Barren Lives (Masterplots II: American Fiction Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Graciliano Ramos
- First Published: 1938
- Type of Plot: Social realism
- Time of Work: The 1930’s
- Setting: Northeastern Brazil
- Principal Characters: Fabiano, Vitória, The older boy, The younger boy, The dog
- Genres: Long fiction, Social realism
- Subjects: Family or family life, Rural or country life, Brazil or Brazilians, Lower classes, Survivalism, Economic conditions
- Locales: Brazil
The Novel
Barren Lives is an episodic novel divided into thirteen chapters, each with its own title. Set in the northeast of Brazil, the novel follows the lives of Fabiano and his family as they struggle for survival in a region known for its drought cycle, with periods of severe drought killing cattle and making agriculture impossible, eventually followed by torrential rains and life-threatening floods. Though the novel is told by a third-person-omniscient narrator, the point of view shifts from character to character.
The story opens with Fabiano, Vitória, the...
[The entire page is 1934 words long]
