A Death in Brazil: A Book of Omissions
by Peter Robb
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'Like everyone I went to Brazil to get away...;' So begins this collage of travel, history, culture and personal reminiscence from the author of Midnight in Sicily and M. Delving into Brazil's baroque past, Peter Robb writes about its history of slavery and the richly multicultural but disturbed society that was left in its wake when the practice was abolished in the late nineteenth century. Even today, Brazil is a nation of almost unimaginable distance between its wealthy and its poor, a show more place of extraordinary levels of crime and violence. It is also one of the most beautiful and seductive places on earth. Using the art and the food, and the books of its great nineteenth century writer, Machado de Assis, Robb takes us on a journey into a world like Conrad's Nostromo. A world so absurdly dramatic, like the current president Lula's fight for power, that it could have come from one of the country's immensely popular TV soap operas, a world where resolution is often only provided by death. Like all the best travel writing, A Death in Brazil immerses you deep into the heart of a fascinating country. Vivid, obsessive and intelligent, this is an utterly enthralling account. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
A Death in Brazil is a deep dive into Brazilian history, culture, and politics. Peter Robb takes the reader on a wild ride of his own travels in the country, taking frequent detours as far back as the 16th century discuss the country's economic development and the impact of slavery. He also describes in great detail the drama of Brazilian politics in the 1990s, comparing it (rightly so, it seems) to popular television soap operas of the day.
This was an interesting view of a country whose culture and history I know little about. Robb is an excellent writer, able to bring his subject matter to life with colorful, vivid portrayals of the country and its people. Only two things detracted from this novel for me: first, Robb used italics when show more citing other sources; however, he did not use footnotes so it was often unclear whether the phrase was a citation, or was italicized for emphasis. Second, Robb would travel back in history without reference to dates. I often found myself consulting the chronology included as an appendix. While this was useful, the frequent need to do so was annoying after a time.
Nevertheless, for someone interested in an immersion in Brazilian culture, this is a well-written and informative book. show less
This was an interesting view of a country whose culture and history I know little about. Robb is an excellent writer, able to bring his subject matter to life with colorful, vivid portrayals of the country and its people. Only two things detracted from this novel for me: first, Robb used italics when show more citing other sources; however, he did not use footnotes so it was often unclear whether the phrase was a citation, or was italicized for emphasis. Second, Robb would travel back in history without reference to dates. I often found myself consulting the chronology included as an appendix. While this was useful, the frequent need to do so was annoying after a time.
Nevertheless, for someone interested in an immersion in Brazilian culture, this is a well-written and informative book. show less
A personal account of the author's journey into Brazilian history. A tale of corruption and death, but with hope for the country's transformation through liberal politics.
Excellent. Love all of his books - he goes deep into the subject and gives one a fairly compleat picture of North Eastern Brazil.
RMIT981.064R631
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8+ Works 1,788 Members
Peter Robb has divided his time among Brazil, southern Italy, and Australia during the past quarter century
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- Important places
- Brazil
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- Reviews
- 5
- Rating
- (3.73)
- Languages
- Dutch, English, Portuguese, Spanish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
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- ASINs
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