Shepherds of the Night
by Jorge Amado
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A big, brawling novel of waterfront life in Bahia, packed with cardsharpers, prostitutes, pimps, drunks and homeless Don Juans and Messalinas. It tells three interlinked and cumulating stories - about a marriage, a christening and a siege.The things that happen in Shepherds of the Night are bound to happen once the cleverest of the Don Juans marries an out-of-town prostitute and tires of her; once an unmarried mother insists on a church christening for her fatherless child; and once a group show more of homeless Bahians erect their shacks on private property. show lessTags
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"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 show more are lively and, I would suspect, authentic.
Recommended for any reader with an interest in Brazil. The writing style is undemanding. show less
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 show more are lively and, I would suspect, authentic.
Recommended for any reader with an interest in Brazil. The writing style is undemanding. show less
Brazilian slum dwellers lives and loves, Oxun possess preist to drive out Exu and become godfather of child, struggle for shantytown on private land
«Cuento cosas que pasaron de verdad# Quien no quiera oír que se largue», decía Amado cuando hablaba de sus novelas. La verdad es que, leyendo Los pastores de la noche, no solo creemos lo que el autor cuenta, sino que tenemos la tentación de dejarlo todo y marchar a San Salvador de Bahía, la ciudad más fascinante de Brasil. Nos imaginamos recorriendo sus calles estrechas para conocer de cerca a los entrañables personajes de esta novela, desde el capitán Marítim, desgraciado en su matrimonio, hasta Tiberia, la sabia patrona del burdel más prestigioso del lugar, sin olvidar a Beatriz, la célebre echadora de cartas. Entre delirios de amor, aullidos de pasión y largas charlas de los varones delante de un buen vino, los hombres y show more mujeres de Amado celebran la fragilidad de los seres humanos, que se reconocen en la imperfección más absoluta y tierna.
«Apacentábamos la noche como si fuera un rebaño de muchachas, de inquietudes vírgenes en la edad del hombre» Así empieza Los pastores de la noche, un libro exuberante que vuelve a recordarnos las leyes del placer. show less
«Apacentábamos la noche como si fuera un rebaño de muchachas, de inquietudes vírgenes en la edad del hombre» Así empieza Los pastores de la noche, un libro exuberante que vuelve a recordarnos las leyes del placer. show less
Jan 25, 2023Spanish
3 volně spjaté novely. Lyrický a satirický tón najdeme ve třech příbězích Pastýřů noci splývající v jediném vyprávění o barvitých příhodách, jenž se udály v bahijském hlavním městě Salvadoru
Oct 12, 2023Czech
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155+ Works 10,863 Members
Jorge Amado, August 10, 1912 - August 6, 2001 Elected to the Brazilian Academy of Letters, Jorge Amado possesses a talent for storytelling as well as a deep concern for social and economic justice. He was born in Bahia, Brazil, in 1912. Some critics claim that his early works suffer from his politics. Others commonly express reservations show more concerning Amado's sentimentality and erotico-mythic stereotyping. In the works represented in English translation, his literary merits prevail. The Violent Land (1942) chronicles the development of Brazilian territory and struggles for its resources, memorializing the deeds of those who built the country. Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon (1958), which achieved critical and popular success in both Brazil and the United States, tells a sensual love story of a Syrian bar owner and his beautiful cook. Home Is the Sailor (1962) introduces Captain Vasco Moscoso de Aragao, a comic figure in the tradition of Don Quixote. In Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands (1966), Amado introduced the folk culture of shamans and Yorube gods. The protagonists of Shepherds of the Night (1964) are Bahia's poor. (Bowker Author Biography) Jorge Amado has been called the greatest twentieth-century Brazilian novelist. He was born in 1912 in Ilheus, in the northeastern-most state of Bahai. This area serves as the backdrop for most of Amado's work, which reflects a deep appreciation of the Brazilian essence. Amado's works have made him a national figure in Brazil. Amado's early novels were shaped by a belief in Marxism, and relate the sufferings of humble fishermen and cocoa plantation workers. By the 1950s, he had turned his attention to the plight of middle-class Bahains. This more jovial approach brought him worldwide acclaim, and his keen comic sense and appreciation of the common man have drawn comparisons to the novels of Charles Dickens. Music, cuisine, and passion figure prominently in Amado's literary output. Amado's works have been translated from Portuguese into more than forty languages, have sold over fifty million copies worldwide, and have been reworked for film, television, and stage. His portraits of commanding female characters, including Gabriela from Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon, and Dona Flor from Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands, have been adapted to the screen, and actress Sonia Braga earned her initial success in these roles. Other titles include The Sand Captains; Memory of a Child; The War of the Saints; and Home Is the Sailor. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title*
- I guardiani della notte
- Original title
- Os pastores da noite
- Original publication date
- 1964; 1980
- Important places
- São Salvador da Bahia de Todos os Santos, Brazil
- Original language
- Portuguese
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
Classifications
- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, General Fiction
- DDC/MDS
- 869.3 — Literature & rhetoric Spanish Literature Literatures of Portuguese and Galician languages Portuguese fiction
- LCC
- PQ9697 .A647 — Language and Literature French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese literatures Portuguese literature Provincial, local, colonial, etc. Brazil
- BISAC
Statistics
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- 125,972
- Reviews
- 4
- Rating
- (3.63)
- Languages
- 13 — Czech, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Turkish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 29
- ASINs
- 11
