1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing discovery, July 20, 2006
This review is from: The Beautiful Empire (Paperback)
I picked up "The Beautiful Empire" at a book sale for $2.00, and it is one of the BEST reads I have had in a long time. The writing is magnificent and I could not put the book down. "The Beautiful Empire" is the story of a fourteen-year-old boy who runs away from home so that he doesn't have to accompany his parents who are moving from Brazil to England. On his own with no money and minimal education, he joins the Brazilian army fighting against Paraquay in 1865. He meets Alfredo, a black Brazilian, and their lives join and separate and join again for a journey from poverty to riches in the heart of the Amazon jungle. Their loves and their loyalties are intertwined with their cruelties and betrayals making both of them show the best and worst of human frailties as they try not only to survive, but to view themselves with dignity even in the worst of circumstances. I heartily recommend it.
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