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Loading... Tienda de los milagros (original 1969; edition 2009)by Jorge Amado
Work InformationTent of Miracles by Jorge Amado (1969)
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. An American Professor, from Columbia University, no less, shows up in Bahia, Brazil, pursuing an interest in a deceased Local writer. One level of the book has to do with the tizzy among the local intellectual establishment as they try to concoct background materials that will not offend the great American public. The novel also enters the mind of the deceased writer, as he tries to deal with all the problems and joys that made him the writer he was. There's a great deal of conflict presented here, and good stuff about the difference between the colonized world, and what the colonial power might think "proper' presentation of a local figure. The dead writer is very Brazilian, and really not too acceptable to Mid-America. It's a book about accepting the real, if the reader can do that. no reviews | add a review
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Although Archanjo's story begins with his death (and funeral attended by all the poor people of the community), Amado quickly turns to his birth when the midwife, who arrived after the fact, recognizes him as Ojuobá, the Eyes of Xangô. And Archanjo goes on, through his life, to act as the eyes of the community, recognizing his obligations to the leaders of the ceremonies and participating in them, but also recording what is taking place. The novel is the story of the entire community, and Archango's relationships with a variety of unforgettable characters: with his closest friend Lidio, with whom he collaborates on a whole variety of projects; with a multiplicity of women, primarily Rosa and Doroteia; with his godson Tadeu who is assumed to be his real son; with an aging countess who has a zest for life and the snooty and racist family of Tadeu's fiancée; with the varied professors at the university where he works as a messenger for the medical school and encounters both virulent racists and supporters who help guide his work; and with many more. It is filled with candomblé ceremonies, drinking, bawdiness, and the struggle to survive and be productive. In a way, Archanjo is a symbol of the entire mulitracial, multicultural community and its ongoing struggle to be recognized as the strength of Bahia and Brazil.
I am glad I read the wonderful Showdown before I read this book; although it has its strong points, especially the wonderful characters, it was marred, as noted above, by a tendency towards preachiness and by the modern sections which, while entertaining, couldn't stand up to the story of Archanjo. I will definitely be reading more books by Amado.