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Graciliano Ramos (1892 – 1953) Brazil
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Graciliano Ramos was
born in Brazil in 1892. He started to work as a journalist for various
magazines and newspapers in 1904, assuming different pseudonyms. In 1933 he
published his first novel, Caetés. The author received
several prizes, including the Brazilian
National Prize for Children’s Literature for A terra dos meninos pelados
(“The Earth of the Naked Boys”) and the Felipe
de Oliveira Prize for his complete works. His most important novel, Vidas
secas (“Barren Lives”), was awarded the prize of the William Faulkner Foundation and made
into a movie, which received two awards of its own. In his novel Memórias
do Cárcere (“Memories of Prison”), which was published posthumously,
he describes his years in prison under Vargas’ dictatorship. Graciliano Ramos
is considered a classic among Brazilian contemporary authors.
In
Vidas
secas, Graciliano Ramos describes the life
of a peasant family from the northeast of Brazil moving from place to place in
order to escape a drought, enduring hardships while still dreaming of a better
life. Fabiano and Sinhá Vitória leave their home with their two sons and their
female dog, Baleia, and walk across the arid land until they find shelter on a deserted
ranch, where they stay until the owner returns. When the drought is over, they
stay to tend the cattle and help maintain the house. In spite of the
deprivations and the owner’s exploitation, their only wishes are for simple
things to make life easier. Fabiano dreams of acknowledgment for the hard work
he does and his skills, Sinhá Vitória of a real bed, the older son of answers
to his questions without rebukes, the younger of the strength and fearlessness
of his father, and even the dog dreams of a good meal. The winter on the ranch
is hard, however, taking its toll on the cattle. After the dog falls ill,
Fabiano has to kill him, a sad loss for the family. As another drought sets in
they move on, this time towards the city, where they live in even greater
anonymity than before, feeling lost and still without a chance to escape their
fate, completing the circle.
Written
in an austere but captivating prose, the reader is immediately drawn into this
cyclical story, envisaging the torrid landscape under an
merciless sun and feeling with these outstanding characters whom life has
treated so badly.
Angústia (“Anguish”) tells the story of Luis da Silva. Plagued by a sense of
inferiority and obsessive destructive fantasies and after an agonizing inner
journey, he commits a murder. After an emotional breakdown, Luis da Silva
starts evoking different stages of his life, his
unhappy childhood on his father’s deteriorated estate, episodes of near
starvation, the depressing routine of an unknown journalist. Mingling the past
with the present, which is hardly more positive, forever on the lookout for odd
jobs, Luis’ mind grows more and more disturbed.
When
he meets his neighbour, the beautiful Marina, Luis immediately falls in love
with her. He starts dreaming of a better future that might bring some kind of
sense into his life, but, impoverished as he is, he cannot offer Marina what
she is looking for – money and luxury. Marina turns to the wealthy Julião, and
Luis, already depressed, starts to give free reins to his ever-increasing
jealousy and hatred. Envious of Julião’s money, his desire for revenge and
destruction increases. When Marina falls pregnant, Luis is finally driven over
the edge and kills Julião.
In this masterpiece, Graciliano Ramos
once again enchants the reader with his precise and dry prose, which only
emphasises the starkness of his characters and their surroundings. With great
expressive force, he gives testimony to the socially and psychologically
refined relationships of his protagonists and their inner developments, which
are characteristic of all his novels.
Graciliano Ramos is of the naturalistic
tradition in the literature of Brazil, but this novel is not mere social
protest. The author has a keen visual sense, and the reader becomes one with
the part of the earth where Fabiano’s life unfolds... Barren Lives is a moving novel, one to
ponder on.
Library Journal
In Vidas secas, considered as the
main work of Graciliano Ramos by the majority of
literary critics, it is simply impossible not to be moved. [...] One of the
most impressing aspects of his work is the constant actuality of its topic.
[Caetés] has the same universal force as Anna Karenina or Madame Bovary.
Mundocultura
Original editions and rights sold (selection):
Novels:
Caetés, Brazil: 1933, Rio de Janeiro: Record 2003, 304 p.
Portugal: Portugália Editora 1965, Europa-América 1984, Caminho 1990,
195 p.
São Bernardo, Brazil: 1934, Rio de Janeiro: Record 2002 (last edition:2009), 272 p.
Finland: Porvoo 1992, Söderström 1961 ●
France: Gallimard 1936, 1986 ● Germany: Fischer 1961, Hanser 1960
(rights available) ● Hungary: Europa 1962 ● Italy: Bollatti
Boringhieri 1993 ●
Netherlands: Copperns & Frenks, 1996 ● Polen: Wydaw 1985 ● Portugal:
Publicações Europa-América 1983, Caminhos 1991 ● UK:
Peter Owen 1975 ●
Venezuela: Monte Avila Editores 1980
Angústia, Brazil: 1936, Rio de Janeiro: Record 2003, 240 p.
France: Gallimard 1992 ● Germany: Suhrkamp 1978, 1994
(rights available) ● Italy: Fratelli Bocca 1954 ● Mexico: Páramo 2008 ● Netherlands: Copperns &
Frenks, 1995 ●
Portugal: Portugália Editora 1962,
Europa-América 1984, Caminho 1991 ● Spain: Alfaguara 1978 ● Uruguay: Independencia 1944 ● US: A.A. Knopf 1946, Greenwood
Press 1972
Vidas secas, Brazil: 1938, Rio de Janeiro:
Record 2003, 176 p.
Argentina: Editora Capricornio 1958, Corregidor 2001 ● Belgium: Novib’s-Gravenhage/NCOS 1981 ● Bulgaria:
Cyx Knbot 1969 ●
Cuba: Casa de las Américas 1964 ● Czech Republic: Statni Nakladatelstvi, Krásné Literatury 1959, Jubdy a
Umêni ● Denmark: Tørke 1986 ● France: Gallimard 1964 ● Germany: Horst Erdmann 1965, Suhrkamp 1981 (rights available) ● Greece: Electra ● Hungary: Europa Könyvriadó 1967 ● Italy: Nuova Accademia 1961 (“Terra Bruciata”), Nuova Accademia 1963
(“Siccittà”), Biblioteca del Vascello, 1993 (“Vite Secche”) ● Netherlands: Het Wereldvenster 1981, Copperns & Frenks 1998 ● Portugal: Portugália Editora 1965, Europa-América 1983, Caminho 1991 ● Spain: Espasa-Calpe 1974, S.A. Bruguera ● Sweden:
Pontes 1993 ● Turkey: Can Yayinlari 1985 ● Uruguay: Nuestra América 1970 ● US: University of Texas Press 1965, 5th edition 1999
Brandão entre o Mar e
Amor, 1942
Infância, 1945, Rio de Janeiro: Record 2003, 272 p.
Argentina: Siglo Veinte 1948, Beatriz Viterbo 2010 ● France: Gallimard 1956 ● Netherlands: Arbeiderspers ● Portugal: Europa-América 1984, Caminho 1992 ● UK:
P. Owen 1979
Insônia, 1947, Rio de Janeiro: Record 2003, 192 p.
France: Gallimard 1998 ● Greece: Electra (year of
publication unknown) ● Italy: Fahrenheit 451 2008 ● Portugal: Publicações Europa-América 1962, Caminho 1994
Memórias do Cárcere, 1953, Rio de Janeiro: Record 2003, 728 p.
France: Gallimard 1988 ● Portugal: Portugália Editora 1970,
Europa-América 1983, Caminho 1993
Viagem, 1954, Rio de Janeiro: Record 2003, 256 p.
Linhas Tortas, 1962, Rio de Janeiro: Record 2003, 448 p.
Viventes das Alagoas, 1962, Rio de Janeiro: Record 2003, 272 p.
Alexandre e outros
heróis, 1962 (Ed. Leitura “Histórias de
Alexandre”), Rio de Janeiro: Record 2003, 206 p.
Uruguay: Banda Oriental 2010
For young readers:
O estribo de Prata (a story from “Histórias de Alexandre”), 1984, Rio de Janeiro: Record
2002, 36 p.
A terra dos meninos pelados, 1937, Rio de
Janeiro: Record 2002, 88 p.
German: Nagel & Kimche 1996 (rights
available)
Stories:
Histórias incompletas, Porto Alegre: Livraria do Globo 1946, 145 p.
Letters:
Cartas de amor a
Heloísa, 1992, Rio de Janeiro: Record 1994 (last
edition 1996), 91 p.
Cartas, 1980, Rio de Janeiro: Record 1994, Salvador: EDUFBA 2008, 208 p.