What do you think?
Rate this book
Rio de Janeiro: Extreme City
A book as rich and sprawling as the seductive metropolis it evokes, Rio de Janeiro builds a kaleidoscopic portrait of this city of extremes, and its history of conflict and corruption. Luiz Eduardo Soares tells the story of Rio through the everyday lives of its gangsters and police, activists, politicians, and struggling migrant workers, each with their own version of the city. Taking us on a journey into Rio's intricate world of favelas, beaches, and corridors of power, Soares reveals one of the most extraordinary cities in the world in all its seething, agonistic beauty.
304 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2015
15 people are currently reading
153 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 2, 2017
Nice mix of memoir, social history and contemporary life. The highlight for me was the account of the incarceration and torture of Dulce Pandolfi ('No Ordinary Woman') at the hands of the state during the period of military dictatorship. It's a very well written, sober retelling of the experience of living in a country without civil rights or accountability, and something I feel like forcing every apologist for dirty Cuba, Venezuela or GDR nostalgist to read under a hot light.
I also liked enjoyed 'Rio Revelry'; the observation that tourists project their preformed idea of what a place is like on the country they are visiting and see magic in the banal everyday - very true. Whenever you see tourists cooing about some dopey busker playing Oasis on Hungerford bridge, it's that.
I also liked enjoyed 'Rio Revelry'; the observation that tourists project their preformed idea of what a place is like on the country they are visiting and see magic in the banal everyday - very true. Whenever you see tourists cooing about some dopey busker playing Oasis on Hungerford bridge, it's that.
September 13, 2024
li esse em inglês meio engraçado mas acabou sendo legal pq me senti conhecendo um lugar novo! e por outro lado achei legal ficar identificando as gírias ptbr em eng. eu me decepcionei um pouquinho pq não eh uma história mto contínua, eh como se fossem vários contos com o mesmo tema e isso me perdeu um pouco no início mas dps relevei.
off: ri mto dele falando que o fluminense eh um time tradicional!
off2: adorei que li uma parte em que ele fala sobre o morro da coroa num momento que eu tava passando ali perto de ônibus.
off: ri mto dele falando que o fluminense eh um time tradicional!
off2: adorei que li uma parte em que ele fala sobre o morro da coroa num momento que eu tava passando ali perto de ônibus.
September 11, 2016
If there was one thing that I was worried about more than anything else when travelling in Brazil the first time, it was the police. Even back in 2002, as little as I knew about Brazil (the same as everyone else, sun, samba, football) I knew that the police had a bad reputation. When being driven round by a random dude who was renting us a flat he double parked his clapped out car and took my mate up to see the flat while I remained in the back seat. While waiting a police officer came up to the car and tapped on the window, he wanted me to move the car. I pointed out using gestures and extremely limited Portuguese that it wasn’t mine and that I didn’t have the keys, while staring at the rifle casually resting in his hand, pointing nowhere in particular. He ended up helping me push the car out of the way.
That was my only encounter with Rio’s law enforcers, and after reading this I’m glad that it was. I love Rio, it’s my favourite city in the world despite it’s mountain of problems, which you can’t help but become aware of when you’re there, and which are relatively easy to follow up on when you get home, which is what I did.
With Rio just finished hosting the Olympics and about to host the Paralympics, this is quite the timely reminder that the Rio that we see in the Lonely Planet and in brochures, and that we experience is just a small slice of the whole picture.
Using Soares’ own experiences and that of accounts he has collected and pieced together, Extreme City provides a harrowing account of Rio, that I digested in a day. Starting from his childhood, just before the coup that brought in the military dictatorship, through his time in Lula’s government to the present day, Soares describes life in Rio from the favela residents to the entrenched elite who will stop at nothing to make sure they maintain their grip on the marvellous city.
For me there were really three main threads in the book, the military dictatorship and the effect this had on a generation that it controlled or persecuted, sometimes horrifically, as the chapter No Ordinary Woman painfully describes. I was going to put a paragraph in from the chapter to illustrate, but I couldn’t do it. It felt tactless and disrespectful to reduce that chapter to a few lines, I instead will say it is a chapter that should be read and digested.
From the ashes of that seeps the all pervading corruption, from the bent police who seem to have emerged with absolute belief in their impunity to act and kill however they like, to the money makers and politicians who turn a blind eye to the abuses of the police and who line their own pockets with kickbacks and deals. Not mentioned here, but the Lavo Jato scandal currently dissecting the country is this corruption on an epic scale.
Lula’s disbelief that all people wanted to talk about at one of his rallies were the abuses that the police perpetrated against them, without any fear of reprisals highlights the roundabout situation that the residents of Rio, and other Brazilian cities are in. The politicians lack the nous to understand that education, health and employment are an irrelevance if you can be routinely killed by a cop without a second thought, and certainly without any hope of justice for your relatives. While diffusing a near riot from favela residents Soares expresses disbelief when a police helicopter hovers just above the angry residents, while an officer manning the machine gun pretends to gun everyone down while laughing, to serve and protect it is not.
The more you read the more you start to despair for anyone in Rio who is not in the police or a crooked businessman or politician, while Soares points out that there are plenty of good cops and politicians, his picture is one where they are definitely in the minority. The story of Luciano Barbosa da Silva, ‘Lulu’, while in some ways utterly predictable left me sitting there with the book dropped onto the table while I took a break, trying to enjoy the innocent sunshine and people around me.
But. There is humour there, the story about the Swedish people partying at his house, about the Norwegian who actually followed up a Carioca’s invite to their flat show the character of the residents of that city. And there is hope, the rally at the end of the book, along with the demonstrations before the World Cup and Olympics show that Brazilians are tired of the system, and that they do want change, and despite everything in Extreme City, I finished it with hope, because there are the good in there amongst the corrupt, and when people like Soares are willing to quite likely face reprisals for bringing the dark underside into the sun, but do it anyway, there is hope that it will change for the better.
(blog review here)
That was my only encounter with Rio’s law enforcers, and after reading this I’m glad that it was. I love Rio, it’s my favourite city in the world despite it’s mountain of problems, which you can’t help but become aware of when you’re there, and which are relatively easy to follow up on when you get home, which is what I did.
With Rio just finished hosting the Olympics and about to host the Paralympics, this is quite the timely reminder that the Rio that we see in the Lonely Planet and in brochures, and that we experience is just a small slice of the whole picture.
Using Soares’ own experiences and that of accounts he has collected and pieced together, Extreme City provides a harrowing account of Rio, that I digested in a day. Starting from his childhood, just before the coup that brought in the military dictatorship, through his time in Lula’s government to the present day, Soares describes life in Rio from the favela residents to the entrenched elite who will stop at nothing to make sure they maintain their grip on the marvellous city.
For me there were really three main threads in the book, the military dictatorship and the effect this had on a generation that it controlled or persecuted, sometimes horrifically, as the chapter No Ordinary Woman painfully describes. I was going to put a paragraph in from the chapter to illustrate, but I couldn’t do it. It felt tactless and disrespectful to reduce that chapter to a few lines, I instead will say it is a chapter that should be read and digested.
From the ashes of that seeps the all pervading corruption, from the bent police who seem to have emerged with absolute belief in their impunity to act and kill however they like, to the money makers and politicians who turn a blind eye to the abuses of the police and who line their own pockets with kickbacks and deals. Not mentioned here, but the Lavo Jato scandal currently dissecting the country is this corruption on an epic scale.
Lula’s disbelief that all people wanted to talk about at one of his rallies were the abuses that the police perpetrated against them, without any fear of reprisals highlights the roundabout situation that the residents of Rio, and other Brazilian cities are in. The politicians lack the nous to understand that education, health and employment are an irrelevance if you can be routinely killed by a cop without a second thought, and certainly without any hope of justice for your relatives. While diffusing a near riot from favela residents Soares expresses disbelief when a police helicopter hovers just above the angry residents, while an officer manning the machine gun pretends to gun everyone down while laughing, to serve and protect it is not.
The more you read the more you start to despair for anyone in Rio who is not in the police or a crooked businessman or politician, while Soares points out that there are plenty of good cops and politicians, his picture is one where they are definitely in the minority. The story of Luciano Barbosa da Silva, ‘Lulu’, while in some ways utterly predictable left me sitting there with the book dropped onto the table while I took a break, trying to enjoy the innocent sunshine and people around me.
But. There is humour there, the story about the Swedish people partying at his house, about the Norwegian who actually followed up a Carioca’s invite to their flat show the character of the residents of that city. And there is hope, the rally at the end of the book, along with the demonstrations before the World Cup and Olympics show that Brazilians are tired of the system, and that they do want change, and despite everything in Extreme City, I finished it with hope, because there are the good in there amongst the corrupt, and when people like Soares are willing to quite likely face reprisals for bringing the dark underside into the sun, but do it anyway, there is hope that it will change for the better.
(blog review here)
February 7, 2019
Um livro interessantíssimo que mistura alguns relatos pessoais e outros baseados em entrevistas coletadas pelo autor. Os mais interessantes com certeza são os pessoais - em especial, o primeiro capítulo - que mostra parte dos bastidores da política brasileira durante a primeira vitória de Lula à presidência -, e o capítulo sobre as manifestações de 2013 e uma passeata alvo da brutalidade policial. Livro recomendado para quem busca entender a situação atual do país e toda a dicotomia que é "ser Brasileiro na cidade maravilhosa".
May 7, 2023
Interesting and well-written essays about Rio beginning with its history under the military dictatorship, but giving most space to contemporary political corruption, police brutality, and the drug trade. Soares can overload the reader with names, which made some moments confusing, and because I am pretty unfamiliar with Brazilian politics it was difficult to pinpoint any bias. His tone seems fair and balanced, but as a high-ranking former security minister, I wish he had been more explicit in reflecting on where he might have erred himself.
September 5, 2023
Rio de Janeiro is a paradise for some, hell for others. The corruption, crime, violence, poverty, drugs... all of it comes alive in this book. With the mental images of dancing and joy, it is easy to forget how much sadness Rio holds within. And yet, it is the most beautiful city in the world, and every carioca must feel at least a little bit of pride.
August 6, 2024
Non-fiction, writing is sometimes difficult to follow. Overall really interesting, book deals with pre and post dictatorship Rio, the corruption of the country’s police and political system and the realities of drug trade. Can’t wait to visit.
July 2, 2024
A good book that touches upon some pretty heavy yet important themes. The reading can be a little heavy at times, but this is likely due to it being translated from Portuguese.
July 24, 2025
interessante da leggere durante un viaggio in Brasile
April 16, 2018
In his introduction Soares starts off by noting that the Rio de Janeiro that inhabits the global imagination is one big cliché: party, samba, Carnival and football, set against white beaches and bountiful nature.
Personally, I highly doubt that this is the only perspective people have on the city. Especially within Brazil I've hardly found anyone who doesn't automatically complain about the violence, murder and (other) drugs related problems. But also here in Europe, Rio is considered a city that both attracts and repels.
Although the title may suggest otherwise this is not a book full of sensational stories. Soares is an intelligent writer who takes time to set up well-considered chapters. Although all from a first-person narrative, his stories are thought-provoking, well balanced and fully based on (and substantiated with) facts.
Unfortunately, the quality of the stories varies widely from chapter to chapter. The story about the torturing of Dulce Chaves Pandolfi is utterly oppressive and an important reason to read the book in the first place. But compared to that, other stories seem a little bland.
Also, some of the stories lack some sort of explanation or conclusion. A long chapter tells about the writer's personal experiences in one of the largest demonstrations ever held in Rio which were brutally disturbed by the police. But it ends when, after a long walk, Soares catches a taxi and returns home safely. What happened after this? Was there a national debate on the behaviour of the police? Was the police convicted for their interference? Was this protest followed by other protests?
Or would you say that by asking these questions I'm completely missing the point of his book? And should I have known by now that nothing ever changes and that nobody is able to make a major breakthrough in Brazil?
I'm afraid so. And that's depressing.
Personally, I highly doubt that this is the only perspective people have on the city. Especially within Brazil I've hardly found anyone who doesn't automatically complain about the violence, murder and (other) drugs related problems. But also here in Europe, Rio is considered a city that both attracts and repels.
Although the title may suggest otherwise this is not a book full of sensational stories. Soares is an intelligent writer who takes time to set up well-considered chapters. Although all from a first-person narrative, his stories are thought-provoking, well balanced and fully based on (and substantiated with) facts.
Unfortunately, the quality of the stories varies widely from chapter to chapter. The story about the torturing of Dulce Chaves Pandolfi is utterly oppressive and an important reason to read the book in the first place. But compared to that, other stories seem a little bland.
Also, some of the stories lack some sort of explanation or conclusion. A long chapter tells about the writer's personal experiences in one of the largest demonstrations ever held in Rio which were brutally disturbed by the police. But it ends when, after a long walk, Soares catches a taxi and returns home safely. What happened after this? Was there a national debate on the behaviour of the police? Was the police convicted for their interference? Was this protest followed by other protests?
Or would you say that by asking these questions I'm completely missing the point of his book? And should I have known by now that nothing ever changes and that nobody is able to make a major breakthrough in Brazil?
I'm afraid so. And that's depressing.
June 10, 2016
If I was familiar with the politicians it would have made a more revelatory read. Some great vignette's that appear from time-to-time were very exciting and informative about the hidden world of political life and the police in Rio. But generally - I didn't find it an great book - sorry.
October 23, 2016
Didn't finish it but got the gist
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews