Brazil | Brazil

At a glance:

Author: John Updike
First Published: 1994
Type of Work: Novel
Time of Work: 1966-1988
Setting: Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Brasília, Serra do Buraco, and Mato Grosso, Brazil
Principal Characters: Tristão Raposo, Isabel Leme, Salamão Leme, Uncle Donaciano, Ursula Raposo, Euclides Raposo, Chiquinho Raposo, César, Azor, Cordelia, Salomão, Bartolomeu, Aluísio, Afrodésia, Antonio Peixote, Ianopamoko, Tejucupapo
Genres: Long fiction, Magical Realism
Subjects: Magic or magicians, Class conflict, Love or romance, Race, Escapes, Brazil or Brazilians, Death or dying, Loyalty, Jungles or rain forests, Mines, miners, or mining, South America or South Americans, Beaches or seashores, Gold mines or mining, Arthurian legend
Locales: São Paulo, Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Brasília, Brazil

John Updike’s sixteenth novel is in many ways a new departure for him. Known principally for his lyrical and generally realistic portraits of Pennsylvania and New England suburban lives meticulously situated in their defining period and social locale, Updike literally embarks upon a new fictional territory in Brazil. Not only is it his first novel located in Latin America, but it is also his first without a single North American character. The closest there is to a predecessor in his canon is The Coup (1978), set chiefly in the mythical African nation of Kush, whose...

Brazil | Brazil

At a glance:

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