Synopses & Reviews
Along with The Discovery of America by the Turks, two masterworks by the greatest Brazilian novelist of the twentieth century, published for the centennial of his birth
Widely considered the greatest work by the foremost Brazilian author of the twentieth century, The Double Death of Quincas Water-Bray comes to Penguin Classics in a new translation by the dean of Portuguese-language translators, Gregory Rabassa. It tells the story of Joaquim Soares da Cunha, who drops dead after he abandons his life of upstanding citizenship to assume the identity of Quincas Water-Bray, a "champion drunk" and bum who is whisked along on a postmortem journey that climaxes in his loss at sea.
Review
“Swift, funny, and occasionally even slapstick.” —Rivka Galchen, from the Introduction
Review
"Raucous . . . Rowdy . . . Outrageous!" —The New York Times
Review
“[A] comic masterpiece . . . Darkly hilarious . . . With brilliant sleight of hand and deceptive simplicity, Amado’s defiance of death in this frothy, heartfelt tale reveals the Brazilian master at his earthy, big-hearted best.” —Shelf Awareness
Review
"Raucous . . . Rowdy . . . Outrageous!" —
The New York Times
“Swift, funny, and occasionally even slapstick.” —Rivka Galchen, from the Introduction
“Part Virginia Woolf, part Weekend at Bernies . . . [An] excellent example of the particular mixture of folkloric elements and high-literary storytelling for which Amado is often paired with Gabriel García Márquez.” —The Wall Street Journal
"Hilarious... Deftly constructed... Hugely entertaining... Amado, like Quincas, is a hoaxer who loves to trick his readers.... [His] version of Brazil is seductive." —The Times Literary Supplement
“[A] comic masterpiece . . . Darkly hilarious . . . With brilliant sleight of hand and deceptive simplicity, Amados defiance of death in this frothy, heartfelt tale reveals the Brazilian master at his earthy, big-hearted best.” —Shelf Awareness
Synopsis
Widely considered the greatest work by the foremost Brazilian author of the twentieth century, The Double Death of Quincas Water-Bray comes to Penguin Classics in a new translation by the dean of Portuguese-language translators, Gregory Rabassa. It tells the story of Joaquim Soares da Cunha, who drops dead after he abandons his life of upstanding citizenship to assume the identity of Quincas Water-Bray, a -champion drunk- and bum who is whisked along on a postmortem journey that climaxes in his loss at sea.
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Synopsis
The great Brazilian novelist's comic masterpiece—published in a new translation for the centennial of Jorge Amado's birth
Here is the story of Joaquim Soares da Cunha, a Falstaff-like character who abandons his life of upstanding citizenship to assume the identity of Quincas Water-Bray, king of the Bahia lowlife and a "champion drunk." After a decade of revelry among bums, pimps, and prostitutes, he drops dead, and his prim family gathers for a proper burial. But when Quincas's unsavory friends show up with a bottle of rum, they whisk him along on a postmortem journey to enjoy one last party—his own wake.
Synopsis
A deftly satirical masterpiece about a man and a country caught in a violent clash between sanity and madness Policarpo Quaresmafastidious civil servant, dedicated patriot, self-styled visionaryis a defender of all things Brazilian, full of schemes to improve his beloved homeland. Yet somehow each of his ventures results in ridicule and disaster. Quixotic and hapless, Quaresmas dreams will eventually be his undoing.
About the Author
Jorge Amado (1912–2001) was born in the state of Bahia, Brazil, whose society he portrays in such acclaimed novels as Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon, and Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands.
Gregory Rabassa is a National Book Award–winning translator whose English-language versions of works by Julio Cortázar, Mario Vargas Llosa, and Gabriel García Márquez have become classics in their own right. He lives in New York City.
Rivka Galchen is one of the New Yorker’s "20 Under 40" fiction writers and the author of the award-winning novel Atmospheric Disturbances. A contributing editor at Harper’s Magazine, she lives in New York City.