Carnival Of Stories

About the Book

Title: What Are the Blind Men Dreaming? Author: Noemi Jaffe Published: 2012 Original Title: O que os cegos estão sonhando?

Summary

Three generations of women reflect, in their own words, on the Holocaust and bearing witness in Jewish and Brazilian identity.

Key Themes

The Holocaust

Intergenerational trauma

Jewish identity

About the Book

Title: The Words that Remain Author: Stênio Gardel Published: 2021 Original Title: A palavra que Resta

Summary

Raimundo has carried a secret for decades: a letter written by the man he loved, Cícero. Unable to read, he has spent his entire life wondering what the letter says while living with the pain of rejection, loneliness, and prejudice.

Now in his seventies, Raimundo decides to learn how to read, hoping to finally uncover the words that have shaped his life and reconcile with his past.

Key Themes

Illiteracy

Queer identity

Memory

About the Book

Title: Crooked Plow Author: Itamar Vieira Junior Published: 2019 Original Title: Torto Arado

Summary

In the arid countryside of Bahia, two sisters discover an old and mysterious dagger hidden in a suitcase beneath their grandmother’s bed. After a tragic accident, one sister loses her voice, forcing the other to become her connection to the world.

As they grow up, their lives become intertwined with the struggles of the rural workers who live under a system of exploitation and inequality, revealing the deep scars left by Brazil’s colonial past.

Key Themes

Sisterhood

Memory and ancestry

Afro-Brazilian spirituality

About the Book

Title: Lockdown: Inside Brazil's Most Dangerous Prison Author: Drauzio Varella Published: 1999 Original Title: Estação Carandiru

Summary

In the 1990s, the Carandiru House of Detention in São Paulo was the largest and most overcrowded prison in Brazil. Also known as the Old House, it was highly unusual in the way it was governed. Largely closed off from the outside world, it was run almost entirely by the inmates themselves, who created a unique society with its own politics, hierarchies, and system of justice.

In 1989, at the height of the AIDS epidemic, the prison faced a shortage of doctors. That year, physician Drauzio Varella began working there, providing medical care to the inmates. Through his experiences, he witnessed the daily realities of prison life, including the events leading up to the infamous Carandiru Massacre of 1992.

This book is Varella's account of the prison, its inmates, and the society they built behind bars.

Key Themes

Prison life

The AIDS epidemic

Social inequality

About the Book

Title: Macunaíma Author: Mário de Andrade Published: 1928 Original Title: Macunaíma

Summary

The novel follows the adventures of Macunaíma, an anti-hero born in the Amazon. He is lazy and full of contradictions. The story traces his journey from the Amazon to the bustling city of São Paulo, blending folklore, myth, and satire.

Key Themes

Brazilian Identity

Brazilian modernism

Folklore

About the Book

Title: The Good Nazi Author: Samir Machado de Machado Published: 2023 Original Title: O Crime do Bom Nazista

Summary

A zeppelin leaves Nazi Germany heading for Rio de Janeiro. What begins as a luxurious journey for its passengers turns into a mystery when one of them is murdered.

Among the passengers is detective Bruno Bruckner, who is asked to investigate the crime. He soon discovers that the victim was not the proud Nazi he claimed to be, but someone hiding secrets, including carrying so-called “degenerate” material.

As Bruckner interviews the other passengers, he uncovers a web of lies, hidden identities, and a far more complex story than it first appeared.

Key Themes

Crime

Ideology

Authoritarian Regime

About the Book

Title: To love, intransitive verb Author: Mário de Andrade Published: 1927 Original Title: Amor, verbo intransitivo

Summary

This book tells the story of a Brazilian teen and a young German woman. He was born in a rich family; she ran away from Germany carrying the emotional baggage of the Great War. He was a student, she a teacher. But her lessons would go beyond language, literature and music.

Love takes new meaning. Could love be a transitive verb, uniting subject and object?

Key Themes

Love

Morality vs Hypocrisy

"On November 11, 1997, Veronika decided that the time had — at last! — come to kill herself."

About the Book

Title: Veronika Decides to Die Author: Paulo Coelho Published: 1998 Original Title: Veronica decide morrer

Summary

The novel tells the story of Veronika, a young woman who seemingly has everything, yet decides to end her life. Her suicide attempt fails, and she wakes up in a psychiatric hospital, where she learns that the overdose has caused irreversible damage to her heart. Faced with the prospect of limited time, Veronika begins to see life differently, embarking on a journey of self-discovery and transformation.

P.S.: it is based on the author`s struggles with mental health.

Key Themes

Death

Suicide

“You could’ve given me the guy’s name right away. You didn’t need to cause us all that work. You’re a stubborn man, Ilídio. But your suffering is over.”

About the Book

Title: Crimes of August Author: Rubem Fonseca Published: 1991 Original Title: Agosto

Summary

Crimes of August is a novel set in Rio de Janeiro during August 1954, the month when President Getúlio Vargas took his own life, plunging Brazil into political turmoil.

Blending reality with fiction, the story follows detective Alberto Mattos as he investigates a series of murders that become entangled with the political conspiracies and tensions of the 1950s.

P.S.: Brazil history time — Getúlio Vargas ruled as a dictator from 1930 to 1945, and later returned to power through democratic election in 1951 (presidential terms lasted 5 years back then).

(Also: how does a dictator become president again, you ask? Well, Vargas was called the “Father of the Poor.” He implemented social and economic policies that shaped modern Brazil: from granting women the right to vote, to founding Petrobras, to creating BNDES. So, despite his authoritarian past, he had enormous popular appeal.)

In 1954, after the attempted assassination of his political enemy Carlos Lacerda, the country plunged into a crisis. The media, military, and politicians pressured Vargas to resign. On the night of August 23, 1954, Vargas chose to take his own life. He left behind a famous farewell letter containing the historic phrase: “I leave life to enter history.”

Key Themes

Politics

Dictatorship

"To the victor, the potatoes"

About the Book

Title: Quincas Borba: A Novel Author: Machado de Assis Published: 1891 Original Title: Quincas Borba

Summary

When Quincas Borba dies, he leaves his entire fortune and properties to Rubião, a modest schoolteacher from the countryside. The only condition? Care for his dog — also named Quincas Borba. Drawn to Rio de Janeiro, Rubião is seduced by the allure of high society but soon finds himself caught in a web of manipulation, deceit, and ambition.

Key Themes

Greed

Delusion

"All is ruined, Reverend Father, I have lost everything."

About the Book

Title: Helena Author: Machado de Assis Published: 1867 Original Title: Helena

Summary

A young woman named Helena is raised in a convent and unexpectedly becomes the heir of Conselheiro Vale. Welcomed into the family home, she must navigate the fragile relationships with her new relatives. Can Helena adapt to this unfamiliar world and earn her place in a society that sees her as an outsider?

Key Themes

Family

Social Class

Women’s place in 19th-century Brazilian society

"I should have sung. I should have doubled up with laughter or cried, but I no longer knew how to do those things."

About the Book

Title: Whatever Happened to Dulce Veiga? Author: Caio Fernando Abreu Published: 1990 Original Title: Onde Andará Dulce Veiga?

Summary

An unnamed journalist in São Paulo becomes obsessed with the mysterious disappearance of the famous singer Dulce Veiga. As he investigates, he's drawn into the city's chaotic underground scene, encountering artists, outcasts, and political dissidents. The line between fiction and reality blurs as he spirals deeper into a world shaped by obsession, memory, and repression.

Key Themes

Obssesion

Memory

"I touch, you touch, he touches. Or: we touch, you and I, we grope our way in the dark as he swans around the room? I know very little about you, I merely suspect you exist, since the moment I realized that neither he nor I are the owners of certain words."

About the Book

Title: Moldy Strawberries: Stories Author: Caio Fernando Abreu Published: 1982 Original Title: Morangos Mofados

Summary

Moldy Strawberries is a collection of short stories that captures the sense of alienation felt by people marked by repression and the search for freedom. The characters are often troubled and come from marginalized communities.

The book paints a vivid portrait of Brazil in the 1980s, a time shaped by the end of the military dictatorship, the AIDS crisis, and a society that restricted desire and individuality.

Key Themes

AIDS

Sexual Repression

"Wildcat's a beautiful thing! You ever seen one? When there's a little stirrin' in the ban1boo thicket, just a tremblin' for no reason: then that's one, eh, that could be one"

About the Book

Title: Jaguar and Other Stories Author: João Guimarães Rosa Published: - Original Title: -

Summary

This book is a compilation of stories by Guimarães Rosa, blending philosophical reflections and regionalism. Each story takes the readers to the backlands.

Key Themes

Folklore

Fate

"Still reek outstretching o’er the desert strands Lakes of man’s life-tide tepid and impure Where float the fragments of the unsheeted dead Baiting the vulture. Volley still the vales With hoarse artillery bellowing horrid sound. Muse! do we honour to the Brave who tamed Uruguay’s rugged brood, and in its blood Washed out the affronting of his King’s decrees. Aye me! Thou lust of Empire, such thy cost!"

About the Book

Title: The Uruguay Author: José Basílio da Gama Published: 1769 Original Title: O Uraguai

Summary

This epic poem tells the story of the end of the Guaraní War (1754-1756), focusing on the enslavement of the Guaraní people under the control of the Jesuits (Society of Jesus). Set in Rio Grande do Sul, it offers a critical perspective on the conflict and the power dynamics at play.

The poem is divided into five cantos, following a style inspired by The Lusiads by Luís Vaz de Camões.

P.S. In English, the book is titled The Uruguay because the story is set along the Uruguay River in Rio Grande do Sul. Also, Uraguai with an "a" might have been a poetic choice by the author.

Key Themes

Colonialism

Power and War

"Did that make sense? But he was neither crazy nor worried, nor ready for hanging. Even when a capybara sits, it does so to think, not to lose heart."

About the Book

Title: The Devil to Pay in the Backlands Author: João Guimarães Rosa Published: 1956 Original Title: Grande Sertão: Veredas

Summary

The Devil to Pay in the Backlands blends mysticism, philosophy, and the reality of Brazilian life in the arid Northeast. The narrator, Riobaldo, is a former jagunço who recounts his journey through the backlands.

Key Themes

Good vs. Evil

Destiny

Violence

"On a sultry and oppressive day, the decadent city of Sao Luis Maranhao lay sprawled in the tropical heat."

About the Book

Title: Mulatto Author: Aluísio Azevedo Published: 1881 Original Title: O Mulato

Summary

The book addresses racial inequality in 19th-century Brazil. It was one of the first novels to discuss miscegenation and its cultural and social effects.

Mulatto follows the story of Raimundo, a young mulatto man who seeks to rise in society. Things get complicated when he falls in love with Rosa, a white aristocratic woman. Their forbidden love faces intense social opposition, leading to a tragic conflict where race, class, and desire collide.

Key Themes

Racial inequality

Social class