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A review by anusha_reads
Crooked Plow by Itamar Vieira Junior
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
BOOK 4: CROOKED PLOW, ITAMAR VIEIRA JUNIOR, TR. JOHNNY LORENZ, LONGLISTED FOR #INTERNATIONALBOOKER2024
This is the most beautiful book I have read this year! I really hope this book wins!
The story is about two sisters, subsistence farmers, and their families that live near a river in a place called Agua Negra. The area is tormented by either droughts or floods. The people here are mostly uneducated. It is a society where people help each other, but all the farmers are slaves and don't own the land!
"THE ROADS AROUND THE PLANTATION AND EVEN THE FLOORS OF OUR HOUSES WERE JUST FLATTENED EARTH. MADE OF MUD, NOTHING ELSE, THE SAME MUD WE’D USE TO MAKE PIES FOR OUR CORN COB DOLLS, THE SAME MUD FROM WHICH THE PLANTS WOULD GROW, THE PLANTS THAT FED US. THE SAME MUD IN WHICH WE’D BURY THE PLACENTA AND UMBILICAL CORD OF EACH NEWBORN CHILD. THE SAME MUD IN WHICH WE’D BURY THE MORTAL REMAINS OF OUR DEAD. THE SAME MUD INTO WHICH WE’D ALL DESCEND ONE DAY. NO ONE ESCAPES."
Bibiana and Belonisia, when they are seven and six respectively, out of curiosity, fish out a knife from their grandma's bag. The knife cuts them but severs Belonisia’s tongue, rendering her speechless.
"MY VOICE WAS A CROOKED PLOW, DEFORMED, PENETRATING THE SOIL ONLY TO LEAVE IT INFERTILE, RAVAGED, DESTROYED."
Their father, Zeca Chapeu Grande, is also a Jare healer and is revered by the people living in that region. People come to him to get cured of many ailments. The father dons a garb, and he becomes Saint Barbara and performs frantic dances, similar to Velichappadu, in Kerala, India. Velichappadu performs a dance called Thullal, accompanied by drums called ‘Chenda.’ The belief about not building during a full moon is there in Indian Vaastu Shastra too, which can be seen in the book.
The story primarily focuses on families, their lifestyle, and their hardships. The draught and the flood punish them with hunger and ruined harvest. They still work hard trying to make ends meet. People face food scarcity, forcing them to eat anything available like starved dead animals, lizards, or some cacti.
The story about Grandma Donana, her missing daughter, and Zeca was very touching and propelled me to read more to learn more about their lives.
It’s a bildungsroman, magical realism, and a romance novel. The book is divided into three parts; the first part is narrated by Bibiana, the second by Belonisia, and the third is by the Encantada, an ancient spirit that possessed various humans. I loved the third part the most.
"EVERY WOMAN FEELS THE STRENGTH OF NATURE HER BODY HOUSES IN THE VITAL TORRENT OF HER LIFE."
Abusive men, yelling drunkards who ill treat their partners or even fail to acknowledge their efforts. The author beautifully portrays what living with the men does to the lives of these women, but they rise and bounce back, determined to bring about a change.
A flawless translation of a moving, powerful story that resembles the works of Pearl S Buck, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, or Steinbeck.
The author himself conducted doctoral research on Quilombos, the Afro-Brazilian communities organised by escaped slaves and their descendants.
This is a book that I wholeheartedly recommend to everyone!
This is the most beautiful book I have read this year! I really hope this book wins!
The story is about two sisters, subsistence farmers, and their families that live near a river in a place called Agua Negra. The area is tormented by either droughts or floods. The people here are mostly uneducated. It is a society where people help each other, but all the farmers are slaves and don't own the land!
"THE ROADS AROUND THE PLANTATION AND EVEN THE FLOORS OF OUR HOUSES WERE JUST FLATTENED EARTH. MADE OF MUD, NOTHING ELSE, THE SAME MUD WE’D USE TO MAKE PIES FOR OUR CORN COB DOLLS, THE SAME MUD FROM WHICH THE PLANTS WOULD GROW, THE PLANTS THAT FED US. THE SAME MUD IN WHICH WE’D BURY THE PLACENTA AND UMBILICAL CORD OF EACH NEWBORN CHILD. THE SAME MUD IN WHICH WE’D BURY THE MORTAL REMAINS OF OUR DEAD. THE SAME MUD INTO WHICH WE’D ALL DESCEND ONE DAY. NO ONE ESCAPES."
Bibiana and Belonisia, when they are seven and six respectively, out of curiosity, fish out a knife from their grandma's bag. The knife cuts them but severs Belonisia’s tongue, rendering her speechless.
"MY VOICE WAS A CROOKED PLOW, DEFORMED, PENETRATING THE SOIL ONLY TO LEAVE IT INFERTILE, RAVAGED, DESTROYED."
Their father, Zeca Chapeu Grande, is also a Jare healer and is revered by the people living in that region. People come to him to get cured of many ailments. The father dons a garb, and he becomes Saint Barbara and performs frantic dances, similar to Velichappadu, in Kerala, India. Velichappadu performs a dance called Thullal, accompanied by drums called ‘Chenda.’ The belief about not building during a full moon is there in Indian Vaastu Shastra too, which can be seen in the book.
The story primarily focuses on families, their lifestyle, and their hardships. The draught and the flood punish them with hunger and ruined harvest. They still work hard trying to make ends meet. People face food scarcity, forcing them to eat anything available like starved dead animals, lizards, or some cacti.
The story about Grandma Donana, her missing daughter, and Zeca was very touching and propelled me to read more to learn more about their lives.
It’s a bildungsroman, magical realism, and a romance novel. The book is divided into three parts; the first part is narrated by Bibiana, the second by Belonisia, and the third is by the Encantada, an ancient spirit that possessed various humans. I loved the third part the most.
"EVERY WOMAN FEELS THE STRENGTH OF NATURE HER BODY HOUSES IN THE VITAL TORRENT OF HER LIFE."
Abusive men, yelling drunkards who ill treat their partners or even fail to acknowledge their efforts. The author beautifully portrays what living with the men does to the lives of these women, but they rise and bounce back, determined to bring about a change.
A flawless translation of a moving, powerful story that resembles the works of Pearl S Buck, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, or Steinbeck.
The author himself conducted doctoral research on Quilombos, the Afro-Brazilian communities organised by escaped slaves and their descendants.
This is a book that I wholeheartedly recommend to everyone!