Brazil: A NovelA page-turning novel about a Black teen from the Rio slums and an upper-class white girl who are brought together by fate and betrayed by families who threaten to tear them apart—from one of the most gifted American writers of the twentieth century and the author of the acclaimed Rabbit series. “Steamy...breathtaking.”—The New Yorker They meet by chance on Copacabana Beach: Tristao Raposo, a poor black teen surviving day to day on street smarts and the hustle, and Isabel Leme, an upper-class white girl, treated like a pampered slave by her absent though very powerful father. Convinced that fate brought them together, betrayed by their families, Tristao and Isabel flee to the farthest reaches of Brazil's wild west—unaware of the astonishing destiny that awaits them…. Spanning twenty-two years, from the mid-sixties to the late eighties, BRAZIL surprises and embraces the reader with its celebration of passion, loyalty, and New World innocence. "A tour de force … Spectacular." —Time "Updike's novel, as tender as it is erotic, becomes a magnificently wrought love story…. Beautifully written." —Detroit Free Press |
What people are saying - Write a review
Reviews aren't verified, but Google checks for and removes fake content when it's identified
BRAZIL
User Review - KirkusThe indefatigable Updike only occasionally succeeds here. Tristo, a black teenager from the favela, encounters Isabel, a rich and sheltered young daughter of the elite, one afternoon on Rio's ... Read full review
Brazil
User Review - Not Available - Book VerdictAllusions to Tristan and Isolde dot Updike's fiction, poetry, and even nonfiction, so it is not surprising to find him reimagining their story as a novel. Surprisingly, he places them in the Brazil of ... Read full review
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
acarajé Antônio arms asked Aunt Luna Azor bandeirantes beach become beneath blood blue body Brasília Brazil Brazilian brother brown cachaça capybara cauim César Chiquinho clothes color coöperative Cordélia cruzeiros dark dress earth Euclides eyes face father favela feel feet fuck fusca gave gaze Gilberto Freyre girl Goiânia Goiás gold gray hair hand head held Ianopamoko Indians José knapsack Kupehaki lifted light lips live looked maraca Mato Grosso mother mountain mouth moved naked never night nugget old Tupi pale palm Paulo Petrópolis Polidora purpleheart razor blade rich ring Salomão São Paulo seemed Serra do Buraco shack shaman skin slave sleep slender smell smile smoke stared Sylvio tall thin told Tristão and Isabel Tristão felt turned Uncle Donaciano vast Virgílio voice walk walls whore wife woman women