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 Bravo! Magazine has compiled a list with one-hundred essential books in Portuguese. Similar lists such as Harold Bloom's also brings complications, but theoretically should be welcomed for it fosters discussion and study. How can a list with Brazilian authors exclude Adelino Magalhães, Affonso Romano de Sant'Anna, Carlos Nejar, Nélida Piñon and Salim Miguel and instead include Augusto de Campos, Haroldo de Campos, Fernando Gabeira and Visconde de Taunay amongst the one-hundred works most representative of Brazilian literature?
I am not questioning the authors mentioned but the method. In fact, I am a fan of Visconde de Taunay's documentary work, important character in the romance "Avante Soldado: Para trás." A handful of times, the unqualified press critiques literary works. If one needs to list the one-hundred most influential works, then choose twenty authors and five of their pieces and consider it done. These authors should include: Alberto da Costa e Silva, Ivan Junqueira, Lima Barreto, Geraldo Ferraz, Benito Barreto, Otávio de Faria, Esdras do Nascimento, Mário Chamie, Josué Guimarães, Luiz Antonio de Assis Brasil, Moacyr Scliar e Raimundo Carrero - all of whom were left out of the Bravo!'s list. Some of the list's strengths are including Father Antonio Vieira who came to Brazil from Portugal when he was six years old and Ukraine-born Clarice Lispector who migrated when she was seven. It's worth noting the authors whom I suppose must have been used as bibliographic references. In the last forty years, not one of them has written a piece that has added to our literature. It's as if, during the Paraguayan War, a similar list were compiled exclusively with authors from the 18th century. Pity the literature which depends on a book such as "O Que é Isso Companheiro?" by Fernando Gabeira, documentary born out of political praxis urgency, which by no means should replace an established work. If the criteria leads to works other than romance, short stories and narratives such as juvenile literature (another omission), then we must remember Gylberto Freyre, Carlos Guilherme Mota and Augusto Meyer. I suspect that is what caused the insertion of Euclides who is neither a poet nor romance or short story writer, but whose "Os Sertões" could not have been excluded. The list gets some authors right but not their works. "Seminário dos Ratos" is not Lygia Fagundes Telles' best piece. The haste with which the list was elaborated did not go unnoticed. Paulo Leminski's romance "Catatau" is cited as a reference when he should have been mentioned in the poetry section. Other books by Rubem Fonseca are better than his inaugural work "A Coleira do Cão;" as it also happened with João Ubaldo Ribeiro because "Sargento Getúlio" is superior to "Viva o Povo Brasileiro." In sum, the list does not serve as a guide to our literature. Perhaps, it should have been made by genre thus avoiding the habitual mistakes and injustices inherent in such task. 100 essential Brazilian books, according to Bravo! Magazine Title and authors name separated by comma. Memórias Póstumas de Brás Cubas, Machado de Assis Dom Casmurro, Machado de Assis Vidas Secas, Graciliano Ramos Os Sertões, Euclides da Cunha Grande Sertão: Veredas, Guimarães Rosa A Rosa do Povo, Carlos Drummond de Andrade Libertinagem, Manuel Bandeira Lavoura Arcaica, Raduan Nassar A Paixão Segundo G.H., Clarice Lispector Macunaíma - o Herói Sem Nenhum Caráter, Mário de Andrade Lira Dos Vinte Anos, Álvares de Azevedo O Tempo e o Vento, Erico Verissimo Morte e Vida Severina, João Cabral de Melo Neto Vestido de Noiva, Nelson Rodrigues Serafim Ponte Grande, Oswald de Andrade Crônica da Casa Assassinada, Lúcio Cardoso Os Escravos, Castro Alves O Guarani, José de Alencar Romanceiro da Inconfidência, Cecília Meireles Triste Fim de Policarpo Quaresma, Lima Barreto São Bernardo, Graciliano Ramos Laços de Família, Clarice Lispector Sermões, Padre Vieira As Meninas, Lygia Fagundes Telles Sagarana, Guimarães Rosa Nova Antologia Poética, Mário Quintana Navalha Na Carne, Plínio Marcos A Obscena Senhora D, Hilda Hilst Nova Antologia Poética, Vinícius de Moraes Brás, Bexiga e Barra Funda, Antônio de Alcântara Machado Paulicéia Desvairada, Mário de Andrade I-Juca Pirama, Gonçalves Dias Baú de Ossos, Pedro Nava A Vida Como Ela É, Nelson Rodrigues A Alma Encantadora Das Ruas, João do Rio Estrela da Manhã, Manuel Bandeira Obra Poética, Gregório de Matos Gabriela, Cravo e Canela, Jorge Amado Marília de Dirceu, Tomás Antônio Gonzaga Claro Enigma, Carlos Drummond de Andrade Mar Absoluto, Cecília Meireles Malagueta, Perus e Bacanaço, João Antônio O Pagador de Promessas, Dias Gomes Noite Na Taverna, Álvares de Azevedo Romance D'A Pedra do Reino e o Príncipe do Sangue do Vai-E-Volta, Ariano Suassuna Bagagem, Adélia Prado Viva o Povo Brasileiro, João Ubaldo Ribeiro Memórias de um Sargento de Milícias, Manuel Antônio de Almeida Cartas Chilenas, Tomás Antônio Gonzaga Canaã, Graça Aranha Memórias Sentimentais de João Miramar, Oswald de Andrade A Coleira do Cão, Rubem Fonseca Espumas Flutuantes, Castro Alves Um Copo de Cólera, Raduan Nassar A Estrela Sobe, Marques Rebelo Poema Sujo, Ferreira Gullar Lucíola, José de Alencar O Ateneu, Raul Pompéia Fogo Morto, José Lins do Rego O Quinze, Rachel de Queiroz Seminário Dos Ratos, Lygia Fagundes Telles Invenção de Orfeu, Jorge de Lima Terras do Sem Fim, Jorge Amado Broquéis, Cruz e Souza O Encontro Marcado, Fernando Sabino A Moreninha, Joaquim Manuel de Macedo Morangos Mofados, Caio Fernando Abreu O Ex-Mágico, Murilo Rubião O Picapau Amarelo, Monteiro Lobato As Metamorfoses, Murilo Mendes Harmada, João Gilberto Noll Ópera Dos Mortos, Autran Dourado O Cortiço, Aluísio Azevedo A Escrava Isaura, Bernardo Guimarães 200 Crônicas Escolhidas, Rubem Braga O Vampiro de Curitiba, Dalton Trevisan O Coronel e o Lobisomem, José Cândido de Carvalho Os Ratos, Dyonélio Machado O Analista de Bagé, Luis Fernando Verissimo Febeapá, Stanislaw Ponte Preta O Homem e Sua Hora, Mário Faustino Catatau, Paulo Leminski Os Cavalinhos de Platiplanto, José J. Veiga Avalovara, Osman Lins Eu, Augusto Dos Anjos O Que É Isso, Companheiro?, Fernando Gabeira O Braço Direito, Otto Lara Resende Quarup, Antonio Callado A Senhorita Simpson, Sérgio Sant'Anna Tremor de Terra, Luiz Vilela Zero, Ignácio de Loyola Brandão Galvez, Imperador do Acre, Márcio Souza Viva Vaia, Augusto de Campos Galáxias, Haroldo de Campos Inocência, Visconde de Taunay Poesias, Olavo Bilac O Tronco, Bernardo Élis O Uraguai, Basílio da Gama Juca Mulato, Menotti Del Picchia Contos Gauchescos, João Simões Lopes Neto Deonísio da Silva, PhD, is a writer and professor of Brazilian literature at Estácio de Sá University. His most recent books include the novel Goethe e Barrabás and the essay A Língua Nossa de Cada Dia (Our Everyday Language). He writes for Observatório da Imprensa where this article appeared originally. Translated from the Portuguese by Aldo Jansel. You may reach him at ajans001@fiu.edu.
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Thanks for your thoughtful post!