World Tour Stellar Reading Challenge – Brazil
Translated from Portuguese
4/5 I have always wanted to visit Brazil. Of course, an easy ticket to this glittering jewel in the Southern Hemisphere is via literature. My search for such a book led me to The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao by Martha Batalha.
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Trigger Warnings (TW): period typical racism (also showing as fetishization) and sexism.
“Euridice is young, beautiful and ambitious, but when her rebellious sister Guida elopes, she sets her own aspirations aside and vows to settle down as a model wife and daughter. And yet as her husband’s professional success grows, so does Euridice’s feeling of restlessness. She embarks on a series of secret projects – from creating recipe books to becoming the most sought-after seamstress in town – but each is doomed to failure. Her tradition-loving husband is not interested in an independent wife. And then one day Guida appears at the door with her young son and a terrible story of hardship and abandonment. The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao is a wildly inventive, wickedly funny and keenly observed tale of two sisters who, surrounded by a cast of unforgettable characters, assert their independence and courageously carve a path of their own in 1940s Rio de Janeiro. A deeply human and truly unforgettable novel from one of the most exciting new voices in world literature.”
At first, I enjoyed reading The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao. I liked and cared about the titular character, Euridice. I often wanted to climb into the book to give her husband, Antenor, a piece of my mind. Batalha painted a vivid picture in this charming work of the Gusmaos’ home life. I docked the book a star, though, because it delved into many of the other characters and I wanted more Euridice. Nevertheless, I highly recommend to fans of historical fiction with a dash of magical realism.
Quotes come from book flaps/cover and are featured on color blocks.
Starry Night Elf 