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Shepherds of the Night
"This work can be described tersely but not unfairly as a contribution to the debate on Brazilian self-definition, rendered ineffective by being cast in the form of pastoral. Amado's theme is the life of the Bahian poor: not the whole of their lives, for we seldom glimpse them at the back-breaking work that must occupy some of their waking hours, but their leisure life. His scene is laid in cheap brothels, alleys, shanties on the beaches, and in those hidden shrines on the mountainsides where the priests and priestesses of Ogun or Oxala exact their rites...Novels aren't any worse for having no 'social message'; but it's strange to find one which handles so much social material without taking it somewhere, only moving it from place to place."
John Wain, New York Review of Books, 5/4/1967
John Wain, New York Review of Books, 5/4/1967
372 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1964
About the author
Jorge Amado
132 books1,458 followersJorge Amado was a modernist Brazilian writer. He remains one of the most read and translated Brazilian authors, second only to Paulo Coelho. In his style of fictional novelist, however, there is no parallel in Brazil. His work was further popularized by highly successful film and TV adaptations.
He was a member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters from 1961 until his death in 2001. In 1994, his work was recognized with the Camões Prize, the most prestigious award in Portuguese literature.
His literary work presents two distinct phases. In the first, there is a clear social critic and political focus, with works such as Captains of the Sands and Sea of Death standing out.
In his more mature phase, he adopts an aspect of good-humored and sensual chronicler of his people, abandoning ideological motivations, with works such as Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon, The Double Death of Quincas Water-Bray and Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands.
He was a member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters from 1961 until his death in 2001. In 1994, his work was recognized with the Camões Prize, the most prestigious award in Portuguese literature.
His literary work presents two distinct phases. In the first, there is a clear social critic and political focus, with works such as Captains of the Sands and Sea of Death standing out.
In his more mature phase, he adopts an aspect of good-humored and sensual chronicler of his people, abandoning ideological motivations, with works such as Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon, The Double Death of Quincas Water-Bray and Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
May 5, 2023
A celebration of life among the African and mulatto population of the favelas of northeast Brazil in the 1960s. These poverty-stricken folks somehow manage to survive and to enjoy life while they are at it.
Many of these folks are con men, thieves and prostitutes but they are good-hearted. You do whatever you can to get by even if it means running a crooked dice game or a scam.
There are three main episodes that structure the flow of the book. The first is the marriage of a playboy to a former prostitute.
The second event focuses on the complexities of a Catholic christening while the ostensible godparents are stand-ins for the African gods in northeast Brazil’s syncretic religious culture.
A third theme is the appropriation of private land and the subsequent battles with the police and government. The squatters fight to earn the right to stay in the shanties they constructed.
These pages are populated by well-developed, believable and lovable characters who remind us what life is all about.
The author (1912-2001) was a famous Brazilian writer and several of his 30 novels, translated from Portuguese, are considered modern classics. He is best known for novels such as Dona Flora and Her Two Husbands and Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon. (In his picture, doesn’t Amado looks like a cross between Walter Cronkite and Albert Einstein?!) I’ve enjoyed and reviewed Gabriela and Home is the Sailor.
[Revised, pictures and shelves added 5/5/23]
Favelas of Bahia from correio24horas.com.br
The author from Britannica.com
Many of these folks are con men, thieves and prostitutes but they are good-hearted. You do whatever you can to get by even if it means running a crooked dice game or a scam.
There are three main episodes that structure the flow of the book. The first is the marriage of a playboy to a former prostitute.
The second event focuses on the complexities of a Catholic christening while the ostensible godparents are stand-ins for the African gods in northeast Brazil’s syncretic religious culture.
A third theme is the appropriation of private land and the subsequent battles with the police and government. The squatters fight to earn the right to stay in the shanties they constructed.
These pages are populated by well-developed, believable and lovable characters who remind us what life is all about.
The author (1912-2001) was a famous Brazilian writer and several of his 30 novels, translated from Portuguese, are considered modern classics. He is best known for novels such as Dona Flora and Her Two Husbands and Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon. (In his picture, doesn’t Amado looks like a cross between Walter Cronkite and Albert Einstein?!) I’ve enjoyed and reviewed Gabriela and Home is the Sailor.
[Revised, pictures and shelves added 5/5/23]
Favelas of Bahia from correio24horas.com.br
The author from Britannica.com
March 17, 2017
Not as good as Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands and Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon, but good in its own way!
September 19, 2014
Rich, comic, tragic tales of the barely-working classes of Bahia, the gamblers, ladies of the night, their lives and loves. Really it's three novellas with recurring characters. The first is a great introduction and scene-setter, the second is charming, and just when you thought this was Amado's least political book, the third section blows kisses to the robber barons in excellent Amado style. Perfect summer reading, with characters that linger like a warm sea breeze that smells a little like salty sweat, but not in a bad way, in a sexy way.
August 11, 2014
Амаду има милиони почитатели по света заради удивителното си чувство за хумор, неповторимите си образи, бурните страсти и трагикомичните любови... Шестнайсетгодишната Оталия пристига в големия град да живее и да работи в публичния дом на майчица Тиберия, но с появата си неволно нажежава страстите. Влюбчивият Курио се хваща в мрежите на прекрасната Мариалва, жената на най-близкия му приятел и побратим ефрейтор Мартим, и всичко се заплита неудържимо по романтичен, комичен и героичен начин. Негърът Масу кръщава с йоруба-християнска церемония своя русокос и синеок син и лично божеството Огун се наема да избере за детето му достоен кръстник. И докато бездомници градят своите колиби, а политическите лидери преследват корупционните си народолюбиви интереси, Курио изживява скръбна страст по мадам Беатрис, прочутата индийска факирка, родом от бразилския град Нитерой.
На 10 август,2014 г. се навършиха 102 години от рождението на бразилския писател Жоржи Амаду. Смятан е за модернист, пишещ често в стила магически реализъм. Амаду е един от най-известните бразилски автори, творчеството му е преведено на 49 езика. Много негови книги са филмирани. На български са преведи книгите му „Тереза Батиста, уморена от битки“, „Дона Флор и нейните двама съпрузи“, „Тиета от Агрести“, „Пастири на нощта“ и др. Умира през 2001 г.
„Светът е такъв – неразбираем и пълен с изненади“.
���Любовта – най-прекрасното и най-ужасното нещо на света“.
„Любовта не се доказва или измерва – тя съществува и това е достатъчно“.
„Любовта е вечна, защото винаги се подновява. Страстите умират, любовта остава“.
„Щастието има нужда да се храни не само със спомени от миналото. Нуждае се и от мечти за бъдещето“.
„Нито дори Бог, който ни е създал, не може да ни избие всички. Бог убива хората един по един, а колкото повече убива, толкова повече хората ще продължат да се раждат, да растат, да се раждат отново, да се смесват и т.н. И никой кучи син няма да ги спре!“.
„Нещастието е издръжливо дърво; филиз, набучен в земята, не иска особени грижи, расте, разклонява се, среща се навсякъде. В двора на бедняка, приятелю, нещастието избуява, там не се задържа друго растение. Ако човек няма закалка и здрава кожа, ако няма мазоли отвън и отвътре, безсмислено е да се захваща с боговете, не съществува магия, която да послужи. Още нещо ще ви кажа, но не за да се хваля или да превъзнасям силата на нямащите, а защото това е чистата истина – само беднякът има смелост да понася нещастията и да продължава да живее“ – из „Тереза Батиста, уморена от битки“
„Да харесаш някого е лесно, случва се, когато най- малко очакваш, един поглед, една дума, един жест и огънят лумва, изгаря гърдите и устата; трудно е да се забрави, самотата изяжда човека; любовта не е трън, който се изважда, тумор, който се изтръгва, любовта е непокорна, нестихваща болка, убива отвътре“ – из „Тереза Батиста, уморена от битки“.
„Животът беше хубав – човек трябваше само да го живее“.
На 10 август,2014 г. се навършиха 102 години от рождението на бразилския писател Жоржи Амаду. Смятан е за модернист, пишещ често в стила магически реализъм. Амаду е един от най-известните бразилски автори, творчеството му е преведено на 49 езика. Много негови книги са филмирани. На български са преведи книгите му „Тереза Батиста, уморена от битки“, „Дона Флор и нейните двама съпрузи“, „Тиета от Агрести“, „Пастири на нощта“ и др. Умира през 2001 г.
„Светът е такъв – неразбираем и пълен с изненади“.
���Любовта – най-прекрасното и най-ужасното нещо на света“.
„Любовта не се доказва или измерва – тя съществува и това е достатъчно“.
„Любовта е вечна, защото винаги се подновява. Страстите умират, любовта остава“.
„Щастието има нужда да се храни не само със спомени от миналото. Нуждае се и от мечти за бъдещето“.
„Нито дори Бог, който ни е създал, не може да ни избие всички. Бог убива хората един по един, а колкото повече убива, толкова повече хората ще продължат да се раждат, да растат, да се раждат отново, да се смесват и т.н. И никой кучи син няма да ги спре!“.
„Нещастието е издръжливо дърво; филиз, набучен в земята, не иска особени грижи, расте, разклонява се, среща се навсякъде. В двора на бедняка, приятелю, нещастието избуява, там не се задържа друго растение. Ако човек няма закалка и здрава кожа, ако няма мазоли отвън и отвътре, безсмислено е да се захваща с боговете, не съществува магия, която да послужи. Още нещо ще ви кажа, но не за да се хваля или да превъзнасям силата на нямащите, а защото това е чистата истина – само беднякът има смелост да понася нещастията и да продължава да живее“ – из „Тереза Батиста, уморена от битки“
„Да харесаш някого е лесно, случва се, когато най- малко очакваш, един поглед, една дума, един жест и огънят лумва, изгаря гърдите и устата; трудно е да се забрави, самотата изяжда човека; любовта не е трън, който се изважда, тумор, който се изтръгва, любовта е непокорна, нестихваща болка, убива отвътре“ – из „Тереза Батиста, уморена от битки“.
„Животът беше хубав – човек трябваше само да го живее“.
December 25, 2017
A flockin' beauty !
The word "picaresque" was invented for the novels about the demi-monde of Bahia, Brazil, written by Jorge Amado. All of them contain characters you hate to part from, characters that will live forever in the world of fiction, the characters of novels like "Tieta", "The Two Deaths of Quincas Wateryell", "Gabriela: Clove and Cinnamon", "Jubiaba", "Tent of Miracles", "Home is the Sailor", "Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands" and many others. The lowlifes of that city in northeastern Brazil come to life--all the cardsharpers, whores, thieves, frog catchers, sailors, food vendors, drunks and neer-do-wells. Most of them might stray from the letter of the law occasionally, some of them normally. They might quarrel, steal, or prostitute themselves, but they are never mean, never vicious or oppressive. These are tales, after all, and they represent a world--not the real world of Brazil, but the world inside Amado's head, a great place to be I think. In Amado's Bahia, the women are strong and charming, nearly always beautiful and certainly generous with their favors. The fish stew is always great, and rum flows like water. Only the cruel police and the venal politicians dupe the people, betray anyone for money, and oppress their fellow men. OK, maybe the stories are not so realistic, but they are extremely entertaining. You can't put these books down. And Amado respects and builds up the Afro-Brazilian religion known variously as Macumba or Candomble, the religion which joins the West African religious system known as Vodun to Catholicism. The colorful life of this religion is woven throughout almost every one of Amado's novels. SHEPHERDS OF THE NIGHT is no exception.
The novel is divided into three sections, but interlinked. In the first, we read about the brief marriage of Corporal Martim, a rake and dealer of marked cards who marries a beautiful, but jealous and domineering ex-prostitute while he is on the lam out in the sticks. His friends look aghast at this travesty of his real, uncommitting nature, and amidst a rum-induced haze decide to do something about it. The second part tells of the christening of the Negro Massu's son, conceived with a woman who dies young, leaving Massu, assisted by his grandmother, to raise the boy. The tale involves a Catholic priest who cannot recall his own origins in the Macumba rituals. Amado tells us how deep the roots of this syncretic culture really are. The third section deals with a land invasion by the poor folks of Rampa do Mercado. They illegally occupy lands owned by a rich Spaniard and despite attacks by the police, manage, through political machinations and pure determination, to hold onto them. There must be a sacrificial victim however.......
If you have never read Jorge Amado, this is a good place to start. If you have read any of his other works and liked them, you'll definitely like this one too. It's a flockin' great read.
The word "picaresque" was invented for the novels about the demi-monde of Bahia, Brazil, written by Jorge Amado. All of them contain characters you hate to part from, characters that will live forever in the world of fiction, the characters of novels like "Tieta", "The Two Deaths of Quincas Wateryell", "Gabriela: Clove and Cinnamon", "Jubiaba", "Tent of Miracles", "Home is the Sailor", "Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands" and many others. The lowlifes of that city in northeastern Brazil come to life--all the cardsharpers, whores, thieves, frog catchers, sailors, food vendors, drunks and neer-do-wells. Most of them might stray from the letter of the law occasionally, some of them normally. They might quarrel, steal, or prostitute themselves, but they are never mean, never vicious or oppressive. These are tales, after all, and they represent a world--not the real world of Brazil, but the world inside Amado's head, a great place to be I think. In Amado's Bahia, the women are strong and charming, nearly always beautiful and certainly generous with their favors. The fish stew is always great, and rum flows like water. Only the cruel police and the venal politicians dupe the people, betray anyone for money, and oppress their fellow men. OK, maybe the stories are not so realistic, but they are extremely entertaining. You can't put these books down. And Amado respects and builds up the Afro-Brazilian religion known variously as Macumba or Candomble, the religion which joins the West African religious system known as Vodun to Catholicism. The colorful life of this religion is woven throughout almost every one of Amado's novels. SHEPHERDS OF THE NIGHT is no exception.
The novel is divided into three sections, but interlinked. In the first, we read about the brief marriage of Corporal Martim, a rake and dealer of marked cards who marries a beautiful, but jealous and domineering ex-prostitute while he is on the lam out in the sticks. His friends look aghast at this travesty of his real, uncommitting nature, and amidst a rum-induced haze decide to do something about it. The second part tells of the christening of the Negro Massu's son, conceived with a woman who dies young, leaving Massu, assisted by his grandmother, to raise the boy. The tale involves a Catholic priest who cannot recall his own origins in the Macumba rituals. Amado tells us how deep the roots of this syncretic culture really are. The third section deals with a land invasion by the poor folks of Rampa do Mercado. They illegally occupy lands owned by a rich Spaniard and despite attacks by the police, manage, through political machinations and pure determination, to hold onto them. There must be a sacrificial victim however.......
If you have never read Jorge Amado, this is a good place to start. If you have read any of his other works and liked them, you'll definitely like this one too. It's a flockin' great read.
September 20, 2014
Translated by Harriet de Onís
Three interconnected stories of the gamblers, prostitutes and layabouts of Bahia, Brazil – of Colonel Martim’s marriage, of the christening of Negro Massu’s child, and of the invasion of Cat Wood by the hoi polloi. At turns highly comic, moving, and sad, the novel shows an extraordinarily deep understanding of human nature and various personal motivations. A brilliant writer, Amado paints a poetic picture of street life from the point of view of those who uphold their principles against all odds. Defying the injustice of steady employment and the oppression of the rich, the poor not only live, but have fun surviving.
Three interconnected stories of the gamblers, prostitutes and layabouts of Bahia, Brazil – of Colonel Martim’s marriage, of the christening of Negro Massu’s child, and of the invasion of Cat Wood by the hoi polloi. At turns highly comic, moving, and sad, the novel shows an extraordinarily deep understanding of human nature and various personal motivations. A brilliant writer, Amado paints a poetic picture of street life from the point of view of those who uphold their principles against all odds. Defying the injustice of steady employment and the oppression of the rich, the poor not only live, but have fun surviving.
June 28, 2020
Latin Amerika yazarlarını her zaman kayırırım. Ama Jorge Amado gerçekten beni mest etti. Çeviri de çok iyi olunca tadından yenmez bir edebiyat zevki oldu. Özellikle hicivde çok başarılı olmuş. Burjuva ahlakını yerle bir ederken kullandığı eğlenceli kara mizah bana göre eşsiz güzellikteydi. Zaman zaman hikayeden kopup geri geldiğiniz bölümler olsa da çeviri dili o kadar akıcı ve güzel ki kitaba bir şekilde dönüp yazarı ve karakterleri özümsemeye devam edebiliyorsunuz. Hem Amado'ya hem Cemgil'e şapka çıkartıyorum.
April 20, 2019
I have been neglecting my 1964 list lately so I put three on my April reading plan. Jorge Amado was a Brazilian author whose novels about social classes, especially the lower ones, are full of rollicking scenes and expose the hypocrisy of the upper classes. He sets these tales in the Brazilian state of Bahai, where he was born and raised.
(As an aside, when I read translated books for My Big Fat Reading Project, I put them on my lists in the year they were first published, usually earlier than the English translation.)
The "shepherds of the night" in this collection of three character-related novellas, are a group of men who spend their nights drinking rum and bedding their women, many of whom are prostitutes. From the opening page of the book: "We shepherded the night as though she were a bevy of girls and we guided her to the ports of dawn with our staffs of rum, our unhewn rods of laughter."
In the first novella, one Corporal Martim, looked up to by all of these men, commits the unspeakable act of getting married. In its hilarious and poignant pages, his friends expose the wife for the conniving woman she is, break up the marriage, and rescue their dude.
The second novella concerns the christening of a blue-eyed mixed race baby whose mother died and who was brought to his grandfather Massu to be raised. Massu is a large, very large, Negro with a soft, very soft heart. He is part of the gang. Here we get a look at the cross section of Afro-Brazilian voodoo cults and the Catholic Church brought to Brazil by European colonists. Plenty of magical realism brightens up the tale.
Finally, the third novella deals with clashes between the poor, the government and the press. Oh my, this one could have been set in the present as the families connected with the gang of "shepherds" try squatting on a piece of property owned by one of the major industrialists of Bahai who is also a slum lord.
I was not sure I was going to enjoy the book when I started it. I forgot that I almost always feel this way when I begin an Amado novel. (This is my sixth.) Then I get captured by his storytelling skills and lost in his characters' adventures. I was happy to spend a few days in another culture, all the while seeing that human beings are more similar than they are different all around the globe.
(As an aside, when I read translated books for My Big Fat Reading Project, I put them on my lists in the year they were first published, usually earlier than the English translation.)
The "shepherds of the night" in this collection of three character-related novellas, are a group of men who spend their nights drinking rum and bedding their women, many of whom are prostitutes. From the opening page of the book: "We shepherded the night as though she were a bevy of girls and we guided her to the ports of dawn with our staffs of rum, our unhewn rods of laughter."
In the first novella, one Corporal Martim, looked up to by all of these men, commits the unspeakable act of getting married. In its hilarious and poignant pages, his friends expose the wife for the conniving woman she is, break up the marriage, and rescue their dude.
The second novella concerns the christening of a blue-eyed mixed race baby whose mother died and who was brought to his grandfather Massu to be raised. Massu is a large, very large, Negro with a soft, very soft heart. He is part of the gang. Here we get a look at the cross section of Afro-Brazilian voodoo cults and the Catholic Church brought to Brazil by European colonists. Plenty of magical realism brightens up the tale.
Finally, the third novella deals with clashes between the poor, the government and the press. Oh my, this one could have been set in the present as the families connected with the gang of "shepherds" try squatting on a piece of property owned by one of the major industrialists of Bahai who is also a slum lord.
I was not sure I was going to enjoy the book when I started it. I forgot that I almost always feel this way when I begin an Amado novel. (This is my sixth.) Then I get captured by his storytelling skills and lost in his characters' adventures. I was happy to spend a few days in another culture, all the while seeing that human beings are more similar than they are different all around the globe.
April 1, 2023
Bué bom, literalmente os capitães da areia apareceram! Percebi zero das referências religiosas mas foi perfeito na mesma
December 23, 2015
Escrito às vésperas do golpe militar de 1964, este romance modelar se constrói em três partes autônomas, interligadas por personagens comuns: prostitutas, boêmios, vigaristas, a comunidade notívaga de Salvador, com suas leis e valores próprios: o culto à cachaça, o ódio à polícia, o horror ao trabalho.Na primeira parte, o cabo Martim, craque dos baralhos marcados e dos dados viciados, sedutor cobiçado, aparece com companheira fixa e planos de constituir um lar. A notícia cai como uma bomba entre os pastores da noite. A segunda narrativa trata do batizado do filho de Massu, negro musculoso que ganha a vida fazendo pequenos fretes. O padrinho do menino é o próprio Ogum, e assim o batizado mobiliza a noite da cidade, embaralhando candomblé e catolicismo. Na última parte, a ocupação do morro do Mata Gato por desabrigados desencadeia um conflito social e político. O dono do terreno recorre à polícia, mas entram em cena outras forças e interesses: autoridades governamentais, imprensa corrupta, banqueiros do jogo do bicho
February 9, 2019
.??? sometime 90s: i wish i was a night owl with these friends, even now when i can be reasonably aware of embedded misogyny, aware of errors of machismo, aware women are more than counters in a game of manliness, not your enemy if not your love…
July 6, 2016
El bautizo del hijo del negro Massu y el padrinazgo de Ogum paga la novela. Hace mucho que no me reia tanto...que entrañable es Jorge Amado
March 27, 2024
Amado'nun en iyisi değil kesinlikle, ama Amado bildiğimiz Amado.
Birbirine hafifçe temas eden üç farklı novella içeriyor roman, bunlardan ilki maalesef büyük hayal kırıklığı. Dostluğun, kardeşliğin aşktan bile üstün olduğunu kanıtlamak için zaten pek de muaf olmadığı mizojini illetini yine konuşturmuş maalesef yazar. Neyse ki ikinci kısımla beraber maharetini esas gösterdiği konuya giriyor, kurumsal dinin karşısına halkın inancını yerleştirerek alt sınıfların direniş stratejilerine ilişkin hoş bir örnek sunarak toparlıyor. Ve nihayet artık sol kroşesini çıkarıyor da kapitalist mülkiyet ilişkileri içerisinde barınma hakkını merkeze alan, bunu yaparken merkez siyaset içinde dönen dolapların ipliğini pazara çıkaran, epey de keyifli bir mizahi ton tutturmayı başarabilen bir finalle bitiriyor, Tereza Batista'nın da son öyküsüne benzer biçimde.
Her halükarda, Salvador sokaklarında okurunu Afrika'nın kutsal ruhlarıyla beraber yürütüp kiliselerine, kumsallarına, genelevlerine varıncaya dek gezdiren capcanlı bir kitap yine.
Birbirine hafifçe temas eden üç farklı novella içeriyor roman, bunlardan ilki maalesef büyük hayal kırıklığı. Dostluğun, kardeşliğin aşktan bile üstün olduğunu kanıtlamak için zaten pek de muaf olmadığı mizojini illetini yine konuşturmuş maalesef yazar. Neyse ki ikinci kısımla beraber maharetini esas gösterdiği konuya giriyor, kurumsal dinin karşısına halkın inancını yerleştirerek alt sınıfların direniş stratejilerine ilişkin hoş bir örnek sunarak toparlıyor. Ve nihayet artık sol kroşesini çıkarıyor da kapitalist mülkiyet ilişkileri içerisinde barınma hakkını merkeze alan, bunu yaparken merkez siyaset içinde dönen dolapların ipliğini pazara çıkaran, epey de keyifli bir mizahi ton tutturmayı başarabilen bir finalle bitiriyor, Tereza Batista'nın da son öyküsüne benzer biçimde.
Her halükarda, Salvador sokaklarında okurunu Afrika'nın kutsal ruhlarıyla beraber yürütüp kiliselerine, kumsallarına, genelevlerine varıncaya dek gezdiren capcanlı bir kitap yine.
November 20, 2022
This is a book that clearly depicts how life is not black and white.
You fall in love with some of the characters then you realize on the way some of the things they do you don't quite agree with and feel conflicted. Or you dislike some of them but still get to see why that is as the author uncovers their story.
Poor and rich, honorable and immoral members of society, they are more interconnected than their status might hint to.
You fall in love with some of the characters then you realize on the way some of the things they do you don't quite agree with and feel conflicted. Or you dislike some of them but still get to see why that is as the author uncovers their story.
Poor and rich, honorable and immoral members of society, they are more interconnected than their status might hint to.
May 27, 2023
Jorge Amado is a consummate storyteller and really brings the streets of Bahia to life. His characters are raucous and bawdy but you can't help but fall in love with them, even though you'd probably be rather wary of meeting them in real life. Like Charles Dickens (who he apparently admired), Amado's portrayals of the less privileged members of society are vivid and his political commentary astute. He combines humour, irony, lyricism and pathos seamlessly.
April 30, 2023
Numa história, várias histórias.
Houve momentos em que não conseguia parar até saber o fim da história.
Noutros momentos mais descritivo com questões políticas, duro de manter o foco.
Chegando ao fim é sempre uma alegria de todos os temas abordados e da moral que fica para cada um 🤍
Houve momentos em que não conseguia parar até saber o fim da história.
Noutros momentos mais descritivo com questões políticas, duro de manter o foco.
Chegando ao fim é sempre uma alegria de todos os temas abordados e da moral que fica para cada um 🤍
July 14, 2020
O Compadre de Ogum é perfeito.
October 28, 2021
É um capitães da areia só que os personagens são adultos, ou seja, bom, mas não tão bom quanto
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 17, 2022
Classic Amado. Enjoyable if you're a fine but not as well executed as his major pieces.
October 20, 2023
Loved that book, the descriptions were so vivid they've stayed with me for ever. I'm hoping to read this one again and more of the work of Jorge Amado.
April 10, 2024
Più lento e meno affollato di avvenimenti di altri libri di Amado, ma ugualmente e squisitamente ironico, polemico e incantato
February 21, 2017
"Shepherds of the Night" by Jorge Amado, translated from the Portuguese by the late Harriet De Onis, is three interconnected short stories about a dozen or so mainly poorer common folks in the state of Bahia ("bay") bordering the Atlantic coast in northeast Brazil. Bahia is the historical and cultural heart of Brazil and retains the greatest African (and Portuguese) imprint in custom and culture. The population is genetically about half African, over a third European, and many of the remaining Native American, with about half the population multiracial.
The author captures his characters well and does not miss the humorous aspects of their various capacities to sustain their day-to-day well-being against the odds. His portrayals of Bahia are lively and, I would suspect, authentic.
Recommended for any reader with an interest in Brazil. The writing style is undemanding.
The author captures his characters well and does not miss the humorous aspects of their various capacities to sustain their day-to-day well-being against the odds. His portrayals of Bahia are lively and, I would suspect, authentic.
Recommended for any reader with an interest in Brazil. The writing style is undemanding.
November 11, 2016
#1001books #722left
This was not for me. Perhaps it was the translation, or the flashbacks-forewards that occurred seemingly randomly, or maybe it was the blending of narrative, mythology, religion, and ethnography that I just didn't get, but whatever it was, this was really just okay. The actual parts of Archanjo's life were interesting (though I still don't understand exactly WHY it needed to be said on every other page how much he loved to talk--that was clearly evident in the first 50), but the ones in the modern day with the failed poet were boring and seemingly pointless (or if there was a point I missed it). An interesting, if not thrilling, look at early 20th c. rural Brazil, its people, customs, and practices.
This was not for me. Perhaps it was the translation, or the flashbacks-forewards that occurred seemingly randomly, or maybe it was the blending of narrative, mythology, religion, and ethnography that I just didn't get, but whatever it was, this was really just okay. The actual parts of Archanjo's life were interesting (though I still don't understand exactly WHY it needed to be said on every other page how much he loved to talk--that was clearly evident in the first 50), but the ones in the modern day with the failed poet were boring and seemingly pointless (or if there was a point I missed it). An interesting, if not thrilling, look at early 20th c. rural Brazil, its people, customs, and practices.
February 16, 2008
This novel was my introduction to Latin American literature and specifically to magical realism. It was a lot of fun and I was hooked. I went on to read every book Amado wrote, then on to Garcia Marquez, Allende, etc. I learned a lot about Latin American culture, especially Brazilian, and its relationship to religion. I recommend this.
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