Synopses & Reviews
Fordlandia is a haunting, evocative novel, a mysterious, lyrical tale at whose core lies a tiny nugget of fact: In 1929, Henry Ford, presiding in flinty authority over his automobile empire, grew tired of the British monopoly on Brazilian rubber. So, with his signature hubris, Ford decided he would produce his own rubber, and set about colonizing the Amazon, ultimately investing millions and founding an entire city around his plantation. The name of the city was Fordlandia. Surrounding this granule of historical curiosity is a rich, captivating fable that explores the fundamental struggle between man and the natural world. Sguiglia's exquisitely imagined Fordlandia is a town of characters by turns engaging and enigmatic, who will draw the reader into their various worlds so effortlessly and ingenuously that their dreams, discoveries, and downfalls begin to seem as immediate and piercing as one's own.
Review
"Shades of King Lear, Heart of Darkness, and Fitzcarraldo hang over this exciting new work of fiction...the images of the jungle and the men and women in it are extraordinarily vivid...this brilliant natural imagery...makes for a taut exciting read...Highly recommended." (Library Journal)
Review
"Sguiglia reveals little of the past or future, focusing instead on the ennui of a never-ending now...it reminds us that the line between inspiration and delusion is a thin one, as indistinguishable in many ways as that which separates history from mythology." (The New York Times)
Review
"The ruins of Fordlandia still visible today are testimony enough to the folly of Ford's dream,...So too is this fine novel, which rescues Ford's folly from the most obscure pages of history and imbues it not merely with many new layers of meaning but also with its own mythology." (The Washington Post)
About the Author
Eduardo Sguigla is a professor at the University of Buenos Aires, and a noted Argentine writer and novelist. Two of his essays on Argentine society have become bestsellers, and his first novel, Fordlandia, was hugely acclaimed in his native country.