Novelas: reflexões de uma cabra o boqueirão coiteiros

Abstract

José Américo de Almeida became famous in Brazilian literature when he published A Bagaceira in 1928, a work that fits into the proposals of the regionalist novel, which had been written since Romanticism. Presenting a break in the thematic vein, by exploring the contradictions between the marsh and the backlands, A Bagaceira, with its telluric force, broke the limits of aesthetic projects, highlighting man with his existential problems in the midst of social conflicts, defining itself as a modern regionalist novel. Receiving the acclaim of specialized critics since its launch, A Bagaceira has already had twenty-nine editions in Portuguese and one critical edition, alongside versions in Spanish, English, Esperanto and French (unpublished), in addition to considerable critical fortune, confirming that its human and social message continues to be present in the interest of editorials, universities and the arts, in reverence for the pioneering work that opened a new path in national fiction. Having occupied a prominent position in journalism and public life, from 1908 onwards, when he completed his Law degree, José Américo dedicated much of his time to reading. He ordered books from abroad, which he received by mail. He read everything. The classics, Camilo, Herculano, Castilho, Eça, Gide, Malraux and great writers such as Bryce. In Brazilian literature, he preferred Machado de Assis, but he read other fiction writers and poets, in addition to his "homegrown" authors, such as Augusto dos Anjos and José Lins do Rego, both immortalized in his memoirs. This intellectual foundation led him to literary work and, in 1922, he published his first book - the novel Reflexões de uma Cabra.