Macunaima

A brilliant new translation of the Brazilian modernist epic that aims to capture the country's complex identity.

Here at last is an exciting new translation of the modernist Brazilian epic Macunaima, by Mario de Andrade. This landmark novel from 1928 has been hugely influential. It follows the adventures of the shapeshifting Macunaima and his brothers as they leave their home in the northern Amazon for a whirlwind tour of Brazil, cramming four centuries and a continental expanse into a single mythic plane. Having lost a magic amulet, the hero and his brothers journey to Sao Paulo to retrieve the talisman that has fallen into the hands of an Italo-Peruvian captain of industry (who is also a cannibal giant).

Written over six delirious days -the fruit of years of study - Macunaima magically synthesizes dialect, folklore, anthropology, mythology, flora, fauna, and pop culture to examine Brazilian identity. This brilliant translation by Katrina Dodson has been many years in the making and includes an extensive section of notes providing essential background information for this magnificent work.

Mario de Andrade (1893-1945) was a poet, novelist, critic, piano teacher, ethnomusicologist, and a leading figure in Brazilian culture. He was a central instigator of the 1922 Semana de Arte Moderna (Modern Art Week), which marked a new era of modernism. He spent much of his life pioneering the study and preservation of Brazilian folk heritage and was the founding director of Sao Paulo's Department of Culture.