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Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands

by Jorge Amado, Harriet de Onís (Translator)

3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 · rating details · 2,602 ratings · 137 reviews

It surprises no one that the charming but wayward Vadinho dos Guimaraes–a gambler notorious for never winning—dies during Carnival. His long suffering widow Dona Flor devotes herself to her cooking school and her friends, who urge her to remarry. She is soon drawn to a kind pharmacist who is everything Vadinho was not, and is altogether happy to marry him. But after her we...more

Paperback, 576 pages

Published September 12th 2006 by Vintage (first published 1966)

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Jun 19, 2008 Cheryl rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: brazilian

This is a beautifully and imaginatively written story about an everyday woman who has to come to terms with different facets of her own personality and what that means about the men she falls in love with and how she loves them in return. She has trouble reconciling her emotions, which seem so contrary to her: her passionate, steamy, violent, up-and-down young romance with her first husband, who dies an untimely death, and her sedate, kind, gentle, secure, and structured but still caring and ten...more

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Nov 05, 2010 Joselito Honestly and Brilliantly rated it 5 of 5 stars

How many stories can you tell in thirteen pages? Jorge Amado (can we be friends? May I call you Jorge?) put five stories in thirteen pages, four of them untold. But even it these four stories were untold, the reader would know what these stories were. It is a demonstration of how to tell a story by not telling it.
The main story is that about Maria Batista, or "Maria of the Veil," narrated by Porciuncula, a mulatto. And despite the limited space, with the words crowding each other in thirteen pag...more

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Aug 16, 2011 Aylin rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Aylin by: Marieke

Shelves: by-of-in-latin-south-america, fiction, magical-realism

"Vadhino, Dona Flor's first husband, died one Sunday of Carnival, in the morning, dressed up like a Bahian Woman, he was dancing the samba, with the greatest enthusiasm, in the Dois de Julho Square, not far from his house." That is the first sentence and it partially sums up the fun loving, roving gambler that was Dona Flor's first husband.

This book is about Dona Flor coming to terms with the men in her life and appreciating what each has to offer (unlike me who would have offered Vadhino a boot...more

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Apr 20, 2010 Joyce Lagow rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: brasilian, literature

Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands[return]Jorge Amado[return][return]Vadinho, that rascally, good-for-nothing, ne� er-do-well gambler and womanizer, drops dead during the middle of Carnaval, leaving his wife Dona Flor a young widow. While her neighbors, friends, and especially her poisonous mother, all rejoice--at last Dona Flor is rid of that lowlife husband--Dona Flor herself is unconsolable. Yes, he was all those bad things--but he was also charming, funny and, most important of all, an absolutel...more

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Dec 29, 2012 Iceman rated it 4 of 5 stars

Escrito em 1966, Dona Flor e Seus Dois Maridos é um dos romances mais divertidos de Jorge Amado. Enorme sucesso, já transposto para o cinema, teatro e televisão, Dona Flor e Seus Dois maridos tem como pano de fundo a Bahía, terra natal de Jorge Amado.

Flor, jovem e belíssima bahiana, excepcional cozinheira, amante apaixonada e versada nas artes eróticas, fica subitamente viúva do seu amado Vadinho, jogador inveterado e mulherengo, que todavia ama ardentemente a sua mulher e a seduz diariamente c...more

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May 24, 2012 Makii rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Spoilers!!
Una mujer, dos maridos....y un gran dilema: fidelidad o placer?
El primero, Vadinho, un juerguista impenitente, conocido en todos los bares y burdeles de la ciudad y ante todo un gran, excepcional e insaciable amante.
Pero estos excesos lo llevan a la muerte, lo que se traduce en que Flor tenga un segundo Marido, Teodoro, que es todo lo contrario. Un farmacéutico cuarentón, rígido y pudoroso, que lleva una vida impecable.
La historia da un gran giro cuando al año de esta segunda boda, a...more

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Jan 21, 2012 Richard rated it 5 of 5 stars

Rating: five enchanted stars of five

So, as I've explained on my profile over at LibraryThing, I've been in a book circle in RL for 17 years, and I posted our group reading list with my one-line assessments of the books. Most of those books I read long long long before I knew about LT or GoodReads, and so I've either never reviewed them or reviewed them for the long-vanished book blog.

Whatthehell, I figured, I should go back and glance over the list, maybe write some reviews of those oldsters.

So...more

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Nov 23, 2009 Harry Rutherford rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: around-the-world, south-america

Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands is a novel about a cooking teacher whose first husband is a charming lowlife, who is always disappearing in search of wine, women, song and roulette, and her second marriage to an upright, responsible, devoted pharmacist who, for all his good qualities, is duller and more reserved. Especially in bed.

Having read the long and mildly tedious Island Boy, I picked it up in the hope it would be a bit more fun. It’s fiction, it’s Brazilian, all the blurbs on the cover go...more Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands is a novel about a cooking teacher whose first husband is a charming lowlife, who is always disappearing in search of wine, women, song and roulette, and her second marriage to an upright, responsible, devoted pharmacist who, for all his good qualities, is duller and more reserved. Especially in bed.

Having read the long and mildly tedious Island Boy, I picked it up in the hope it would be a bit more fun. It’s fiction, it’s Brazilian, all the blurbs on the cover go on about it being exotic, sexy, tropical, the work of a great story-teller… all the kind of joyous clichés you’d hope for from the country that gave us Elza Soares, Ronaldinho and the caipirinha. I don’t only want to read books reinforce national stereotypes, but in a wet London November, a bit of Brazil seems quite tempting.

And more importantly, it was recommended by a friend. So after some of the deeply obscure, hit and miss books I’ve read for the Read The World challenge, I was hoping for something juicy and enjoyable. Something that was not likely to feel like a chore.

Sadly it didn’t quite hit the spot. Not because it doesn’t have all those Brazilian clichés: it starts with a character dying unexpectedly during carnival while dancing in full drag, and the whole book is full of gamblers and whores and serenades, and sex and food, and humour and social satire, and a bundle of other things besides. Just reading my own description of it almost makes me want to read it again; but the actual experience of reading it wasn’t so great.

Not that it’s a bad book, but it didn’t ever quite grab me; and after 550 pages, any book that you’re not actively enjoying is going to seem like a bit of a chore. I’d be hard pressed to identify any very glaring problems with it. The characters seemed a trifle two-dimensional — particularly the two contrasting husbands, who might as well be called Id and Superego, or Apollonian and Dionysian — and the plot is perhaps stretched a bit thin; but it might just as well be that I wasn’t in the right mood for it and tried to read too much of it when I was half asleep. So while I’m not about to give it a glowing endorsement, I wouldn’t want to be too negative, either. Pathetically non-commital, I know.(less)

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Jan 04, 2009 Sherry rated it 5 of 5 stars

Read this in High School. Absconded from my Mom's Book Club Pick o' the Month!
My first grown-up book....since then, I've always had a soft spot for anything Brazilian, as well as, most of Amado's books.
I, personally, like the little 'side trips' into some of the 'minor' characters. His descriptions of life in Bahia, at that time, are wonderful and sensual. They do point out a number of social critisisms without beating you over the head....just 'humanizing' them.

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Mar 18, 2009 Makuka rated it 1 of 5 stars

Na televisão, a minha atenção só fica realmente presa por três grandes amores, nomeadamente o desporto (sobretudo futebol), as telenovelas brasileiras e as séries. Daí que fosse inevitável que, um dia, as minhas escolhas literárias recaíssem sobre Jorge Amado - o autor brasileiro que tem mais obras adaptadas para televisão. O facto da novela Gabriela, Cravo e Canela ter marcado uma era na história da televisão nacional e ter ouvido críticas extremamente positivas levaram a que este fosse o prime...more Na televisão, a minha atenção só fica realmente presa por três grandes amores, nomeadamente o desporto (sobretudo futebol), as telenovelas brasileiras e as séries. Daí que fosse inevitável que, um dia, as minhas escolhas literárias recaíssem sobre Jorge Amado - o autor brasileiro que tem mais obras adaptadas para televisão. O facto da novela Gabriela, Cravo e Canela ter marcado uma era na história da televisão nacional e ter ouvido críticas extremamente positivas levaram a que este fosse o primeiro livro a ler do autor. No final, uma certeza: não ficarei por aqui.
Assim que comecei a leitura, temi não gostar da escrita de Jorge Amado. É tipicamente brasileira - a escrita é igual à oralidade -, e, confesso, não sou grande apreciadora do idioma. Porém, assim que as páginas se foram seguindo, apaixonei-me. Esta particularidade da escrita confere-lhe um realismo tal que parece que estamos frente a frente com as personagens, dentro da acção. Há um misto de realismo, vivacidade e alegria que nos cativam.
A acção da obra passa-se em Ilhéus, uma pequena cidade do interior da Bahia, que tem vindo a prosperar graças à produção de cacau. Apesar do "progresso estar a chegar" (expressão que anda na boca de todos), os costumes continuam a ser ditados à lei da bala. Ainda assim, ao longo da obra, nota-se uma tentativa de ruptura com estas ideias por parte de algumas personagens. Esta dualidade suscita interrogações ao leitor, interessando-o, mas sem nunca o deixar assumir totalmente um dos lados.
Gabriela, Cravo e Canela é uma verdadeira caricatura da sociedade brasileira, onde deputados, fazendeiros, "jagunços", prostitutas e meninas de bem se misturam gerando uma profusão de estórias. No plano central, está o amor inesperado que nasce entre Gabriela, cuja saga por uma vida melhor é retratada, e Nacib, um árabe dono de um dos mais requisitados bares da região. Jorge Amado construiu personagens fortes, diferentes, e ao mesmo tempo iguais, do habitual e por cada uma nos convida a uma viagem imediata do presente ao passado e vice-versa, através da leitura de alguns parágrafos.
O encanto desta obra de Jorge Amado deve-se, igualmente, ao retrato de novas realidades. É verdade que as mentalidades são ainda fechadas, que há uma predominância masculina, mas Gabriela e Malvina, sobretudo, tentam marcar a diferença, lutando pelo que querem, nem sempre da forma mais consensual/convencional. Para mim, este livro é uma nova forma, bastante mais liberal, diga-se, de encarar e viver o amor. Fiquei rendida e com a certeza de que Jorge Amado não pode ser esquecido nas nossas bibliotecas. Adorei!(less)

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Apr 18, 2012 Lisa rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Oh what to say about Dona Flor and her Two Husbands All in all the story was about the lives of mostly woman living in Brazil. There were many different personalities and very well developed however at times there were way too many and I don't really know who they all were in relation to the main character. As well Amado could have done away with the honorific Dona, it just got bogged down with Dona this, Dona that whereas the men just had names except the Doctor. The story itself was about ever...more

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Jul 19, 2009 Joyce Lagow rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: brasil

Vadinho, that raascally, good-for-nothing, ne’er-do-well gambler and womanizer, drops dead during the middle of Carnaval, leaving his wife Dona Flor a young widow. Whileher neighbors, friends, and especially her poisonous mother, all rejoice--at last Dona Flor is rid of that lowlife husband--Dona Flor herself is unconsolable. Yes, he was all those bad things--but he was also charming, funny and, most important of all, an absolutely fantastic lover. Modest and upright (except in the iron matrimon...more Vadinho, that raascally, good-for-nothing, ne’er-do-well gambler and womanizer, drops dead during the middle of Carnaval, leaving his wife Dona Flor a young widow. Whileher neighbors, friends, and especially her poisonous mother, all rejoice--at last Dona Flor is rid of that lowlife husband--Dona Flor herself is unconsolable. Yes, he was all those bad things--but he was also charming, funny and, most important of all, an absolutely fantastic lover. Modest and upright (except in the iron matrimonial bed), Dona Flor simply can not explain to those around her why she continues to mourn.

But sooner or later, all things pass, and Flor does indeed marry again--Dr. Teodoro, who could not be more opposite than the scamp Vadinho. She is happy--but. And out of that but arises a situation that only the powers of magic and love can resolve.

On that thread of a story line, Amado wrote 622 pages of a paean to sensuality, Brasilian style. Flor is a genius at Bahian (Northeast Brasil) cooking , and food is as important in the story as it is in Brasilian life. But the focus of the story is on Flor and her struggle to be “decent” in the battle between spirit and matter, as she puts it--between her sense of what is right and her longing for her sexually athletic dead husband who lit her original fires and who still is the only one who can quench them totally.

The characters are wonderfully drawn; there are any number of the socially respectable as well as rogues, con artists, and neighborhood gossips. The description of Northeast Brasilian life in the Bahian capital of Ilheus in the mid-twentieth century is captivating. The practice of candomblé--a combination of Yaruba (West Africa) religion and Roman Catholicism--is very much alive both today in Brasil and in the book, and there are some lively, dramatic scenes involving Exu, Yamenjá, and other Yaruban deities.

Even by South American literature standards, this book is overly long; it could have been edited by 100 pages and still have been just as funny, just as sensuous and a better read. But that shouldn’t stop anyone from reading this masterpiece of South American literature by one of Brasil’s most famous authors.

(less)

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May 14, 2012 Caitlin rated it 4 of 5 stars

I unfortunately had to rush through the latter half of the book to finish it for my book club today so I confess that some of it was more skimmed than read. Over all I really enjoyed the book. It is quite humorous, but from a humanist perspective rather than a raunchy one. It is also a deeply sensual book that seems to question the strictures of society in regards to virginity and sexual mores. It is 1960s Brazil in the city of Bahia which the narrator claims to be the city for mystical happenin...more I unfortunately had to rush through the latter half of the book to finish it for my book club today so I confess that some of it was more skimmed than read. Over all I really enjoyed the book. It is quite humorous, but from a humanist perspective rather than a raunchy one. It is also a deeply sensual book that seems to question the strictures of society in regards to virginity and sexual mores. It is 1960s Brazil in the city of Bahia which the narrator claims to be the city for mystical happenings and strange occurrences. Amado is working within the genre of "magical realism," a popular genre among Latin Americans. It consists of elements of the fantastical, such as the return of the dead first husband, Vadhino, and elements of realist literature. This is one of the most thoroughly combined story I have read. The grief and struggles that Dona Flor goes through because of Vadhino and then the sudden loss of him feels very realistic and I sympathized strongly with her. Even after her second marriage to Dr. Teodoro, she pines for the passion and romance her first husband had introduced her to. I found this to be realistic too. Vadhino was a master of charm and charisma and romance and it touched something in Flor, opened her up to a side of life that she had never experienced before and even though he made her suffer, he also made her feel alive. To lose that so suddenly left her feeling dead. She loves her second husband to be sure, and he loves her and is devoted to her. But Flor just can't let go of the memory of Vadhino. And when he returns she is hounded again by his vices, but also challenged again in the art of love-making. The fetishism and occult beliefs of the Afro-Brazilian population of Bahia work on Flor's behalf to rid her of this spirit of Vadhino and Amado spends a decent amount of time exposing the "sacrifices" made by the charlatans who claim to know what ails the former friends of Vadhino and Flor. Entertaining, yes, a little long for what it is, yes, but especially part V is well-worth the read. It is funny and moving, a magical, humanist story.(less)

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Aug 22, 2012 Elisa rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

E' al tempo stesso la dona Flor vigilante e intrepida di fronte al pericolo, onorata, austera e intransigente - e la dona Flor piena di fretta di darsi, prima che sia troppo tardi. Quale delle due è la vera dona Flor?

Dona Flor ha un gran da fare con una marea di grattacapi in duplice copia, e i mariti sono solo uno dei tanti. E' messa al bivio tra tradizione e innovazione, e vede passare di tutto di fronte a lei: la cultura, la morale, la società, le proprie pulsioni sessuali. Tutti indecisi se...more E' al tempo stesso la dona Flor vigilante e intrepida di fronte al pericolo, onorata, austera e intransigente - e la dona Flor piena di fretta di darsi, prima che sia troppo tardi. Quale delle due è la vera dona Flor?

Dona Flor ha un gran da fare con una marea di grattacapi in duplice copia, e i mariti sono solo uno dei tanti. E' messa al bivio tra tradizione e innovazione, e vede passare di tutto di fronte a lei: la cultura, la morale, la società, le proprie pulsioni sessuali. Tutti indecisi se andare a destra o sinistra, a volte spinti su una via, a volte affaticati sull'altra. La processione passa di fronte a lei ma soprattutto dentro di lei: questo è un romanzo imperniato sulla donna - poco importa che si chiami Dona Flor - e su tutte le responsabilità e i problemi che gravano su di essa.

Volendo comprendere in una sola parola tutto il romanzo, si potrebbe ricorrere al termine "sincretismo". Il duplice si scontra, lotta e ne esce mescolato, e sono sempre carne e pulsioni individuali a scontrarsi con spirito e morale: come le divinità africane che si aggirano per le strade e per i terreiros incarnate nei vari figli-di-santo, troppo amorali per essere accettate coi loro nomi (Oxossi, Exu), ma decisamente accettabili se imprigionate nella comoda effigie di qualche santo cristiano (e consultabili senza andar contro i precetti cristiani). Le pulsioni del popolo africano trasferitesi a Bahia grazie alle navi negriere dei secoli precedenti ricevono il battesimo della giustificazione, un cantuccio nella zona franca del "ciò che si può ma non si dovrebbe", proprio grazie alla trasformazione in santi dabbene. E questa tensione tra il si-deve/non-si-deve permea tutta la società bahiana, ma guarda caso colpisce solo le donne.

Come sono le donne di Bahia? Sono donne confuse tra dovere e pulsione, anche solo inconsciamente. Sono donne di mondo, nella duplice valenza della definizione: sanno vivere in società e sono prostitute. Ci sono le puttane ricche di forza spirituale, come Dionisia, ci sono le donne di mondo che non sono puttane di professione ma per passione, ci sono le ex prostitute diventate bacchettone perché appassite. Sono donne che mandano avanti una morale che le intrappola, cercando di aprire piccoli varchi a suon di giustificazione personale (o a vantaggio delle donne amiche). Quando una novità è possibile dietro l'angolo, seguono il movimento delle altre donne che le circondano. Quando Marilda deve scegliere tra una carriera musicale e un marito che le vieta ogni lavoro, è assurdo il comportamento delle donne del vicinato: prima convinte sostenitrici del matrimonio come unico sbocco professionale della donna per bene, poi avvelenate contro il marito despota, ma solo quando Dona Flor porta senza vergogna un'opinione differente e altamente condivisibile.

La pulsione più controversa è quella sessuale, ed è questa una delle maggiori riflessioni al centro del libro: può una donna essere vorace come una puttana? Stando ai discorsi (e ai pensieri) che rimbalzano sulle bocche delle donne per bene della Bahia di Flor, carichi di allusioni a peni invidiabili e segrete porte da spalancare, si direbbe di sì. Ma la realtà è più difficile di quanto non sembri: per la donna la vita è un districarsi continuo tra contraddizioni che confondono la segnaletica per una vita onorevole. E' bene un anno di lutto, non è bene un anno e un mese di lutto. E' bene uno sposalizio come si deve, non è bene fare l'amore prima del permesso divino e civile (ma tutti lo fanno). E' bene vivere una vita regolare, anche sessualmente, ordinata come una prescrizione medica. Quella è la felicità, anche se dentro ti si agita una puttana che reclama un marito slegato dall'etichetta. Ma la pulsione sessuale è bene solo se tenuta a bada decorosamente. Il marito, al massimo, ricorrerà a una donnina delle case, ma il tuo onore sarà intatto. Dona Flor sarà la sintesi e la chiave di risoluzione di questa morale incerta, il cavallo di Troia penetrato all'interno della sua fortezza.

E' interessante chiedersi se le cose stiano ancora così: quanta dose di moralismo opprime ancora la libertà delle donne? Personalmente, vivo in un contesto sociale in cui ragazze madri continuano a guardare con riprovazione il sesso prima del matrimonio. Ancora non ce l'abbiamo fatta a districarci, ad accettare completamente la nostra carica erotica e - soprattutto - la sua normalità. Ancora il desiderio puro e semplice (a prescindere dal proprio partner) viene guardato come umiliante se femminile, esaltante se maschile.

Amado è ironico e malizioso, spesso fa sorridere, porta in scena e smaschera le contraddizioni di una società con un piede sul proprio desiderio e l'altro sul dovere autoimposto in una sovraestimazione delle proprie capacità. Sebbene io non possa non riconoscere che si tratta di un buon romanzo, personalmente l'ho trovato spesso ridondante, noioso, i personaggi poco interessanti e abbastanza stilizzati (ma questo è riconducibile alla tradizione della cultura orale, a cui il libro sembra ispirarsi, che crea più dei "personaggi-simbolo" e non delle persone), non mi ha spinta a leggere voracemente e con grande interesse. E' stata una lettura abbastanza piatta, ma mi riservo la possibilità di rileggere Amado nei suoi romanzi politico-sociali. E' un autore che probabilmente ha tanto da dare, forse anche a voi (e a me).(less)

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Jan 23, 2010 Benji rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: all-time-favorites, read-in-morocco, 2010, best-in-morocco

This is Middlemarch, written in modern times, that happens to be gloriously in Brazil and in some ways is even better. Add to that his censorship issues and exile, and its a compelling work of art. To contrast this with Middlemarch, I got more out of this because the social conventions and issues are not as dated, the conclusions are still scandalous and it feels like this could still happen now, while Middlemarch is stuck in its age . One of my new, top favorites. It's the same level of quality...more

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Apr 19, 2009 Marvin rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

A book with everything; sly wit, erotic passion, voodoo, a ghost, rapturous meanderings over food, even a recipe or two. What do you serve at a funeral wake? Dona Flor can tell you. Dona Flor is in love with her husband but he is a womanizer, a gambler and a drunk and manages to die of a heart attack in the first chapter. Dona Flor is devastated but her friends thinks she should be lucky to be rid of such a loser. But he did have a certain something... Dona Flor finds a new husband and he is a f...more

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Aug 11, 2011 Aleeda rated it 5 of 5 stars

If you've ever dated a sweet guy who bored you and a bad guy who was no good for you, then you will easily but perhaps unhappily empthasize with the situation in which Dona Flor finds herself. Yes, you know the good guy will be a wonderful partner, faithful, loving, and doting, but the bad boy iis so irresistable that he simply makes you keep thinking you can change him, and you never will. The story is funny, and like Dona Flor, we wish we could blend the two into one perfect prince. Against al...more

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Mar 09, 2010 Katie Benedict rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book will not end. I have disliked it from the very beginning, and it keeps getting worse! Flor (the main character) is an idiot! I just want to shake her. And why does it take 40 pages to say what should take one paragraph?

The entire story is way too wordy - not poetic, just repetitive and slow. We get it. You don't have to go on about it. I don't like any of the characters - they are all either "good" or "bad" or somehow moralistic. The book seems to preach that poverty and disregard for...more

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Apr 14, 2010 Sarah Owens rated it 4 of 5 stars

I don't think I've ever read a novel so bursting with life, fun, color, personality. The main narrative is relatively simple: Dona Flor, a shy Brazilian woman, falls in love with and marries the very affable and passionate but unfaithful gambler Vadinho; when she remarries (but doesn't fall in love with) a more practical doctor after her first husband's death, the latter returns to haunt her. There are about a million subplots, most of them having to do with Flor's extended family and neighbors...more

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May 16, 2010 Katsumi rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance-erotic-affairs

At times funny, bawdy, sexy, and beautiful, this book is a good example of magical realism. Written in the 1960s, it is also far ahead of its time in its portrayal of female sexual desire and patriarchal traditions. It also provides an interesting portrait of middle-class Bahian life.

At times, it was slow moving, especially in the beginning. The second husband isn't introduced until well into the second half of the book and some parts seemed overly drawn out. At times, the translation felt a bi...more

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Jun 21, 2011 James rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, love

Jorge Amado`s book is a colourful, sexy, passionate and in places funny big hunk of a book which is also in its totality really boring.

I found reading a single page delightful and then my mind would wander and I would have to force myself to focus back in on the book page after page. The author just goes on and on and while each individual bit is charming enough it is too much of a good thing. For example the main idea in the book that Dona Flora is faced with a false choice between her 1st and...more

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Jul 13, 2010 Sergey rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Прочитал, как совершил путешествие в страну совершенно иных традиций, нравов и даже времен, где люди живут, будто играют роли в слегка экзальтированной мелодраме, где реалии жизни представлены нарочито урощенными декорациями. Тем не менее, во всех персонажах ты видишь прежде всего живых людей.

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Mar 09, 2007 amelia rated it 4 of 5 stars

hot n sexy, with recipes

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Sep 01, 2012 Luna Solaris rated it 2 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands was a very silly read with colorful characters, steaming dishes and lots of gossip.
You basically have married women, who get into each other's lives whether to help or just stick their noses. You have the prostitutes who love their work and do it until they get a husband or grow too old for the job or get any clients.
Then you have the men - whoring, drunk gamblers, or respectful, dignified members of society whose wifes either full around or stay at home and gossip...more

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Jun 01, 2011 Asma rated it 5 of 5 stars

The truth about human nature and human happiness is the message of this story. The middle-class inhabitants of a small neighborhood of Salvador, Bahia, have their traditional ideas about everyday life, behavior distinct from the practices of disreputable, immoral lowlifes, artists, and street-corner musicians elsewhere in the town. Their insularity is occasionally challenged by more progressive types among themselves, namely Dona Flor or Dona Norma. Do the deities influence them as well?... does...more

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Nov 16, 2010 Patty rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: latino-americana

Quanto è fortunata dona Flor! Ho letto "Dona Flor e i suoi due mariti" dopo un percorso di letture belle ma sconvolgenti, dolorose. Leggerlo è stato come farsi una doccia fresca dopo una lunga giornata di fatica e sudore.
Una lettura fresca, leggera, solare, ironica che mi ha regalato il sorriso e la voglia di lasciarmi tra ... (continua)

Ho letto "Dona Flor e i suoi due mariti" dopo un percorso di letture belle ma sconvolgenti, dolorose. Leggerlo è stato come farsi una doccia fresca dopo una lu...more Quanto è fortunata dona Flor! Ho letto "Dona Flor e i suoi due mariti" dopo un percorso di letture belle ma sconvolgenti, dolorose. Leggerlo è stato come farsi una doccia fresca dopo una lunga giornata di fatica e sudore.
Una lettura fresca, leggera, solare, ironica che mi ha regalato il sorriso e la voglia di lasciarmi tra ... (continua)

Ho letto "Dona Flor e i suoi due mariti" dopo un percorso di letture belle ma sconvolgenti, dolorose. Leggerlo è stato come farsi una doccia fresca dopo una lunga giornata di fatica e sudore.
Una lettura fresca, leggera, solare, ironica che mi ha regalato il sorriso e la voglia di lasciarmi travolgere dal turbine voluttuoso di un samba irrefrenabile.
C'è tutto il Brasile con i suoi odori, sapori pungenti (il gusto piccante di ginepro, di pepe e di miele- il sale della vita- e la verità vera), colori vividi.
C'è il vocio incessante di strade popolate da vicine calorose, invadenti e pettegole; ci sono le sale da gioco dove perdere il tempo, il denaro e la stessa dignità; ci sono splendide mulatte dalle forme da mozzafiato che rallegrano i sensi e la vita.
C'è il Brasile con il suo carnevale, con il ritmo sfrenato del samba, i riti magici , le entità soprannaturali, maghi, indovini e cartomanti imbroglioni.
E c'è Dona Flor, mulatta di calda bellezza ed avvenenza, color di tè, dalle forme scultoree e lo sguardo languido.
Quanto è bella dona Flor! Quanto è fortunata Dona Flor!
Lei non dovrà scegliere tra l'amore fedele, devoto, rispettoso del suo secondo marito farmacista , metodico e ben organizzato ("un posto per ogni cosa e ogni cosa al suo posto" è il suo motto) e l'amore passionale, travolgente e tormentato di Vadinho, primo marito, donnaiolo, mascalzone, seduttore e irresistibile amante appassionato.
Eh sì, per essere felici si deve sempre avere bisogno di due amori, perché uno non basta a riempire il cuore. L'amore tenero e rispettoso, nobile e rispettabile e l'amore sballato, impuro e ardente che fa soffrire e di fronte al quale non c'è possibilità di fuga.
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Aug 12, 2011 Sonia Gomes rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: People who love humour, the ribald variety, and who do not judge others

Shelves: brazil, portuguese, lost-in-translation

Jorge Amado happens to be one of my favourite authors, but I do have a confession to make, I have such a deep affection for Latin American authors, Spanish as well as Portuguese. Amado is humorous in a ribald sort of way but what is most important about him, is that he is completely non judgemental.
I read “Dona Flor e seus dois Maridos"as an English translation and found it beautiful. The original Portuguese, however, is pretty much different, it deals with many more aspects of Brazilian Culture...more Jorge Amado happens to be one of my favourite authors, but I do have a confession to make, I have such a deep affection for Latin American authors, Spanish as well as Portuguese. Amado is humorous in a ribald sort of way but what is most important about him, is that he is completely non judgemental.
I read “Dona Flor e seus dois Maridos"as an English translation and found it beautiful. The original Portuguese, however, is pretty much different, it deals with many more aspects of Brazilian Culture that the English translation does not, but both are very good.
Coming back to the essence of the book, we all have two sides to our selves, and Dona Flor is no exception. As a young girl she marries Vadinho, the love of her life. Vadinho proves to be a wastrel, a bom vivão,who loves to gamble, whores around, for him the most important event is Carnaval. And then, much as Vadinho would have desired, he just drops down dead in the midst of the Carnaval festivities. Dona Flor is relieved, Dona Rozilda ecstatic - although everyone hated Dona Rozilda, Dona Flor’s mother, I loved her venomous tongue; her 'Brazilian Insults' had me in splits. Slowly, Dona Flor builds her business; she cooks and gives cooking lessons. Amado just loves Bahia, its food and most important azeite-de-dendê. Time moves on, Dona Flor is very secure financially, but something is missing, her students notice that she is not as alegre as she used to be earlier. What could be missing in her life, money? That she has. Respect? No chance everyone respects the pretty young widow. Just when she cannot bear this inner turmoil any longer she realises that the missing ingredient in her life is….Sex. Oh! how she misses her sexual dalliances with Vadinho. She now realises that those happy, fulfilling romps in bed are a thing of the past. Then her despair turns to joy, when the very staid and correct Teodoro proposes marriage to her. It is a meeting of minds and souls. Teodoro is a man with his own business, a cultured gentleman who loves classical music, has his own quartet. Could Dona Flor ask for more? Of course not, Teodoro is every woman’s dream; strong, reliable, dependable, any woman could entrust her future and life in Teodoro’s capable hands, a far cry from Vadinho. Or is he? Teodoro is a man of extremely regular habits; everything has its time and place and that includes sex. How can you have sex at prescribed, regular times sighs Dona Flor. Sex so regular and predictable that Dona Flor wants to scream and tear her hair in despair. Vadinho, O meu Vadinho, how she yearns for the much maligned Vadinho. We feel the turmoil in Dona Flor’s life. Here is Teodoro who loves her, treats her with respect, never deprives her of her hard earned money on the other hand we have Vadinho who only has his sexual expertise. How Dona Flor pines for Vadinho, her body cries out to him and in that yearning Goddess Yemanja comes to her aid. Yemanja with her magical powers ‘brings back Vadinho” and well…..you can only imagine how happy Dona Flor is, the romps are back and they are just as good as before Vadinho died.
The book has many facets to it; the central one of course being Dona Flor’s physical needs, her sexual cravings. Ironically both Vadinho and Teodoro save her from depravity. We could take a look at our darker inner selves, if of course we would be willing to admit to having one!
Jorge Amado, also shows us what it is to be a gambler, the hunger, the despair, the win are interwoven in this book, incidentally it is not pleasant to win all of the time, it takes away the edge of the game.
Amazing how this book leads us into so very many unexplored avenues, forcing us to think without prejudice
Vadinho sums the book when he as a ghost says,
"Tambem do meu amor precisas para ser feliz, desse amor de impurezas, errado e torto, devasso ardente, que faz sofrer"

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Dec 31, 2012 Carlos Camargo rated it 5 of 5 stars

It's a very good book. I read it in portuguese ( I'm brazilian) and I don't know how much it lost when it's translated to another language.
This story happen in Bahia (brazilian state located at north) and the people there are more free, happy and less worried about their future. The book shows their way of live, speak, love. I think it's dificult to translate it to another language. if you try to understand Vadinho without knowing Bahia it's not easy. I hope that you get because it's a good boo...more

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Oct 23, 2011 Mari rated it 5 of 5 stars

I read this book in High School in Brazil and up to this date I can still remember the characters and the story. It is funny, witty and sexy. The main character, Dona Flor, experiences love with two men of totally different personalities. One irresponsible and womanizer but fun to be with, the other very responsible, faithful but boring to be with.
Jorge Amado is one of the best modern Brazilian writer and he shows you why in this book.

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Nov 20, 2012 Cheryl rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: brazil

Enjoyable colourful story very much in keeping with the south american theme of celebration, carnivals, love of life, passion and the acceptance of death as part of life.

This book could easily be played out as an opera as it has the darkness of Don Giovanni and the playfulness and teasing of cosi fan tutte.

The only downside is that it is quite dense and the chapters in the first two thirds of the book can be long making it difficult to dip into.

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About Jorge Amado

Jorge Amado de Faria was a Brazilian writer of the Modernist school. He was the best-known of modern Brazilian writers, his extensive work having been translated into some 30 languages and popularized in film, notably Dona Flor and her Two Husbands, (in Portuguese, Dona Flor e Seus Dois Maridos) in 1978. His work dealt largely with the poor urban black and mulatto communities of Bahia.
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