O senhor do lado esquerdo

Compêndio Mítico do Rio de Janeiro #5

by Alberto Mussa

Em O SENHOR DO LADO ESQUERDO, estas e outras situações se entrecruzam como num passeio pela história e pela geografia do Rio de Janeiro, para instituir uma mitologia erótica da cidade e investigar, fundamentalmente, os subterrâneos da sexualidade humana. Alberto Mussa reúne mitologia, realidade e ficção, e vale-se das inúmeras possibilidades do ensaio e do gênero policial para se enveredar pelo território das disputas e dos prazeres do sexo. Com tamanha riqueza de detalhes, tanto na fábula quanto no relato baseado em dados e fontes oficiais, há uma conseqüente – e proposital – mistura entre real e ficcional. Onde termina o ensaio e começa a ficção?

Menino que cresceu entre os livros da extensa biblioteca do pai, Alberto Mussa teve sua estreia literária como contista, em 1997, com Elegbara. Em seguida, vieram O trono da rainha Jinga, O enigma de Qaf, O movimento pendular e Meu destino é ser onça — obras que habitam uma zona fronteiriça e original entre o romance e o ensaio. Seus livros são traduzidos em sete idiomas e vem recebendo críticas elogiosas da imprensa estrangeira. A prestigiosa revista francesa Le Magazine Litteraire afirmou que Alberto Mussa inscreve-se na linhagem dos escritores que reinventam a historia da literatura, e é comparado a Jorge Luis Borges. Para a revista Telerama, que o chamou de gênio, Mussa é um escritor que "reinventa a escrita e a narrativa". Para o Le Monde, O Enigma de Qaf é "um cruzamento de influencias de Borges, de Cortázar e As mil e uma noites".

Genres: Fiction, Brazil, Literature, Romance, Mystery, Historical Fiction, Ebooks

288 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 10, 2011

About the author

Born in Rio de Janeiro in 1961, Alberto Mussa studied mathematics and percussion before dedicating himself to linguistics. After obtaining a Masters degree from UFRJ with a thesis on African languages in Brazil, Mussa worked as a teacher and authored a dictionary then published his first novel, Elegbara, in 1997, followed by O trono da rainha Jinga (1999), which won the National Library prize. O enigma de Qaf (2004) was awarded the Casa de las Américas APCA prize. He has translated stories by African and Arabic storytellers for the magazine Ficções, and a collection of pre-Islamic poems Os poemas suspensos, not yet published.

Reviews

[mark monday · Rating 2 out of 5]

10 THINGS I LEARNED

✍

7 Things I Learned About Rio and Brazil

➩ Brazilians really love to fuck. I mean who doesn't, but Brazilians should get some kinda award.

➩ Brazilian women like it rough and Brazilian men are more than happy to deliver. This is of course true all over the world, but Brazilians are really on point with this.

➩ Brazilian police are inherently corrupt, secretive, eager to make some side-money, and happy to deliver torture and violence as they see fit. Sure, police all the world over naturally abide by this common sense code, but Brazilian police really embrace it - no shame in their game!

➩ The original tribal cultures of Brazil were without a doubt bloodthirsty, vindictive, and sorta stupid. Naturally this is the case of the original tribal cultures of all countries in the history of the world, but those original Brazilian tribal cultures really put the thirst in bloodthirsty.

➩ Rio was basically founded by pirates. Well this is a truth for every major city in every country, but in Rio they were literally pirates, like on a boat type pirates!

➩ Rio's residents are consumed by role/game-playing to the point that it rules and often ruins their lives. This is a truism for humans in every city but man in Rio those games will determine who you have sex with, whose girl you steal, who you marry, who you kill. That's gaming with stakes!

➩ The folk of Rio, of Brazil itself, are basically a superstitious, foolish people whose women are secret sluts dependent on men and whose men are jealous, controlling, and potentially violent. And that keeps things fun! It goes without saying that this is true for every man or woman who ever walked the face of earth since the beginning of time, but gosh those Rio folk really live the dream on the daily.

✍

3 Things I Learned About "The Mystery of Rio"

➩ Digressions and amusing anecdotes about the history of a place can be entertaining to read. But when all of those digressions and anecdotes are mainly interested in portraying how violent, sexually obsessed, superstitious, toxic, and ignorant the people of a place are... it really gets old. I started wondering if the author just sees Rio as some sort of colorful, brutal porn cartoon.

➩ Digressions and amusing anecdotes about the history of a place can be entertaining to read. But when all of those digressions and anecdotes eventually become the novel itself, so much so that the narrative is sidelined and characterization comes to a standstill and the themes get lost in the mix... it can get frustrating. And eventually boring.

➩ No matter how skilled and imaginative a writer is - and make no mistake, Alberto Mussa is phenomenally skilled - if you decide to solve your murder mystery by explaining it all happened because of magic... I can't help but roll my eyes a little. Um, isn't that sort of a cheat? Pretty unsatisfying.

[Eric Novello]

Dá para ver por algumas resenhas aqui que pessoas que foram atrás do livro pensando ser um thriller histórico no RJ ficaram bastante decepcionadas. Compreensível. Ele segue a mesma lógica narrativa dos seus livros anteriores, vai aprimorando a questão de histórias dentro de histórias. E o crime deixa de ser importante nesses momentos, ou é menos importante que as histórias contadas. Porque elas, mesmo na mistura de uma invencionice de entretenimento, são um resgate da nossa história como país. Eu curti a estrutura.
Me incomoda um pouco a visão sobre as mulheres aqui e acolá, mas considerado o final, fica a dúvida de que talvez seja uma manipulação proposital.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book starts with a murder and is the story for the hunt for the prostitute believed to be responsible. However, the main themes are the history of Rio and secondly, the Polish doctor who runs the brothel and his research on sex. A bit like Kinsey but less scientific. The history might be interesting to some readers and bog down others. This won a Brazilian award for novels. Some descriptions call the book fast-paced but I would never call it that.

[Aline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Como se o Rio de Janeiro ainda precisasse de elogios, Alberto Mussa escreve seu Compêndio Mítico para tornar a cidade ainda mais irresistível. Ele domina bem os fundamentos: não só conhece as mitologias que alicerçaram a alma carioca, como sabe produzir uma narrativa consistente a partir delas, trançando-as com graça e imaginação. Mussa escreve prosa como quem conversa num boteco ou numa varanda, e manuseou com maestria o gênero policial para tornar tudo leve, intrigante, divertido e erótico, sem ignorar as idiossincrasias da cidade, sua violência, suas exclusões, suas perversidades e transgressões. Esse livro, o primeiro da série que eu li, me obriga a ir atrás dos outros.

[Mariano Hortal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Curiosa y atípica propuesta de novela policíaca del brasileño Alberto Mussa. La investigación policial es casi una excusa que le sirve al autor para presentarnos hechos colaterales, periféricos a ella. Especialmente relacionados con la historia de Brasil o con la propia actualidad de la ciudad de Río de Janeiro. A veces se convierte en un relato erótico, otras veces en un relato histórico, la mayoría de las veces en un relato policiaco. El resultado final no deja de ser interesante a pesar de que tanta digresión diluya un poco la buena trama policíaca. De todos modos, algo distinto y muy disfrutable.

[Nate D · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mussa seems, oddly, more interested in the idea of stories in general than in the particular story he seems to be telling. So this attempt to characterize the city of Rio is all digressions and asides, and when the primary thread is picked up again it's only with an unnecessary distance. Especially unnecessary since an unlikeable character is later revealed, completely frivolously, to be the narrator. Plenty of fascinations here -- the origins of capoeira, secret passages, sorcery -- but the secret passages never quite materialize, the sorcery is hidden away as unreal until its suddenly very real but never actually portrayed, and the whole apparatus of narrative seems very much in its own way. I'll remember this for the particulars, but not so much for the whole. And that twist intended to bring it all together -- both totally bizarre and completely underdeveloped, and then with shades of a trope that we can probably do without anyway.

[Gcolenci · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mescla muito bem as informações históricas já esquecidas sobre o Rio de Janeiro com a história policial. Personagens instigantes, trama mais ainda. No entanto, o que se sobressai são as pequenas intervenções que contam causos ocorridos na cidade, envolvendo magia, tesouros, sexo, índios, negros e europeus.

[Zelus · Rating 2 out of 5]

foi o quarto q eu li do autor, e o q eu menos gostei. a história é bastante interessante, mas outras histórias são inseridas na história principal sem acrescentar nada a esta. acredito que se fosse apenas a história principal, o livro seria muito mais interessante e agradável de ler.

[André Makarenko · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bem chatinho, só vale pelas referências à História do Rio

[Jeffrey Cavanaugh · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is an erotic cat-and-mouse game set in a slightly fantastical Rio. Slow, but when discussing the city, the people, and its sultry, tropical climate... can it be anything but?

[Vicent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una de les novel·les més fascinants que he llegit mai. La trama és molt complexa, toca moltes qüestions i la quantitat de digressions és infinita, però l'habilitat de l'autor per a anar desgranant els fets, de mica en mica, molt lentament, i enllaçar els fets nous amb altres que havien quedat molt endarrere, és per a treure's el barret. Els referents culturals són incomptables, i lliguen els fets històrics i la ficció de forma magistral. És una novel·la que pens que es pot fer una mica lenta per a alguns lectors, però si aconseguiu reunir una mica de paciència i constància, gaudireu d'una novel·la com no n'hi ha.

Una novel·la com aquesta necessitava una bona traducció, i la d'en Pere Comellas i na Susanna Ramos és un regal. Una traducció immillorable, amb una riquesa lèxica i un llenguatge genuí que avui en dia sorprenen. Vos pareixerà que llegiu un molt bon original, no una traducció. És un plaer llegir traduccions en les qual es nota que el traductor ha gaudit fent la feina, en comptes d'agafar-se-la com un encàrrec alimentari.

[Ricardo · Rating 4 out of 5]

From a simple story, a rich voyage into the traditions, superstitions and other magics that helped shape Rio. This is rich. If you never heard words like "muquiço", "umbanda", "perrengue" ou "jongueiro", BE ready for a new world. Very nice.

[Fernando Hisi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Um romance policial, e eu não conheço nada de romance policial. Curti, essa história de "então leitor, agora você já tem todas as pistas" e bem interessante todo o panorama histórico do Rio de Janeiro. Ele desvia várias vezes da trama principal e lá pro final fica meio sacal, ele enrolar tanto pra falar do desfecho, mas todos os desvios são muito bons. Fiquei pensando o tempo todo que poderia ser muito uma daquelas mini-séries de fim de noite na globo, mas tem mto sexo e referências de outras religiões então acho um tanto difícil, uma pena.

[Maris Zirnis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well this was rather interesting book, and ending was something you didnt expect, but I wount spoil it for you, read it by yourself :)
Its kind-off crime novel, sexual twists and turns and all of it enveloped in Rio de Janeiro and history of the city!
I can reccomend this book to you - reader, if you like to try new genre styles and new writing techniques! Overall great book!

[Chiara Sabalini · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fino a 50 pagine ci stava, era anche interessante la trama ma sinceramente il fatto che non ci siamo capitoli ( non è un grosso problema) che la storia passi un attimo ai tempi nostri e un attimo al Brasile dell’antichità per un attimo mi piaceva anche ma a lungo andare ha fatto sì che perdessi il punto focale sulla storia. Direi troppo arzigogolato. Letto fino a pagina 110

[Murray · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a bit like spending time with a sleazy, astoundingly erudite tour guide, who shows you around Rio, tells you its history in a completely idiosyncratic manner that blurs fact and fantasy, and solves a murder along the way. The premise is that you truly know a city by certain crimes that define it, which is completely ridiculous, but is the set-up for quite a good story. Set in 1913, the crime in question is the murder of a dignitary in a brothel/sex club. It’s a whodunnit with lashings of history, plus a few lashings. Some of the lightness and playfulness fades in the second half, and I could have done without some plot aspects, including the musings of the doctor/brothel owner. Nevertheless, you’ve got to admire an author bold enough to tease the reader about a third of the way in with the line that ‘all the clues have been provided’ to work out the chain of events.

[Deh Capella · Rating 4 out of 5]

A única coisa que me deixou cabreira foi que, lá nos 65% da leitura, descobri que o Olavo elogiou o autor hahahaha

De resto gostei sim. No final parece que ele resolve as coisas super de repente, mas o desenrolar é bem legal porque fala muito sobre a história da cidade do Rio (que conheço pouquíssimo).

[Mica 🎀🪩✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

El final me sorprendió bastante, no me esperaba para nada cómo se iba a desenlazar la historia. Me gustó mucho el contexto cultural que está presente a lo largo de todo el libro, aunque siento que por momentos se va un poco por las ramas. La lectura se me hizo algo tediosa en ciertas partes por la cantidad de términos en portugués, pero aun así me pareció una novela interesante.

[Fred Cheyunski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Appreciating Brazilian Heritage and Culture - Before the extensive impact of COVID-19 had come into relief, I had been considering participation in a conference slated for Rio de Janeiro in 2021. Even though the conference was eventually to occur virtually, I realized during that planning about my lack of familiarity with Brazil (and Latin America in general). Thus, it seemed worthwhile to become somewhat more acquainted with some of the country’s traits and literature. After looking a bit, I chose to read Mussa’s “Mystery of Rio” since it is set in the city I had planned to visit and appeared be a book that would entertain and inform.

While being a little leery after perusing some of the other reviews, I found that the novel addressed my interest in helping me begin to gain an appreciation for Brazilian heritage and culture.

As described by others, the book takes the form of a crime novel and detective story. Within the book, there are no chapters and the narrative just flows. Yet, the author weaves together the various parts into a very readable and engaging text (e.g., the translation seems good, prose flows smoothly, although I cannot speak for the Brazilian words)

More specifically, the plot revolves around an incident from 1913 where the Secretary of the Presidency of the Republic is found murdered at the former home of the Marquesa de Santos, known as the House of Swaps (which doubles as Dr. Zamuda’s clinic and Madame Brigitte’s brothel). It follows the work of a forensics expert, Baeta, to unravel the “who done it” behind the crime, i.e., to find the missing person of interest, nurse/prostitute Fortunata, the roles of her brother capoeira Aniceto and sorcerer Rufino as well as to resolve the other associations involved. There are many detours and diversions along the way in terms of other crimes and sexual picadilloes, but these aspects come back to serve the intent of the work.

The author’s set up is particularly intriguing where the one writing the story is someone reviewing prominent crimes as a means of characterizing major world cities for a United Nations Commission. As he states early on (Kindle Location 25-26) “My meetings in London did not go well. I was not prepared for how exotic its natives were: they were incapable of grasping notions of chance or disorder; they were ponderous, restrained, punctual; they did not react well to spontaneous emotions. I left the Committee’s headquarters without a job, but I did not turn in my notes. . . This novel is based on those notes, following, of course, the template of a detective story. . . closer to Dumas than to Melville.”

A little further along (Location 30-34), our narrator indicates that “Others will read it as a tour through Rio de Janeiro, in both time and space, because one cannot understand or interpret a crime outside of where it was committed. . . And since crimes define cities, it is also the myth of Rio de Janeiro. . .”

True to his words, while the author’s text revolves around the subject crime it covers other historical transgressions and events prior to and surrounding the founding of Rio in 1565 to those in 1905 and 1921. While, the order or sequence does not seem apparent, there are various precursors and connections. He takes us through significant Rio places such as the old imperial neighborhood of São Cristovão, Conceição Hill, the English Cemetery in Gamboa, Mauá Square, the stores of Ouvidor Street, the piers and warehouses in Santo Cristo, Guanabara Bay, the college at Castelo Hill, houses atop Santa Teresa carved out of the forest, the mountains of Tijuca, Catumbi, farms that bordered the old Cabuçu trail, Flamengo Beach, Cara de Cão Hill and Sugar Loaf Mountain. At one point, police pursue Rufino in the rainforest near his home described as a “labyrinth” recalling Borges’ book by that name (see my review) and the similarities with this one.

While like any other reader eager to progress with the case, many of my favorite parts were the diversions that helped illuminate the multiracial make-up (e.g., native peoples, Portuguese and other Europeans, slaves from Africa and their descendants), gender relations, wealth disparities, sexual mores, ritualistic practices and outlooks that characterize Brazilian society. For instance, mentions such as that of the amazon-like mamalucos, scientific vs. mythical views, and the origin of the samba had me thinking of books by Paglia (see my review of “Free Women, Free Men”), Rutherford’s “History of Everyone Who Ever Lived,” and Coates’ “Water Dancer” (see my reviews)

In terms of drawbacks, it is unfortunate some maps of the City at that time and other explanatory material were not included. Most readers may not take the time, but I was able to find a little of both from the Bilingual Book Club hosted at the Brazilian embassy in London which helped supplement the text.

In conclusion, this book proved very captivating and kept my interest through-out. It does deal with sexuality, but not in an erotic and/or prurient way, but more as a means revealing male/female and other dynamics that give a feel for cultural stews that are Rio and Brazil---if such matters fit your interests, this is your book.

[Arthur Dal Ponte Santana · Rating 5 out of 5]

poucas pessoas conseguem contar tão bem uma história quanto o mussa

[Mateus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fui atrás de ler algo do Mussa depois de ter gostado muito do texto suplementar que ele escreveu para a edição da Antofágica de Os Assassinatos da Rua Morgue (Edgar Allan Poe). Vi O Senhor do Lado Esquerdo era um título com certo reconhecimento... e cá estou.

O livro tem a virtude de tratar de um "Brasil bem brasileiro", se posso dizer assim. As referências a tradições e supertições ligadas a religões afro-brasileiras, bem como às atividades da malandragem, são muito bem-vindas.

Em outros aspectos, porém, simplesmente não "chega lá" para mim. Apesar do narrador estar conversando com o leitor, não consegui sentir proximidade. O recurso de entremear na narrativa os "crimes fundamentais" da cidade do Rio de Janeiro é uma boa sacada, em princípio apenas, porque mais de uma vez o senti apenas como uma interrupção incômoda. O desfecho em si é bastante interessante, mas achei que faltou impacto, drama, na revelação. Um personagem cujo resultado final eu estava curioso de ver meio que ficou sem final nenhum.

[Claudio · Rating 5 out of 5]

"It is not the geography, it is not the architecture, it is not the heroes, or battles, much less so the chronicles of customs, or the fantasies conjured up by poets. No, what defines a city is the history of its crimes."

Crime investigation? Curiosities about Rio? Count me in!

The book's concept, stated in the introduction, is fascinating and could be explored in many other books. This reminds me of the "Akashic noir" series, with short stories about crimes in big cities worldwide.

But Mussa writes better than that and is more creative in his concepts. The main plot is better, with many underground sex stories, black magic, and internal disputes between policemen. The side stories about the native people were my favorite as they showed how very different cultures shared this land through time.

[Naira Nalbandyan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Չեմ կարող ասել, որ տպավորված եմ գրքից, բայց եթե դեդեկտիվ պատմությունների սիրահար եք, միգուցեև հավանեք։ Գրքի սյուժեն ծավալվում է քաղաքական գործչի սպանության բացահայտման շուրջ, որը տեղի է ունեցել Հնարքների տանը, հիմնական սյուժեն պարբերաբար ընդհատվում է այլ պատմություններով, որոնք ընթերցողի համար սպանության բացահայտման բանալի կարող են լինել։ Վերջը անսպասելի է։

[Mari · Rating 1 out of 5]

գրական փնթիության գագաթնակետն էր էս գիրքը