Brazil: A Traveler's Literary Companion

Traveler's Literary Companion

by Alexis Levitin, Gregory Rabassa (Foreword)

This vital collection is as eclectic and electric as Brazil itself. These stories — ranging from vignettes, sketches, and prose poems to traditional narratives — cover a wide geography, physically, thematically, and stylistically. Tales of nature and magic, humor and tragedy, brutality and delicacy, sex and violence are played out against every corner of this vast and diverse land: the Amazon, the Northeast, the Central West, and the South, as well as in Brazil’s two metropolises, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The earliest story, Machado de Assis' "The Wallet," was written at the end of the nineteenth century. The most recent were written especially for this book. Brazil is noted for its vibrant music and celebrations; this book shows an equally rich literary scene for the traveler or fan of world — and world-class — fiction.

Genres: Brazil, Fiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 13, 2009

Reviews

[Naila · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of witty, sparkling tales by some of Brazil's finest writers. All are worth reading, some are true gems. The collection is at its best where it showcases the Brazilian sense of humor, black but perceptive and humane with a twist of gentle-heartedness. The regionalism of the collection, while not in your face, aptly captures the moods and the differences in perspective and approach of Brazil's diverse cultural zones.

[Christopher Bennett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could be curated better, but there are some real winners in here. Introduced me to a lot of writers i had not heard of and will probably look into in more depth now.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mixture of short stories dealing with birth, death and everything in between. Some of them I found interesting. Some of them I skipped over.

[Gerry LaFemina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a terrific introduction to the 20th century fiction writers of Brazil. These short stories are divided by region, though in the end, I couldn't see anything particularly regional about the selections (yes, some stories took place in Sao Paulo or Rio, but nothing seemed to announce their regionalness, per se). I also would have liked to have seen some poems among the selections, which might have more clearly indicated the regional differences. Still, as someone who has fallen in love with Brazil, I thought the stories were terrific, and made me surprised that some of these pieces (or their writers) aren't better known in the States.

[Rachel G. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice, quick read for those interested in Brazil and Brazilian literature. Some of the translations leave something to be desired, but it was a good taste of some great authors that made me want to read more.

[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some interesting pieces, but the collection doesn't give the same feel for the country as previous books in the series.