Brasyl (2007)

Quantum computing and the “multiverse” are the science behind McDonald’s tale of futuristic life in Sao Paulo, missionary efforts and heresy up the Amazon in the 1700s, and the sleaze of reality TV in present day Rio de Janeiro. Religion versus science is the underlying struggle that reveals itself as the reader progresses thorough the story.

McDonald also touches on criminality, corruption, religious sects, slum existence, life in the jungle, designer cosmetic surgery, dreams and loss.

The characters and relationships in each of the three time slots covered are interesting and of their time. Louis Quinn, a Jesuit priest with a less than Jesuitical past, is the main character in 1732; Marcelina Hoffman is the centre of the action in 2006; Edson Jesus Oliveira de Freitas is the gender-shifting, small-time-want-to-make-it-big wheeler-dealer, sorry, entrepreneur, from 2032 Sao Paulo, who holds things together in the future.

The novel starts in the year 2006 with an amazing surveillance operation that will amuse and get people thinking about what is right and what is wrong. 2032 Sao Paulo is then introduced with football being a major theme. 1732 is introduced as our Jesuit priest arrives to carry out a most challenging task. The novel carries on with the interweaving of the three time-slots.

This is a fascinating read for many reasons, including the Brazilian history it contains, the appetite whetting for more information on quantum physics, and the underlying struggle between religious belief and scientific fact.

As is his wont, McDonald has include language of the locality, i.e. Portuguese. A glossary provides some useful explanations and translations. ( )

Intertwining three stories over 300 years in Brazil through the Many Worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics, this novel gets a little confusing at times. But, it builds nicely to a climax, and it's fun to read something coming from a cultural perspective different from the usual in science fiction. ( )

I got this 2007 trade softcover at a remainder book store on Fairway Road in Kitchener.

A rather confusing story with three main threads. In Rio de Janeiro, 2006, Marcillina, a reality television producer seeks to find an old football (soccer) player who let down the entire country of Brazil during the world championships in the 1950s. Suddenly, she finds that her doppelganger is sabotaging her life. In Sao Paulo, 2032, we follow Edson, a maker of shady deals trying to go straight with his talent agency. He gets mixed up with a quantum computer programmer, and his life becomes unpredictable. In 1732 we follow Father Luis Quinn as he travels up the Amazon in search of a rogue priest said to be either enslaving or converting the natives against the dictates of the Church. Quinn encounters a tribe that is said to have the ability to see into the future, and Quinn learns their secret.

All in all, very strange and hard to follow, but for some reason I rather liked the main characters, and that kept me going.

My review is here:
http://moosplace.blogspot.com/2010/02/brasyl.html ( )

A fascinating book set in vibrant landscapes and populated by extreme (but believable) characters that are unlike those in any of the thousands of other SciFi books I have read.

Although the science component is not immediately evident, Ian McDonald's book explores the quantum multiverse of tropical Brazil in three temporal epochs, Amazonia in 1732, and Rio de Janiero in 2006 and 2032. Compared to the bland worlds and peoples of temperate climates, tropical Brazil is bright, teaming and frenetically exciting. The characters use a lot of Brazilian slang (enough that a glossary the could have been even more extensive is required).

The main characters are also initriguing. The main characters in 1732 were Father Quinn, an Irish Jesuit admonitory sent to check up on rumors of another priest gone feral deep in Amazonia; and Robert Falcon, a geographer - clearly based on the historical astronomer, Charles Marie de La Condamine (see Wikipedia), who explored the Amazon as part of the French Geodesic Mission in the late 1730's. In 2006 the main character is Marcelina Hoffman, a hyperkinetic TV producer of over the top "reality documentaries" who dabbles in marshal arts and drugs. Marcelina's TV colleagues, family and neighbors fill supporting roles. In 2032 the main characters are the 20 something bisexual Edson Jesus Oliveira de Freitas; Edson's patron, Mr Peach, a gay aristocratic physics teacher at the University who is into superhero fetishism; and Fia Kishida, who had been one of Mr Peach's students in quantum theory and her doppleganger from another thread in the multiverse.

Towards the end, the physics and the interactions between the different times and threads become more apparent, although at the end, the resolution seemed a bit confusing to me.

The only weaknesses in the writing are perhaps an overuse of untranslated Brazilian slang and problems I had understanding the resolution. Nevertheless, the book is very close to five star for me. ( )