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Paulo Lins Brazil
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Having grown up and worked as an
anthropologist in the favelas, Paulo Lins, born in
1958, has a unique understanding of their culture and ways. As a teacher, poet
and novelist, Lins gained recognition as an
exceptional storyteller. City of God received critical acclaim for its combination of
insight and intensity.
Paulo Lins’
long-awaited new novel, Desde que o samba é
samba (“Ever Since Samba Has Been Samba“), depicts a colourful evolution of
what was to become samba as it is known today, starring a multitude of vividly
painted characters. The inhabitants of the red-light district in 1920s Rio de
Janeiro are hassled by the police who despise their
skin colour, their African rituals and their music. Yet through all this, they
manage to present the world with a riveting new rhythm while falling in and out
of love and dealing with their own everyday concerns, like the pimp Brancura who, trying to become a great musician, tries and
fails to give up his reprobate life. Featuring plenty of lively dialogues,
Paulo Lins’ novel is packed with action and passion.
Cidade de Deus (“City of God”)
takes the reader to the heart of a famous favela in Rio de Janeiro. With the
same keen observation that fuelled Richard Price’s Clockers, Lins
explores the lives of its most intriguing and influential inhabitants, the
gangsters. From the soccer fields to drug deals, from the sunny beaches to the
violent fights, Lins follows the many stories of his young, brave and cruel
characters. In a vivid, striking prose, Lins combines his knowledge of the
favelas with an insider’s understanding. Both frightening and exhilarating,
Paulo Lins’ story is alive with tension.
Published in 1997, Cidade
de Deus has been a bestseller for years. In May 2002 the film City of
God, directed by Fernando Meirelles, was shown in
Cannes with great success and obtained great reviews (Variety, Libération, Financial Times, The
Guardian, Der Spiegel).
City of God, based on an autobiographical account and
filmed with lay actors from the favelas. Through a gang of adolescents whose
childhood ends in organised crime, the film portrays life in a favela in Rio de
Janeiro over a period of twenty years. This film pulls a hard punch, is a
breathtaking saga with something of the violent ferocity of a Scorcese and the
shock effects of a Tarantino.
LE MONDE
Original editions and rights sold:
Desde que o samba é samba
São Paulo: Planeta (forthcoming in 2012)
Cidade de
Deus
São Paulo: Companhia das
Letras 2002, 403 p.
(revised version)
Film directed by Fernando Meirelles,
2002
Denmark: Husets 2005 ● Estonia: Eesti Päevaleht 2011 ● France: Gallimard 2003, pb 2005 ● Germany: blumenbar 2004, pb Heyne 2006 ● Greece: Fantastikos Kosmos 2007 ● Italy: Einaudi 1999, pb Mondadori 2006 ● Korea: Jihyang Publishing
Group ● Netherlands: Ambo/Anthos 2005 ● Poland: PIW 2006 ● Portugal: Caminho 2003 ● Romania: Polirom 2008 ● Spain: Tusquets 2003, Proa 2001 (Catalan) ● Sweden: Tranan 2003 ● UK: Bloomsbury 2006 ● US: Grove Atlantic 2006