Novel
O Romance d'A Pedra do Reino e o Príncipe do Sangue do Vai-e-Volta
Not translated into English
Ariano Suassuna · 1971
Synopsis
In 1938, Pedro Dinis Quaderna, held in a town in the sertão of Paraíba, addresses his deposition to the corregedor judge who is investigating attempted uprisings against the Republic. He presents himself as the descendant of the mestizo kings of the Pedra do Reino and as a claimant to the throne of Brazil. He recounts his genealogy, his debates with his two learned masters, Samuel and Clemente, with whom he founded a literary academy, and the riddle of a beheaded farmer whose youngest son, Sinésio, has disappeared.
Context
Begun in 1958 and published in 1971, the novel, according to a University of Porto study, won the national prize of the Instituto Nacional do Livro. It draws on the messianic episode of Pedra Bonita, in the 1830s, when the expectation of the enchanted King Sebastian, whom a bloodbath was to deliver, led to sacrifices. Made up of linked folhetos, mixing prose and verse like chapbook literature, it was meant to open a trilogy devoted to Quaderna. Its author placed it in the genre of the Brazilian armorial-popular novel.
Who it is for
A long, digressive novel, in a language both learned and popular; the French translation by Idelette Muzart, published by Métailié, offers a reworked version for the European reader.
Prizes and reception
Awarded a prize shortly after its publication, it is regarded as the synthesis of its author's work, between history, autobiography and literary creation.
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