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Little Star of Bela Lua
A luminous fish appears in an impoverished village like a sign from God and proceeds to perform questionable miracles on its foolish, desperate citizens. A guitar-strumming rhymester triumphs over her male opponents in the competitive folk art of the repente only to find herself ensnared in a romantic trap of her own making."
228 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 2005
5 people are currently reading
94 people want to read
About the author
Luana Monteiro
2 books5 followersLuana Monteiro grew up in Recife on the northeastern coast of Brazil and spent weekends in the remote, dusty town of Camaragibe. It was here along the river and in the deep woods that she lived a life she describes as rich with “abundant superstition, stories of beasts and ghosts.” She now lives in Madison, Wisconsin, where she writes from this deep well of memory. She recently received an MFA from the University of Wisconsin.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 5, 2007
Beautifully written! I decided to read this book when my Portuguese teacher told me she was the author. I am more than impressed with the imagination that went into this piece. Luana incorporated so much original thought into her stories, making them entertaining yet challenging to read.
The book consists of a series of independent tales, its characters subtly connected to each other through a common event involving a magical fish in the desert.
Ironic fate appears to be a common theme running through these stories - characters end up opposite of where you would expect: the magical healing fish turns out to be a curse, a little girl grows up to be an traveling unmarried rhymester, a priest abandons his role for the wilderness, a power-hungry politician honorably risks his life to fight in the World War, an alchemist tries to help his immortal visitor die but accidentally kills himself in the process, and a promiscuous woman converts to Christianity after a visit from Jesus.
But there is so much more to this book. The only suggestion I have is making a slightly clearer connection among the main characters in the stories, or perhaps adding one chapter that ties the stories together.
Some stories reminded me of fairy tales you might hear as children - so refreshing to read. Though simply written, they are carefully and intelligently crafted. Luana has an incredible imagination. Bom feito, querida!
The book consists of a series of independent tales, its characters subtly connected to each other through a common event involving a magical fish in the desert.
Ironic fate appears to be a common theme running through these stories - characters end up opposite of where you would expect: the magical healing fish turns out to be a curse, a little girl grows up to be an traveling unmarried rhymester, a priest abandons his role for the wilderness, a power-hungry politician honorably risks his life to fight in the World War, an alchemist tries to help his immortal visitor die but accidentally kills himself in the process, and a promiscuous woman converts to Christianity after a visit from Jesus.
But there is so much more to this book. The only suggestion I have is making a slightly clearer connection among the main characters in the stories, or perhaps adding one chapter that ties the stories together.
Some stories reminded me of fairy tales you might hear as children - so refreshing to read. Though simply written, they are carefully and intelligently crafted. Luana has an incredible imagination. Bom feito, querida!
July 13, 2009
One of my friends from work wrote this book. I have never really been drawn to the short story, but as I know Luana and her book got rave reviews, I decided to read it. I am very glad I did, as it is a delightful book. The stories are well crafted and give a lot of food for thought. I may just become a lover of the short story yet!
January 10, 2014
When I started wasn't sure if I would finish but after about 4 pages I was hooked. These stories from Brazil captured my heart.
March 23, 2018
This book was so eloquent I loved it! The last story I’m not sure I quite connected with it but nonetheless that does not detract from this beautiful little book. If you love Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Jorge Amado you will love this book. I’m confused as to why it doesn’t have higher ratings.
May 15, 2015
Se eu pudesse dar este livro mais de 5 estrelas, eu gostaria. Este é o melhor trabalho que eu li em um longo tempo. Escrito por um brasileiro que passou boa parte de sua vida aqui nos EUA, estas histórias trazer de volta a cor do mythos da parte NE do Brasil. Estes são semelhantes aos histórias que ouvi quando eu morava lá 50+ anos atrás. Parte da minha alma se fundiram com a alma brasileira e isso trouxe-lo vivo e à superfície. Ela escreveu o livro em Inglês, mas há um bom número de palavras portuguesas nas sentenças. Na maioria das vezes eles não são traduzidos e eu me senti especial, porque eu poderia entendê-las, mesmo depois de todos estes anos. As figuras de linguagem estavam vivas e eu podia ver e cheirar o que ela escreveu. Eu sinto muito que eu terminei o livro e não há mais. Tentei encontrar o autor em linha, mas não tiveram sucesso. Eu posso encontrar nenhum outro livro por ela. Vou recomendar a meus amigos brasileiros. Eu espero que alguns deles têm o suficiente Inglês para lê-lo.
If I could give this book more than 5 stars, I would. This is the best work I've read in a long time. Written by a Brazilian who has spent much of her life here in the USA, these stories bring back the color of the mythos of the NE part of Brazil. These are similar to stories I heard when I lived there 50+ years ago. Part of my soul melded with the Brazilian soul and this brought it alive and to the surface. She wrote the book in English but there are a good number of Portuguese words in the sentences. Most of the time they are not translated and I felt special because I could understand them, even after all these years. The word pictures were vivid and I could see and smell what she wrote. I am sorry that I have finished the book and there is no more. I have tried to find the author on line but have been unsuccessful. I can find no other book by her. I am going to recommend this to my Brazilian friends. I hope some of them have enough English to read it.
If I could give this book more than 5 stars, I would. This is the best work I've read in a long time. Written by a Brazilian who has spent much of her life here in the USA, these stories bring back the color of the mythos of the NE part of Brazil. These are similar to stories I heard when I lived there 50+ years ago. Part of my soul melded with the Brazilian soul and this brought it alive and to the surface. She wrote the book in English but there are a good number of Portuguese words in the sentences. Most of the time they are not translated and I felt special because I could understand them, even after all these years. The word pictures were vivid and I could see and smell what she wrote. I am sorry that I have finished the book and there is no more. I have tried to find the author on line but have been unsuccessful. I can find no other book by her. I am going to recommend this to my Brazilian friends. I hope some of them have enough English to read it.
November 19, 2008
okay. so i haven't really finished the whole book yet. i still have to read the last two short stories. it's just that i bought this other book that i really wanna read and i could read the last two after. ehehe.
anyway, little star of bela lua, as you might have guessed already, is a collection of short stories, all situated in brazil. the stories range from the everyday town folk life to the mystical beliefs and folk stories in brazil that seem to collide and form its own reality...to be honest, i don't even know what i'm talking about. ahaha. just trying to be fancy.
what i know is that i liked it and that all the stories here can stand alone on its own even though all of them are connected too. in some stories, some character or element from another story is mentioned which in turn creates a whole new perspective on it. so cool. :P
oh my favorite story was the 5th one: ouroboros. it's about a guy who was brought back from the dead, without his knowledge or permission, and ever since he was revived, he couldn't seem to die, no matter what he did, no matter what illness he contracted. so he then asked the help of an old alchemist to find out what he could do to finally rest in peace.
anyway, little star of bela lua, as you might have guessed already, is a collection of short stories, all situated in brazil. the stories range from the everyday town folk life to the mystical beliefs and folk stories in brazil that seem to collide and form its own reality...to be honest, i don't even know what i'm talking about. ahaha. just trying to be fancy.
what i know is that i liked it and that all the stories here can stand alone on its own even though all of them are connected too. in some stories, some character or element from another story is mentioned which in turn creates a whole new perspective on it. so cool. :P
oh my favorite story was the 5th one: ouroboros. it's about a guy who was brought back from the dead, without his knowledge or permission, and ever since he was revived, he couldn't seem to die, no matter what he did, no matter what illness he contracted. so he then asked the help of an old alchemist to find out what he could do to finally rest in peace.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 27, 2023
The novella and linked stories in this collection all share both elements of magic or mysticism or folk religion and realism. A luminous fish that appears to perform miracles appears in one story -- only to destroy the marriage of the finder. Blessing the fish ends up destroying the career of a priest who, upon being exiled to a jungle outpost, finds himself drawn to a young flute-playing boy, hearing music, and going deaf. A city doctor who miraculously survives a snake bite releases a cobra after believing he has communicated with it. The stories take place in various towns and villages in Northeast Brazil. It is a strange and wonderful book - luminous writing, intriguing stores.
November 22, 2014
This book want's to make me cry. I've found this in a book sale and it's kinda interesting at first reading about short stories from Brazil and being able to understand their customs and culture, but i just can't relate to this book it's unsettling and i'm really sorry to say but i can no longer finish this book i just don't understand what the author or her characters are trying to say or express. Maybe i'll understand it better if it's a film. So far i managed to read until the third story and that's as far i can go.
September 7, 2007
I was so excited to read something by a Brazilian author -- who happens to live in Wisconsin!!!
Anyhow, some of the short stories are really good, original, fascinating. Others are just not getting any momentum. In all fairness, I must say that the atmosphere was always very good, very exciting and exotic.
That being said, I am glad I read the book as it makes me want to find other Brazilian titles to investigate and compare it to
Anyhow, some of the short stories are really good, original, fascinating. Others are just not getting any momentum. In all fairness, I must say that the atmosphere was always very good, very exciting and exotic.
That being said, I am glad I read the book as it makes me want to find other Brazilian titles to investigate and compare it to
October 15, 2007
She is a delight, of course. I hope she’s working on a second book! While living in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, I used to think that all I was seeing would have been put to better use by a fiction writer. If a fiction writer had been there, this is what s/he would have written.
December 28, 2007
I'm usually not a fan of short stories, but these ones were so imaginative and odd and beautiful. And they seemed to kind of go together.
bookmarked
January 8, 2016Finished the first story yesterday (1/7/16) -- oh how I adore Southern American magical realism. What a delicious book!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews