The Book of Rio: A City in Short Fiction

Reading the City: A City in Short Fiction

by Toni Marques, Katie Slade (Editor), Cesar Cardaso

This diverse, literary patchwork of Rio de Janeiro contains 10 short stories set in varied quarters of the city drawing on its inhabitants' experiences of recent historical and cultural changes. From Copacabana's thriving LGBT scene in the 1960s where the military dictatorship simultaneously terrorizes and represses politically-minded citizens, to the exhausted labourers constructing the Rio-Niteroi bridge - 'the pride of Brazil' - at gunpoint in 1974, to contemporary life in the neighbourhood of Leblon, where a call girl trying to get to a party reluctantly accepts a very strange job for the evening. The ten stories in this anthology bring to life the complex and ever-changing face of Rio de Janeiro behind the images of slums, carnivals and the sex trade. Featuring stories by award-winning, leading authors, screenwriters, journalists and playwrights, including 2013 International Emmy Award-winner, João Ximenes Braga.

Genres: Brazil, Short Stories, Anthologies

224 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2014

Reviews

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the Book of Tokyo in this series and wanted to try some of the other books. I went into this one with lower expectations as I am not familiar at all with Brazilian literature and I hadn't heard of any of these authors. Unfortunately, I didn't like this one nearly as much. My favorite story was probably the first one because I could really understand the personality of the main character. I will definitely be on the lookout for more Brazilian literature in the future that I can hopefully connect with a little bit better and I am still interested in reading more from this series, but unfortunately this collection wasn't really for me.

[Daniel Aarao · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sorry, I’m feeling like a bit of a slut with the 5/5 but it’s how I feel. This book was really good. It was interesting to see a predominantly lower class perspective of Rio, and I really appreciated it. I mean objectively the stories were in large part bummers, I did get to connect with them, and sometimes you need a bummer book. I really want to familiarize myself with Brazilian authors, and maybe I have a point in my future where I reread this book in Portuguese.

[Tom · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy this book at all, shelved unfinished at 70%, decided to finish it once and for all now. Not a book I will ever re-read or touch again. Donating to my local charity shop.

[M]

Didn't finish — got 40% through and bored of deeply uncomfortable sex stuff.

[Sarah-louise Raillard · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting overview of Rio throughout different literary periods and styles. Some great translators working in this volume!