Crooked Plow
Crooked Plow is a translated novel (Portuguese: Torto Arado) by Brazilian author Itamar Vieira Junior. It tells the story of two Afro-Brazilian sisters, Bibiana and Belonísia, who experience a life-altering tragedy in childhood. The sisters live as tenant farmers with their family in Chapada Diamantina, Bahia state, Brazil. The novel won several literary awards, including the 2018 Prêmio LeYa, 2020 Prêmio Jabuti, 2020 Prêmio Oceanos.[1][2][3]
Summary
The first two parts of the book are told through the eyes of the sisters. It begins with the children, Bibiana and Belonísia, breaking their grandmother's rule against going into her room. While exploring, the sisters find a knife beneath their grandmother's bed, locked away in a suitcase. Tempted, they each put the knife in their mouths. One sister is unharmed, but the other cuts her tongue so severely that she is never able to speak again. The sisters become emotionally and mentally entwined as they grow up together in their parent's Afro-Brazilian sharecropping village in Bahia state, Brazil.
As childhood ends, Bibiana falls in love with a union organizer and eventually leaves the village, but eventually returns to find that her sister, Belonísia, has married an abusive drunk.
Critical Reception
The book received numerous positive reviews. Americas Quarterly started with the sentence, "Itamar Vieira Júnior's searing novel has captivated Brazil's literary scene.[4] The English translation aslo garnered reviews such as
Latin American Literature Today. [5]
Verso Books [6]
Awards
2018 Prêmio LeYa
2020 Prêmio Jabuti[2]
2020 Prêmio Oceanos
References
- ^ "Crooked Plow". Literary Hub. 2023-06-15. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
- ^ a b Assé, Ralph (2020-11-26). "'Torto arado' vence o prêmio Jabuti de Romance Literário". Estado de Minas (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on 2024-03-27. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
- ^ "Prêmio Oceanos consagra 'Torto arado', romance de Itamar Vieira Junior". O Globo (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2020-12-18. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
- ^ October 19, Camila Fontana |; 2021. "Book Review: Torto Arado". Americas Quarterly. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
{{cite web}}:|last2=has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ ""The Land and Time of Torto Arado" by Marcelo Cordeiro de Mello - Latin American Literature Today". 2021-11-19. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
- ^ "Translating Crooked Plow". Verso. Retrieved 2024-01-31.