Brazilian Literature

The books, in order

1. 1

   Fiction · 15 min

   The Slave Isaura

   Bernardo Guimarães

   To stay alive and free, Isaura had to become Elvira: in this novel, survival meant erasing her own name.

   See the summary

2. 2

   Fiction · 16 min

   The Guarani

   José de Alencar

   In The Guarani, Isabel and Álvaro only find each other in love when the house is already surrounded, and their ending shows the darkest side of the novel.

   See the summary

3. 3

   Fiction · 16 min

   Senhora

   José de Alencar

   In the novel, the house Aurélia and Seixas share is silent and cold, which shows that control and humiliation don't need shouting. Outside of fiction, this is abuse, and in the U.S. the National Domestic Violence Hotline (1-800-799-7233) can help.

   See the summary

4. 4

   Fiction · 16 min

   Memoirs of a Militia Sergeant

   Manuel Antônio de Almeida

   In the novel, forced recruitment into the army works as punishment disguised as military service: a poor young man without an important last name became a soldier on Vidigal's say-so, with no trial and no choice of his own.

   See the summary

5. 5

   Fiction · 17 min

   The Slum

   Aluísio Azevedo

   A letter of manumission only counts if it is officially registered. In the book, Bertoleza spends years convinced she is free, yet she stays stuck in the same work and with the same owner.

   See the summary

6. 6

   Fiction · 15 min

   Crooked Plow

   Itamar Vieira Junior

   Whoever tells a story decides what gets left out, which is why several voices telling the same event bring the reader closer to the truth.

   See the summary

7. 7

   Fiction · 16 min

   Quincas Borba

   Machado de Assis

   For the author, any philosophy that explains why the strongest side is right is usually born on the side of whoever is already winning the contest.

   See the summary

8. 8

   Fiction · 15 min

   The Sad End of Policarpo Quaresma

   Lima Barreto

   For the author, a society that does not know what to do with excessive devotion tends to treat too much idealism as an illness, instead of asking why almost nobody else has that much of it.

   See the summary

9. 9

   Fiction · 14 min

   Esau and Jacob

   Machado de Assis

   In the novel, Flora can't choose between Pedro and Paulo, and her indecision works as a portrait of a country split between Empire and Republic.

   See the summary

10. 10

    Fiction · 15 min

    Macunaíma

    Mário de Andrade

    The green-stone amulet is the stone Ci leaves the hero, and his quest to recover it drives the adventure to the end.

    See the summary