Bahia. Mystery Land
- 202 pages
- 8 hours of reading
Jorge Amado Books
August 10, 1912 – August 6, 2001
Jorge Amado, the most renowned of modern Brazilian writers, dedicated his extensive literary output primarily to the impoverished, urban Black and mulatto communities of Bahia. His style, characterized by rich, vivid portrayals and a strong social conscience, delves into the heart of Brazilian culture. Amado masterfully captures the daily lives, passions, and dreams of these communities, often with a subtle humor and a profound understanding of human nature. His works, translated into numerous languages and frequently adapted for film and television, offer readers a compelling glimpse into the vibrant tapestry of Brazil.
It surprises no one that the charming but wayward Vadinho dos Guimaraes–a gambler notorious for never winning—dies during Carnival. His long suffering widow Dona Flor devotes herself to her cooking school and her friends, who urge her to remarry. She is soon drawn to a kind pharmacist who is everything Vadinho was not, and is altogether happy to marry him. But after her wedding she finds herself dreaming about her first husband’s amorous attentions; and one evening Vadinho himself appears by her bed, as lusty as ever, to claim his marital rights.
Ilhéus in 1925 is a booming town with a record cacao crop and aspirations for progress, but the traditional ways prevail. When Colonel Mendonça discovers his wife in bed with a lover, he shoots and kills them both. Political contests, too, can be settled by gunshot... No one imagines that a bedraggled migrant worker who turns up in town–least of all Gabriela herself–will be the agent of change. Nacib Saad has just lost the cook at his popular café and in desperation hires Gabriela. To his surprise she turns out to be a great beauty as well as a wonderful cook and an enchanting boon to his business. But what would people say if Nacib were to marry her? Lusty, satirical and full of intrigue, Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon is a vastly entertaining panorama of small town Brazilian life.
Jorge Amado (1912-2001) erzählt, wie schön es doch wäre, wenn die Liebe über alle Vorurteile siegen könnte. In ihrem Nachwort eröffnet uns Eva Demski einen ganz neuen Zugang zu dieser zarten Liebesgeschichte. Auch als Patmos Hörbuch erhältlich. Die zauberhafte Geschichte einer Liebe zwischen ungleichen Partnern, die der ganzen Welt trotzt.
Bahia, eine Stadt voller Widersprüche mit 365 Kirchen und ebenso vielen Freudenhäusern, ist der Schauplatz von Jorge Amados Helden, die trotz ihrer Armut das Leben in vollen Zügen genießen.
Keiner kennt die Farben Brasiliens besser als Jorge Amado – das Meer, die Plantagen, der Sertão und das, was unter den Dächern geschieht: okkulte Feste, afrikanische Rituale, der ungestüme Tanz der Menschen. Mit der ›Werkstatt der Wunder‹ legte Amado sein Meisterwerk vor: Im Mittelpunkt steht der 100. Geburtstag von Pedro Archanjo, dessen ethnologisches Werk dem Dunkel entrissen werden soll. Doch statt als Akademiker entpuppt sich Archanjo als Apostel der Vermischung von Schwarz und Weiß, ein weiser Mestize, der getrieben von sinnlicher Neugier gerade das hervorbringt, was er beschreibt und liebt – den wilden Karneval von Bahía.
Minha intenção, minha única intenção, acreditem!, é apenas restabelecer a verdade. A verdade completa, de tal maneira que nenhuma dúvida persista em torno do comandante Vasco Moscoso de Aragão e de suas extraordinárias aventuras. A verdade está no fundo de um poço, li certa vez, não me lembro mais se num livro ou num artigo de jornal. Em todo caso, em letra de fôrma, e como duvidar de afirmação impressa? Eu, pelo menos, não costumo discutir, muito menos negar, a literatura e o jornalismo. E, como se isso não bastasse, várias pessoas gradas repetiram-me a frase, não deixando sequer margem para um erro de revisão a retirar a verdade do poço, a situá-la em melhor abrigo...
Belletristik : Brasilien/Bahia ; Nachtleben - soziale Gerechtigkeit.
Negli anni '30 lo stato di Bahia, terra di cacao e di grandi latifondisti, diviene il miraggio per migliaia di diseredati che accorrono alla ricerca di un lavoro. Amado ha visto, ha studiato quella realtà con l'intelligenza di un etnologo o di un antropologo, e ha poi trasfuso in queste pagine tutta la sua capacità di raccontare, da autentico cantastorie della vita brasiliana. Mettendosi lui stesso nella parte di un bracciante, alfabetizzato ma incolto, nato da famiglia benestante però costretto da un rovescio finanziario a cercare lavoro, Amado racconta di fatiche disumane e di amori travolgenti e sensuali, di crudele violenza e di altruismo, di ingenuità e di fede, di morte e di sofferenza, di prepotenze dei fazendeiros e di spensierata allegria dei giovani, dipingendo con i suoi forti e coinvolgenti colori il quadro di un mondo e di tante vite.
