Brazilians in V

[Andrew Dinn]

Ted Samsel writes:

> Ahem. Isn't THE DEVIL TO PAY IN THE BACKLANDS (OS SERTAOES) E da Cunha's
> account of the messianic revolt in the northeast of Brazil in (I recall)
> the 1890's? Vargas-Llosa reprised this rather interesting historic event
> in his novel, THE WAR OF THE END OF THE WORLD.

> (wishing to be able to include a soundclip of some musica nordestinha on
> button accordion... forro')

According to Steely da Cunha's book was translated as `Rebellion in
the Backlands'. Guimaraes Rosa's book was definitely translated as
`The Devil to Pay in the Backlands', published by Knopf - I found out
about the existence of a translation by looking up the Library of
Congress Information System (telnet locis.loc.gov). The similarity in
the titles (Portugues and English) was one of the reasons I mentioned
it.

I'd love to read the book but you need to be highly fluent in
Portuguese to do so. It's as complex as Joyce in Ulysses or maybe even
the wake. I managed a few of GR's short stories (A tercera margen do
rio) but even that was hard work and involved much consultation of a
large Webster's dictionary and some interpolations from my Brazilian
friend. Worth the effort, though. A new translation of the magnum opus
by (I am assured) a very good translator is in progress and should be
released within a year or two. I'm saving up for it.


Andrew Dinn
-----------
And though Earthliness forget you,
To the stilled Earth say:  I flow.
To the rushing water speak:  I am.