Lima Barreto New Critical Perspectives [Hardcover]

Comprising 12 essays on Brazilian writer Afonso Henriques de Lima Barreto (1881-1921), this volume opens with an introduction by Aidoo and Silva. In a translated essay on agency, literature, and madness, social anthropologist Lilia Moritz Schwarcz sets the parameters for understanding Lima Barreto's role as both leading author of his day and marginalized, bitter critic of poverty, race, social hierarchy, and politics. Other essays place Lima Barreto, who was troubled by alcoholism and mental illness, in a pan-American context through comparisons with North American literature (essays by Earl Fitz and Renata Wasserman); foreground him as a spokesman against endo-colonialist structures (Nelson Vieira, Vivaldo Santos, Emanuelle K. F. Oliveira); and question his dual position as educated critic and victim of racism (Marc Hertzman, M?rio Higa). Luiz Fernando Valente studies Lima Barreto's famous parody of patriotism, and Paulo da-Luz-Moreira considers his humor in the story 'The Man Who Spoke Javanese' against farces by Machado de Assis and Monteiro Lobato. . . .Summing Up: Recommended.Lima Barreto's fiction, journalism, and diaries, as well as his personal and professional trajectories, remain a powerful challenge to most canonical interpretations of Brazilian race relations and national identity. This collection of critical essays achieves the important task of gathering a number of respected scholars from different regions and disciplines to offer a variety of highly innovative readings of his works, as well as rigorous analyses of life in early 20th-century Brazil. It offers an invaluable contribution to the fields of comparative literature, hemispheric studies, African diaspora, gender and race studies, and Decolonial thinking. It will certainly become an essential resource for both the specialist and those looking for an informed introduction to Brazilian culture.Bringing together original and intelligent essays across several disciplines, this well-timed anthologylƒm