Bitita's Diary: The Childhood Memoirs of Carolina Maria de Jesus (Latin American Realities) [Hardcover]

Carolina Maria de Jesus (Author), Robert M. Levine (Editor), Emanuelle Oliveira (Translator)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

An immediate best seller when it was published in Brazil in 1960, Jesus's Quarto de Despejo, the diary of a woman living in the slums of Sao Paulo, contained unusually vivid descriptions of the lives of the very poor. Its English translation, Child of the Dark (1962), was equally successful, as were translations in several other languages. The success of the book allowed Jesus to move out of the slums and continue writing. Through the efforts of her biographer, Robert M. Levine of the University of Miami (The Life and Death of Carolina Maria de Jesus, Univ. of New Mexico, 1995), some of these writings are finally being translated into English. Bitita's Diary (Jornal de Bitita), the last volume Jesus finished prior to her death in 1977, is a poignant description of her childhood in the Brazilian central interior state of Minas Gerais. It is important for providing a look at Brazil during the 1920s and 1930s through the eyes of an impoverished black child, a view rare in any country at any time. Sometimes simplistic, sometimes profound, this is a valuable volume for any Latin American research collection.?Mark L. Grover, Brigham Young Univ., Provo, UT
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

An evocative portrait of a childhood of abject poverty, by one of Brazil's bestselling authors. Jesus (191577) was a literary phenomenon of the 1950s. Discovered living in a shantytown by a So Paulo newspaperman, Jesus, whose nickname was Bitita, became the bestselling author in Brazilian history when the journalist helped her find a publisher for a collection of her diaries, which appeared in 1958 (and later in English as Child of the Dark). Jesus quickly became the spokesperson for Third World poverty as her book was translated into many languages, yet she died in near-obscurity and scavenging for food to eat. This rather fragmentary book, written in the 1970s and only compiled after her death, is Jesus's adult recollection of her childhood in rural Brazil in the 1920s. Like all memoirs, this one suffers from a certain amount of revisionist history-making. Her supposed five- and six-year-old ponderings about race and the unequal treatment of women by men, for instance, are at times so astute as to be unbelievable. That said, this is an impressive book, not only for Jesus's searing portraits of poverty in Brazil--a picture that editor Levine (director of Latin American Studies at the University of Miami) claims never has been so honestly drawn--but for her depictions of the crippling power of the Brazilian class structure and racial and sexual prejudice. Only the most heartless would not be moved by Jesus's recounting of the rebukes she received from relatives and others as she tried to claw her way out of the very deep social and racial hole into which she was born. Certainly not a book for mainstream America, but invaluable for scholars and historians interested the real picture of rural Brazilian life in the 1920s. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 178 pages
• Publisher: M.E. Sharpe (January 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765602113
• ISBN-13: 978-0765602114
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,194,640 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Bitita's Diary, May 2, 2001

By 

Derek Pankau (Normal, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bitita's Diary: The Childhood Memoirs of Carolina Maria de Jesus (Latin American Realities) (Hardcover)

Bitita's Diary is the testimonial of a poor Brazilian woman named Carolina Maria de Jesus. Carolina grew up in the 1920s and 1930s. She lived in both the city as well as the countryside, and clearly recalls the rough living conditions she had to endure. This book dose not only describe what it was like to live in poverty, but also gives you the unique perspective of a poor woman in a patriarchial society. I found this book to be very informative. Carolina understandably writes about the terrible living conditions she had to endure, but also gave some thought to political policies, and their impact on society. While there was a lot of valuable information found throughout the book I feel that if the information was better organized into seperate arguments the book might be a more valid resource. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about women in latin America.

4.0 out of 5 stars Bitita's Diary, May 1, 2001

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"jltorre" (Normal,IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bitita's Diary: The Childhood Memoirs of Carolina Maria de Jesus (Latin American Realities) (Paperback)

Bitita's Diary tells the story of a Brazilian mulatta, Carolina Maria de Jesus, also know as Bitita, and the struggles that she had faced throughout her life. This testimony reveals the hardships that Bitita had to endure regarding poverty and inequality. Not only does this novel give the reader a sense of what she had to go through, but also shows how strong Bitita was by never giving up. While reading, we are able to understand the conditions that she grew up in and also learn how she was rejected by her family and made fun of by others. After reading Bitita's Diary, I have a better understanding of the hardships that people go through in other countries, but I have learned that these people do not give up instead, strive for a better live.

3.0 out of 5 stars Bitita's Diary, April 30, 2001

By 

Susan Rakoczy (Normal, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bitita's Diary: The Childhood Memoirs of Carolina Maria de Jesus (Latin American Realities) (Paperback)

I enjoyed this novel. It was very educational and related very well to class material. This novel helped to explain ideas such as discrimination by race and class, Latin American Culture, and feminism. My favorite chapter, The Godmothers, is very important to the rest of the novel because gives background into the rest of family. I would recommend this books if you wish to further explore Latin American culture and values.