The Bewitching Braid

by Henrique de Senna Fernandes

The novel is a fascinating look into the inner world of the Eurasian inhabitants of the city, and their relationship with their Chinese and Portuguese legacies.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Asia

Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Henrique de Senna Fernandes (October 15, 1923, Macao – October 4, 2010, Macao) was a Macanese writer. Born in 1923 as one of 11 siblings to an old Macanese family, whom settled in Macau over 250 years ago, he studied law at the University of Coimbra before becoming a writer. His work, written in Portuguese, evokes the atmosphere of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s in the territory. Often focussing on the lives of characters of mixed racial origins, like the author himself, his work represents a unique viewpoint on the evolution of the territory in the twentieth century.

Besides writing he was a teacher and director at the Pedro Nolasco Commercial School. From 1998 to 2009 he was resident of the General Assembly of CAM, operator of Macau International Airport.

In 2006 he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Macau and Medal of Cultural Merit in 2001.

Reviews

[Nina ( picturetalk321 ) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel is set in 1930s Macao (or Macau), a peninsula off the mainland of China which was a Portuguese trading post from the sixteenth century onwards. So it is a part of China in which Cantonese is spoken and also Portuguese. Over the generations, a particular Chinese-Portuguese mix emerged. Or so I learned from this novel as all I know about Macao is from this book. As with anywhere else in the world. tensions and hierarchies developed. It seems that the Portuguese-speaking, spoon-using Catholics were the upper middle classes who looked down on the Cantonese-speaking, braid-wearing temple goers of the poorer part of town.

Adozindo, a young rich Portuguese man, and A-Leng, a poor Cantonese water carrier, fall in love. This love is frowned upon by both the Portuguese and the Chinese communities, and the couple struggle with being ostracised and establishing a new life in a mixed marriage.

The prose style is a little dry, and often seems like a descriptive first draft, with more telling than showing. However, the story is sweet and although the gender roles are fairly traditional, each person, main characters and secondaries, is a multi-facetted individual. A favourite scene is the one where demure, shy A-Leng beats off hoodlums with her waterseller's staff while Adozindo rolls uselessly on the floor.

I read this for the #readtheworld21 challenge, November rubric 'Greater China'. I am very glad to have visited this (to me) unfamiliar part of the world with its unique mix of people.

[Josh Maher]

Fun story from Macao

[Meiroz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this beautifuly written love story. Even more so because it was the first time I read anything about Macau. Portuguese speaking writers go way beyond Brazil and Portugal, as I am so glad to have found out.