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"Brazil Red tells the story of two orphaned children, Just and Colombe, who are dragged off on the French colonizing expedition - they are meant to learn the native languages and act as interpreters. Everything in this novel is outsized: the setting, a jungle still populated by cannibals; the characters, including Villegagnon, the expedition's eccentric leader, who might be a model for Cyrano de Bergerac or d'Artagnan; and the events, a dress rehearsal for the Wars of Religion ten years in the future." "Brazil Red is a novel about coming of age and discovering love. On a deeper level, the story follows the destinies and decisions of Just and Colombe, presenting two conflicting views of man and nature. On one hand, a conquering European civilization, offering liberation but delivering death. On the other, the Indian world, with its sensuality, its harmony, its sense of the sacred, its continual call to happiness."--BOOK JACKET.… (more)
I was rather disappointed and feeling particularly let-down by the time I'd finished this book, knowing that subject matter with such potential (a sixteenth century mission to conquer Brazil, found a colony and tame the local cannibals) was squandered to such an extent as to make this an insipid and often quite dry story. I found nothing in the characters of Just and Colombe, our two protagonists, which particularly kindled any real sentiment in me, and found their relationship at times quite unbelievable. My only real enjoyment came from the character of Villegangon whose tragi-comic development/deterioration throughout the novel was a much-needed point of interest. ( )
A fabulous historical read about two orphan children taken as translators on a French colonizing expedition to Brazil. I've read the author's previous two books (the Abyssinian and The Seige of Isfahan) and they remind me of Dumas! Great adventure and wonderful detail in his novels. Excellent translation also! ( )
Information from the French Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.
J’ay eu long temps avec moy un homme qui avoit demeuré dix ou douze ans en cet autre monde qui a esté decouvert en nostre siècle, en l’endroit où Vilegaignon print terre, qu’il surnomma la France Antarctique...
Montaigne Essais, I, XXXI.
Dedication
First words
Information from the French Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.
I DES ENFANTS POUR LES CANNIBALES
Chapitre 1
— Imaginez un instant, monseigneur, ce que peut ressentir un homme qui voit bouillir devant lui l’eau où il va cuire. Sur ces mots, le matelot jeta vers les braises un regard lugubre. [...]
Quotations
Last words
Disambiguation notice
Original title: Rouge Brésil
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Information from the French Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.
"Brazil Red tells the story of two orphaned children, Just and Colombe, who are dragged off on the French colonizing expedition - they are meant to learn the native languages and act as interpreters. Everything in this novel is outsized: the setting, a jungle still populated by cannibals; the characters, including Villegagnon, the expedition's eccentric leader, who might be a model for Cyrano de Bergerac or d'Artagnan; and the events, a dress rehearsal for the Wars of Religion ten years in the future." "Brazil Red is a novel about coming of age and discovering love. On a deeper level, the story follows the destinies and decisions of Just and Colombe, presenting two conflicting views of man and nature. On one hand, a conquering European civilization, offering liberation but delivering death. On the other, the Indian world, with its sensuality, its harmony, its sense of the sacred, its continual call to happiness."--BOOK JACKET.
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Wikipedia in English
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