Barren Lives (Texas Pan American Series) - Softcover

Graciliano Ramos

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0292701330 ISBN 13: 9780292701335

Publisher: University of Texas Press, 1965

Synopsis

A peasant family, driven by the drought, walks to exhaustion through an arid land. As they shelter at a deserted ranch, the drought is broken and they linger, tending cattle for the absentee ranch owner, until the onset of another drought forces them to move on, homeless wanderers again. Yet, like the desert plants that defeat all rigors of wind and weather, the family maintains its will to survive in the harsh and solitary land. Intimately acquainted with the region of which he writes and keenly appreciative of the character of its inhabitants, into whose minds he has penetrated as few before him, Graciliano Ramos depicts them in a style whose austerity well becomes the spareness of the subject, creating a gallery of figures that rank as classic in contemporary Brazilian literature.

About this title

Review:

"Graciliano Ramos is of the naturalistic tradition in the literature of Brazil, but this novel is not mere social protest. The author has a keen visual sense, and the reader becomes one with the part of the earth where Fabiano’s life unfolds.... Barren Lives is a moving novel, one to ponder on." (Library Journal)

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Texas Press
• Publication date: 1965
• ISBN 10: 0292701330
• ISBN 13: 9780292701335
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 167
• Illustrator: Charles Umlauf