-novel) without Katrina Dodson’s notes and explanations of many words, concepts and legends that one reader has no idea about (not even in Brazilian Portuguese, the original version), which flood the text on every page and build undoubtedly the rhythm and the flow of the text, words that are probably impossible to translate in any language without destroying the Mario de Andrade’s intentions. Therefore, I would not judge only the novel (66% of the physical volume of the book), but the great work of the translator (Katrina Dodson), the Introduction (John Keene) and the extra explanations from Afterword by Mario de Andrade himself and Katrina Dodson, that help the reader to put together some puzzle pieces extracted from the tornado that the Macunaíma (apparently) is. And in order to be able to rate the novel, I would have to ask myself in the first place, why do I read? If only for the story and reading pleasure, I would have abandoned many books before, judged as being boring, difficult, not relevant enough, the language is too complicated, etc. But reading brought me also a lot of reading experiences, which are also related with the style, the rhythm, the flow of the text, the beauty of the language, the breaks that you need to take in order to let the text become part of your own life experience, of who you are and you will be from that moment on. Some books can make you feel like having had a transformative experience, like traveling around the world or climbing on a high mountain peak, not because they are difficult but because they are unique, because they are valuable rare pieces of reading experiences that you encounter not so often on the path of your reading adventure. So, I read not to search for nice and easy stories, but for relevant reading experiences, which Macunaíma certainly is one.
Nevertheless, there are some aspects that make the reading particularly interesting, at least in my case:
• In order to maintain the rhythm and go along with the construction of the story, you have to skip many words that you don’t know, that don’t make much sense, that sound simply funny, strange, absurd, etc. So partly one has to read something that they don't understand completely, which is pretty disturbing for someone who wants to have control and to understand every phrase (not me). Luckily (and a great idea), all the Katrina Dodson’s translation notes are placed in the last section of the book, for each chapter, which in the end is quite convenient to go and read the info and clarifications of some of the words that you had to skip (not properly skipping, I even read most of them out loud) understanding on the way.
• The story is “catchy” and “not catchy” at the same time. OK, there is a kind of plot, a guy (Macunaíma) gets born somewhere in the deep heart of Brazil and he behaves strange, does many hard-to-believe things, including magic, shapeshifting, incantations, etc etc, many that you have to accept in the text as they are, as part of the (pseudo-)reality of the story, deep rooted in the Brazil’s pre-colonial beliefs and mythology. And this guy gets stolen one kind of amulet that he really really values and that he starts to search and to find the thief, everything in that tornado of funny-sounding-no-idea-what-they-mean-words and inconceivable happenings that our hero does all over the 200 pages. It is “not catchy” because every chapter deals in one way or another with a slightly different problem (or more), borrowed by Andrade from Brazil’s mythology, which seems to be the key-point of the novel’s construction. Therefore, does it matter what happened in chapter 2, so to say? Well, yes and no. It matters if you want to use the story to understand/explain parts of Brazil’s overall identity, but not so much in the economy of the text. Therefore, I would say that all the small pieces brought in only to reference some Brazilian myths make the reading slightly difficult and give an idea of a fragmentary de-construction of the story in the middle of the general plot. Not good, not bad, only something that one has to deal with.
• If one reader would be really passionate and interested in Brazilian culture, THIS is probably the book they are looking for (luckily with Katrina Dodson’s notes).
In the end, I would ask myself if it was worth reading it. Should I have given up after the first pages, chapter, nonsense, etc? Is it something to remember in the future, to consider rereading it, to recommend it to other people? Yes and no. Definitely, the story is not something to stay, to get emotional about it, to resonate, to identify yourself with any of the characters. So emphatically, the answer would be no. But why do we read, only for such a reason? Don’t we also need challenging books to take us on some other level of reading experience? Was it worth reading it? For me, definitely yes. Overall, a great start of Fitzcarraldo Editions new Fitzcarraldo Classics collection.
Nevertheless, there are some aspects that make the reading particularly interesting, at least in my case:
• In order to maintain the rhythm and go along with the construction of the story, you have to skip many words that you don’t know, that don’t make much sense, that sound simply funny, strange, absurd, etc. So partly one has to read something that they don't understand completely, which is pretty disturbing for someone who wants to have control and to understand every phrase (not me). Luckily (and a great idea), all the Katrina Dodson’s translation notes are placed in the last section of the book, for each chapter, which in the end is quite convenient to go and read the info and clarifications of some of the words that you had to skip (not properly skipping, I even read most of them out loud) understanding on the way.
• The story is “catchy” and “not catchy” at the same time. OK, there is a kind of plot, a guy (Macunaíma) gets born somewhere in the deep heart of Brazil and he behaves strange, does many hard-to-believe things, including magic, shapeshifting, incantations, etc etc, many that you have to accept in the text as they are, as part of the (pseudo-)reality of the story, deep rooted in the Brazil’s pre-colonial beliefs and mythology. And this guy gets stolen one kind of amulet that he really really values and that he starts to search and to find the thief, everything in that tornado of funny-sounding-no-idea-what-they-mean-words and inconceivable happenings that our hero does all over the 200 pages. It is “not catchy” because every chapter deals in one way or another with a slightly different problem (or more), borrowed by Andrade from Brazil’s mythology, which seems to be the key-point of the novel’s construction. Therefore, does it matter what happened in chapter 2, so to say? Well, yes and no. It matters if you want to use the story to understand/explain parts of Brazil’s overall identity, but not so much in the economy of the text. Therefore, I would say that all the small pieces brought in only to reference some Brazilian myths make the reading slightly difficult and give an idea of a fragmentary de-construction of the story in the middle of the general plot. Not good, not bad, only something that one has to deal with.
• If one reader would be really passionate and interested in Brazilian culture, THIS is probably the book they are looking for (luckily with Katrina Dodson’s notes).
In the end, I would ask myself if it was worth reading it. Should I have given up after the first pages, chapter, nonsense, etc? Is it something to remember in the future, to consider rereading it, to recommend it to other people? Yes and no. Definitely, the story is not something to stay, to get emotional about it, to resonate, to identify yourself with any of the characters. So emphatically, the answer would be no. But why do we read, only for such a reason? Don’t we also need challenging books to take us on some other level of reading experience? Was it worth reading it? For me, definitely yes. Overall, a great start of Fitzcarraldo Editions new Fitzcarraldo Classics collection.
Read
July 15, 2016Then the love-sick girl opened a window giving onto the lonely Pacaembu Forest and said, "I'm going to ask you three riddles, and if you can guess the right answers, I'll get you away safely. Tell me: What is it that is long and round, has a hole in the middle, goes in hard and comes out soft, satisfies everyone's taste and is not a dirty word?"
"Oh, come now! That's not polite!"
"Stupid! It's...it's...macaroni!"
"Uh-uh! So it is! Pretty good, that one!"
"Now then, what about this? Where is the place where a woman has the curliest, frizziest hair?"
"Aha, I know that! It's down there!"
"No, you naughty boy! It's in Africa, d'ye see?"
"Do show me, please!"
"Come, now! Here's the last riddle. Tell me what this means:
"Well, I'll tell you; have you by any chance gone to sleep with your eyelashes meeting over your eyeballs? Whatever else were you thinking of?"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNoga...
(with French subtitles)
"Oh, come now! That's not polite!"
"Stupid! It's...it's...macaroni!"
"Uh-uh! So it is! Pretty good, that one!"
"Now then, what about this? Where is the place where a woman has the curliest, frizziest hair?"
"Aha, I know that! It's down there!"
"No, you naughty boy! It's in Africa, d'ye see?"
"Do show me, please!"
"Come, now! Here's the last riddle. Tell me what this means:
'Sweetheart, let us go and doMacunaima rejoined, "Wow, that's another one I don't know! But between ourselves with nobody listening, miss, I think you are a saucy minx!"
That which God designed us to:
Join hair with hair, to make a pair,
Keeping the hairless one in there!"
"Well, I'll tell you; have you by any chance gone to sleep with your eyelashes meeting over your eyeballs? Whatever else were you thinking of?"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNoga...
(with French subtitles)
September 27, 2022
Poxa, Mário.
Meu grande erro para com Macunaíma, foi ter lido Amar Verbo Intransitivo, do mesmo autor, há um ano atrás. Lembro que Amar Verbo Intransitivo foi uma das minhas grandes experiências com a literatura brasileira, tanto que a considero uma das grandes obras primas da nossa produção literária e, sem dúvidas, uma das mais menosprezadas. Macunaíma, não obstante, é de leitura "obrigatória" em todas as partes da nação. Vestibulares de todos os cantos citam-na em alguma ocasião; pesquisadores da área da literatura/história/antropologia/sociologia/filosofia fazem inúmeros trabalhos abordando alguma das mil possibilidades que a peça de Mário de Andrade dispõe.
E sem dúvida, a importância de Macunaíma é magna para a constituição artística/literária do Brasil. Contudo, a paródia que temos entre mãos, na minha opinião, construiu sua "lenda" em base à proposta e não tanto à narrativa em si. Como assim, Walter? Bem, a grosso modo, Macunaíma ganhou notoriedade pela ideia satírica, pela crítica (principalmente à Iracema de Alencar) e pela inovação, e não tanto pela estória que, mesmo tendo muito de interessante, perde-se no turbilhão de acontecimentos que acabam dando uma sensação de: o que tô lendo, gente?
Mário de Andrade sobrepassou-se de inovador, de vanguardista, de transversal, e acabou criando uma obra "hi-hi-há-há" que destaca como um dos grandes clássicos por muitas questões extra-narrativa. E é uma pena, pois o autor é de um talento maiúsculo. No mais, só me resta dizer, uma vez mais, que muitos - a maioria, imagino -, não estarão de acordo com minha opinião. Entretanto, essa é a beleza da literatura: a possibilidade de coabitar num mesmo livro, mil leituras.
Meu grande erro para com Macunaíma, foi ter lido Amar Verbo Intransitivo, do mesmo autor, há um ano atrás. Lembro que Amar Verbo Intransitivo foi uma das minhas grandes experiências com a literatura brasileira, tanto que a considero uma das grandes obras primas da nossa produção literária e, sem dúvidas, uma das mais menosprezadas. Macunaíma, não obstante, é de leitura "obrigatória" em todas as partes da nação. Vestibulares de todos os cantos citam-na em alguma ocasião; pesquisadores da área da literatura/história/antropologia/sociologia/filosofia fazem inúmeros trabalhos abordando alguma das mil possibilidades que a peça de Mário de Andrade dispõe.
E sem dúvida, a importância de Macunaíma é magna para a constituição artística/literária do Brasil. Contudo, a paródia que temos entre mãos, na minha opinião, construiu sua "lenda" em base à proposta e não tanto à narrativa em si. Como assim, Walter? Bem, a grosso modo, Macunaíma ganhou notoriedade pela ideia satírica, pela crítica (principalmente à Iracema de Alencar) e pela inovação, e não tanto pela estória que, mesmo tendo muito de interessante, perde-se no turbilhão de acontecimentos que acabam dando uma sensação de: o que tô lendo, gente?
Mário de Andrade sobrepassou-se de inovador, de vanguardista, de transversal, e acabou criando uma obra "hi-hi-há-há" que destaca como um dos grandes clássicos por muitas questões extra-narrativa. E é uma pena, pois o autor é de um talento maiúsculo. No mais, só me resta dizer, uma vez mais, que muitos - a maioria, imagino -, não estarão de acordo com minha opinião. Entretanto, essa é a beleza da literatura: a possibilidade de coabitar num mesmo livro, mil leituras.
February 23, 2012
One of the worst books I had to read. One of the three books that I haven't finished after starting. I skipped a lot of pages in order to get to the end.
Um dos piores livros que já fui obrigado a ler na época do colégio. Pulei várias páginas para chegar ao final.
É um dos três livros que eu desisti de ler após ter começado.
Um dos piores livros que já fui obrigado a ler na época do colégio. Pulei várias páginas para chegar ao final.
É um dos três livros que eu desisti de ler após ter começado.
November 21, 2013
Macunaíma é um atentado contra o românce indianista. Um intrincado, poético e brutal atentado contra a tradição de Gonçalves Dias e José de Alencar. Ler Macunaíma é ver alguém pintar chifres no Cristo da Última Ceia e rir-se de admiração quando o resultado final supera o original. Relê-lo foi reviver aos risos cena do Coringa de Jack Nicholson atacando de Banksy e depredando o museu de Gotham. Salve a Monalisa de bigodes!
September 15, 2021
pra um livro muito doido escrito em seis dias que fica se afirmando como despretensioso (faz-me rir), é bem bom???????? lendo com certo deboismo e passadas de pano, 5 estrelas
April 3, 2020
Muito criativo, mágico, fantástico, lúdico e ágil. Mas não é feito pra ser lido, e sim proclamado. Minha dica pra ler Macunaíma é: leia um capítulo por dia e leia em voz alta.
May 21, 2022
Esse livro pra mim foi melhor que zolpidem. Começava a ler e na segunda página já tava caindo num cochilo.
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July 13, 2023DNF at page 50 - This particular type of magical realism irritates me.
January 30, 2025
Os ‘modernistas’ têm esta característica única: lembram-se de fazer uma coisa que não era o que se fazia antes, arranjam um coro de adeptos para entoar os encómios, e está a obra feita.
Macunaíma, que reza a lenda, foi escrito em 6 dias, precipitando-se logo alguns para acrescentar: mas que exigiu longa pesquisa e investigação; é um livro engraçado e divertido. Não é, de todo, difícil de ler, mas pode ser maçador, porque é extenso e, por não ter um fluxo narrativo evidente, o que obriga a uma atenção redobrada e desnecessária.
Para um falante do Português de Portugal, mesmo muito habituada às construções gramaticais, ao léxico e mesmo à geografia do Brasil, a leitura é exigente – mas quem é que sabe todos aqueles sinónimos para todas as variedades de formiga, ou mosquito, ou frutas? E em Macunaíma, por vezes, um único ‘pé’ dá uma porção de frutas diferentes 😉
Enfim, por tudo e por nada, o polímata, Mário de Andrade, traz à colação objectos e gente, díspares, o que não ajuda à compreensão.
Será que a mensagem é mesmo o contar da história deste índio, preguiçoso, mentiroso, medroso, da sua falta de carácter e da notável adição à ‘brincadeira’?
Macunaíma, que reza a lenda, foi escrito em 6 dias, precipitando-se logo alguns para acrescentar: mas que exigiu longa pesquisa e investigação; é um livro engraçado e divertido. Não é, de todo, difícil de ler, mas pode ser maçador, porque é extenso e, por não ter um fluxo narrativo evidente, o que obriga a uma atenção redobrada e desnecessária.
Para um falante do Português de Portugal, mesmo muito habituada às construções gramaticais, ao léxico e mesmo à geografia do Brasil, a leitura é exigente – mas quem é que sabe todos aqueles sinónimos para todas as variedades de formiga, ou mosquito, ou frutas? E em Macunaíma, por vezes, um único ‘pé’ dá uma porção de frutas diferentes 😉
Enfim, por tudo e por nada, o polímata, Mário de Andrade, traz à colação objectos e gente, díspares, o que não ajuda à compreensão.
Será que a mensagem é mesmo o contar da história deste índio, preguiçoso, mentiroso, medroso, da sua falta de carácter e da notável adição à ‘brincadeira’?
January 29, 2022
Apesar da grande importância dessa obra na literatura brasileira, seja pela linguagem riquíssima, seja pela própria premissa do livro em reunir toda a pluralidade de nossa cultura e ancestralidade étnica, eu não tive uma boa experiência com o livro e não achei a narrativa interessante. De fato, Mário de Andrade elaborou uma vasta pesquisa de elementos do folclore nacional, das lendas e mitos, bem como da linguagem popular, o que traz grandes inovações estéticas para a época que marcava o Modernismo brasileiro. No entanto, a leitura se tornou complexa e cansativa para mim, já que, por diversas vezes, fiquei perdida no vocabulário repleto de sincretismos e no significado das palavras, de modo que a leitura foi demorada e pouco fluida. Tendo em vista isso, a rapsódia (como classificou o próprio autor) tenta buscar a identidade nacional, que é tão complexa e múltipla, por meio da reunião desses elementos no enredo e nos personagens. Porém, não consegui me interessar pela história em si e nem pelas inúmeras sequências de aventuras do anti-herói (tediosas, em minha opinião). Enfim, acredito que seja um livro mais apreciativo por suas inovações do que envolvente narrativamente e, a depender das preferências e da disposição do leitor, a leitura deve valer a pena.
February 12, 2019
Ontem fui assistir Macunaíma, ópera tupi, da Iará Rennó e, hoje, achei que precisava saldar minha dívida com o herói sem nenhum caráter, afinal de contas li partes do romance no Ensino Médio para nunca mais. E obviamente me faltava referência, preparo e um bom professor de literatura.
Que deleite. Nosso próprio trickster apronta por todo o Brasil. E em suas manhas, na sua alegria e na sua preguiça, reconhecemos um pouco de nós nesse filho de Exu.
(Eu posso estar desenvolvendo uma obsessão tardia pela obra do Senhor Mário de Andrade. Provavelmente porque agora também sou residente da Pauliceia. A conferir. Mandarei cartas às Amazonas em breve, relatando minhas descobertas.)
Que deleite. Nosso próprio trickster apronta por todo o Brasil. E em suas manhas, na sua alegria e na sua preguiça, reconhecemos um pouco de nós nesse filho de Exu.
(Eu posso estar desenvolvendo uma obsessão tardia pela obra do Senhor Mário de Andrade. Provavelmente porque agora também sou residente da Pauliceia. A conferir. Mandarei cartas às Amazonas em breve, relatando minhas descobertas.)
January 9, 2024
I really didn't get on with this one. The mashup of indigenous folk tales with (at that time - 1928) modern Sao Paolo city life was quite interesting. But the folk tales left me cold. Full of illogical transformations and nonsensical events. Despite the translator's best efforts I lost patience with it. It probably means more to someone from Brazil who has that cultural background.
February 13, 2025
it's a bit like a picaresque looney tunes cartoon drawing on brazilian indigenous folklore and with lots of explicit sex and grotesque violence.
November 18, 2020
Me diverti em alguns momentos, mas confesso que na maioria fiquei que nem o Macunaíma “Ai! Que preguiça!”
April 22, 2024
como pode o mario de andrade ter sido o primeiro escritor
June 7, 2013
Quer sofrer um impacto? Achar-se constantemente sem jeito ao ler um livro? Macunaíma O Herói Sem Nenhum Caráter fornece isso. Passa de longe das outras obras cujo romance se apresenta "melhor" articulado. De forma bastante inovadora e rápida, a narração sobre a vida de Macunaíma vai sendo mostrada em diversas situações (muitas vezes humorísticas e irônicas) e, paralelamente, (des)construindo uma visão focada na formação da identidade brasileira; seja na criação de mitos, seja na criação de gírias. Adepto do movimento antropofágico, Andrade, com um elevado conhecimento nacional, conhecimento este indo de folclore até nomes de plantas brasileiras, procura demonstrar o que antes não era dito: a cultura que sempre fora omitida, porém vigente, no Brasil naquela época (década de 20).
April 15, 2019
Livro carregado de regionalismos do Norte e Nordeste e também de palavras em tupi, já que Macunaíma nasceu no meio do mato.
Pela leitura ser feita acompanhada de um dicionário se torna cansativa rapidamente.
O livro piora ainda mais quando Macunaíma chega a São Paulo.
Haja paciência para terminar esse livro...
Pela leitura ser feita acompanhada de um dicionário se torna cansativa rapidamente.
O livro piora ainda mais quando Macunaíma chega a São Paulo.
Haja paciência para terminar esse livro...
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May 29, 2021Terminei. Muito bom, Mário. Daqui a pouco eu entendo.
July 13, 2022
sofri kkkkk
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June 4, 2024Бразильський магреалізм 1928 року ще й від автора-модерніста. Божевільні казки за участю туканів, тапирів, опосумів та інших звірюк і птахів з берегів Амазонії з головним героем-дурником і його братами. Ну дуже на любителя. Або філолога, або антрополога. Або студентам задавати читати, а потім питати що вони зрозуміли. Бо я нічого.
July 18, 2025
this book was a challenging read that I wanted to give up on at several times. The misogyny, racism, and violence in this book was super off putting, but reading the afterword and prefaces from the author gave me a deeper appreciation for all the work that’s been put into it. I also learned that seemingly nowhere has more ants than Brazil! I appreciate andrade’s love for and confusion around Brazilian identity (and a lack thereof according to him) but this isn’t a book I’d necessarily recommend bc it was a hard read
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November 15, 2024Ik geef op
January 19, 2021
Só como adendo, é a Primeira obra do modernismo que leio.
Em alguns momentos, me lembrou o Cem Anos de Solidão (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...) principalmente na parte fantástica, apesar das propostas serem bem diferentes.
Com linguagem bem coloquial da época e com muitas palavras de origem indígena, a leitura não é recomendada para todos. Mas quem estiver aberto à experiência e não liga para não entender todos os detalhes da história, é uma experiência interessante. Até porque muita coisa dá para pegar pelo contexto, como acontece com Laranja Mecânica (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...).
Foi um bom contraponto ter lido ele logo depois de Iracema (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...). Enquanto o primeiro tem uma visão idealista da formação do povo brasileiro, aqui temos um anti-herói, representante do povo brasileiro, com inúmeros defeitos.
Em alguns momentos, me lembrou o Cem Anos de Solidão (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...) principalmente na parte fantástica, apesar das propostas serem bem diferentes.
Com linguagem bem coloquial da época e com muitas palavras de origem indígena, a leitura não é recomendada para todos. Mas quem estiver aberto à experiência e não liga para não entender todos os detalhes da história, é uma experiência interessante. Até porque muita coisa dá para pegar pelo contexto, como acontece com Laranja Mecânica (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...).
Foi um bom contraponto ter lido ele logo depois de Iracema (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...). Enquanto o primeiro tem uma visão idealista da formação do povo brasileiro, aqui temos um anti-herói, representante do povo brasileiro, com inúmeros defeitos.
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