196 Books: Brazil

An Invincible Memory by Joao Ubaldo Ribeiro

I'm assuming most of you know where Brazil is, but in keeping with tradition: 

Here's a review, not from the book cover, but from Publishers Weekly: 

A family saga spanning nearly 400 years, this absorbing epic novel lays bare the soul of the Brazilian nation. Whaling, war, macumba, slavery, murder, cannibalism and Brazil's struggle for independence add momentum to Ribeiro's lyrical, effusive, sonorous, serpentine prose laced with a touch of magic realismsomething of a cross between Melville and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. (The author himself has rendered the fluent translation.) At the center is Amleto Ferreira, a 19th century paterfamilias and conniving bookkeeper who defrauds a baron of his wealth; Amleto's ladylike, long-suffering wife Teolina; and their children, among them a priest, a romantic poet and a soldier. A bestseller in Brazil, the novel graphically portrays the terrible cruelty inflicted by whites on blacks, mulattos and Indians; the lives of these native peoples unfold in dozens of intertwined stories. The relationship between Merinha, patient, Penelope-like servant girl, and runaway slave Budiao is moving. Also memorable are 100-year-old Great Mother Dadinha and Maria da Fe, a bandit warrior who converses with birds and seeks special power from a sorcerer's charms. Catapulting his tale into the 1970s, journalist Ribeiro ( Sergeant Getulio ) creates a stunning portrait of a people who, though outwardly mirthful, are still not free. 

Uuuuugh this book. When I was first looking at it I thought it sounded great. When it arrived I was like Okay, that's pretty substantial but not a big thing. And then I had the moment of realization. This guy is a wannabe Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I started trying to flounder through it and then read some reviews that of course liked the similarities between the authors. Me? Not so much. That's kind of why I put in the Publishers Weekly review. Cuz guess which authors I did not like at all? You guessed it: Melville and Marquez. So I did finally finish this one, but it felt like it took 5 years. 

I felt like the first third of the book could have been scrapped, and the last 20 or so pages where it skips ahead to the 70s was out of place. The majority of the story took place in the really 19th century (I think) so the other timelines seemed odd and it wasn't entirely clear where we were in time. Also, the descriptions of the racism and rapes and shit were just awful. They made me sick. And I know that stuff really did happen and maybe it's good for me to recognize that and be uncomfortable but...shit. People are the worst.

But there were definitely things that I liked. Maria da Fe is the hero that everyone needs. She was such a badass. And the main part of the story was pretty good. SO. If you like Marquez, this is a good read for you.